The Wheelbarrow Penance
A local landlord settles a lost election wager by wheeling his attorney through the streets of Yakima to the tune of a brass band.
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.
On Saturday afternoon at 3:45 o'clock, Landlord Chas. Edward Smith of the Hotel Yakima, attired in a long linen duster, a natty tourists' cap and a very determined look on his face, walked to the street in front of his caravansary, spat on his hands and laid hold of a wheelbarrow on which reposed the form of Attorney Robert Brace McElroy, son of General R. H. McElroy of Olympia. The Yakima band was there, clad in their attractive uniforms of blue and gold, and promptly with the appearance of Mr. Smith they formed in line, struck up 'O'Donohue's Wake' and marched to the depot and back, followed by Mr. Smith with his wheelbarrow. Yakima avenue was thronged with people, who applauded, shouted and hussahed as the novel procession took its course. The parade was the result of an election bet in which Mr. Smith backed his opinion that Elisha P. Ferry would not receive a majority of 7,800 votes over his democratic opponent; as his estimate proved 100 low, he paid his wager as recorded.
“The Yakima band was there... and promptly with the appearance of Mr. Smith they formed in line, struck up 'O'Donohue's Wake' and marched to the depot and back.”
Public humiliation as a form of political performance was a common, if theatrical, method of settling wagers in the 19th century. While we no longer parade neighbors in wheelbarrows for losing bets, the intensity of partisan election culture remains a central, albeit less visible, feature of civic life in Yakima.
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