Brutal Assault in Wa Chong's Building
A man preparing for sleep is robbed and slashed in a violent late-night attack.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Last evening a Chinaman named Ting Sing was robbed of thirty-five dollars in silver and was badly cut by another Chinaman named Ah Lev. The robbery was committed in the tenement of Wa Chong's building when Ting was preparing to go to sleep. The assault was made with a dangerous-looking blade, the blade of which is at least a foot in length, and the wounds are quite severe. Ah Lev was later taken into custody.
“The wounds are quite severe.”
This incident occurred in the heart of Seattle's early Chinatown, a neighborhood that has survived through fire, displacement, and constant development. The vulnerability of laborers living in tenements remains a recurring issue in urban history, echoing ongoing concerns about safety and exploitation in marginalized communities.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.