Self-Defense at the Maison de Joie
A woman takes matters into her own hands when a group of drunken men force their way into her home.
Four individuals of the stripe that caused ex-Marshal Cock to make the distinction by calling them colored gentlemen when they were sober and drunken niggers when they were not, loaded themselves with gin on Monday and proceeded to take in the town. They visited the Maison de Joie of Annie Bennett, and notwithstanding the protests of the occupants they forced entrance into the house and proceeded to make themselves obnoxious. Finally, Annie Bennett could stand their actions no longer, and fearing personal harm, drew a revolver, after repeated warnings, and fired at the most boisterous of the intruders—Joe Humphrey. The bullet took effect in the fleshy part of the man's arm, which caused the gang to retreat. Humphrey went to the office of Dr. Coe to have the wound dressed. One of the men was arrested and fined for disorderly conduct, but nothing was done to the girl, as the general sentiment was that she had acted in self-protection, and that Humphrey, who has an unsavory reputation, was served about right.
“The general sentiment was that she had acted in self protection, and that Humphrey, who has an unsavory reputation, was served about right.”
While the reporting employs the era's dehumanizing language and moralistic framing of sex work, the core event captures a rare moment where a woman operating in the 'vice' economy was publicly vindicated by the community for defending her own safety against violent intruders. It highlights how, even in the margins of 1890s Yakima, local civic consensus could override the strict application of the law.
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