The Bold Daylight Heist in Squak Valley
A trio of highwaymen, fresh from a lunch break, are captured after a brief pursuit in the rugged wilderness of the Squak Valley.
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.
We are informed by a person just arrived from the Squak Valley that two men were dropped on while at their lunch in an old barn. They had no time to draw their weapons, being covered by full cocked shooters, and were readily captured. They had an Indian horse, blanket and all the missing articles except the pistol and the greenbacks. They said they gave the revolver and ten dollars for their horse. They were brought into town and lodged in jail over Saturday night, and on Sunday morning started back for Yakima via the Snoqualmie Pass, in charge of the three deputies.
“They had no time to draw their weapons, being covered by full cocked shooters, and were readily captured.”
This 1878 account of a crime in Squak Valley (modern-day Issaquah) captures the era when the valley was a wild, frontier pass. Today, the area has evolved from a site of opportunistic banditry to a densely populated tech and suburban hub, yet it remains a crucial gateway between the city and the mountains, much as it was when those deputies rode toward Snoqualmie Pass.
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