Vigilante Warning Issued After Arson Attempt in Pasco
A deliberate attempt to torch a local saloon has the community threatening swift, extrajudicial justice against 'fire bugs'.
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 week, while a high wind was blowing, the town of Pasco narrowly escaped destruction from fire. The saloon building of Mrs. E. Waters was set on fire from the rear, a sack of shavings having been saturated with coal oil, placed against the building and lighted. Only the early discovery of the flames and lively work saved the structure, and if it had gone, the balance of the town would have gone with it. The sentiment of the people throughout the country is now such that if fire bugs are caught, it will be but a short shift for them between this world and the hereafter.
“The sentiment of the people throughout the country is now such that if fire bugs are caught it will be but a short shift for them between this world and the hereafter.”
This article captures the volatile, frontier-justice mentality of 1889, where a single fire could wipe out an entire town. The threat of 'a short shift' reflects the fragility of wood-frame pioneer towns and the intense social pressure placed on community safety, a sharp contrast to modern fire codes and judicial due process.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.