Brutal Knife Attack in East End Alley
A man is hospitalized with a severe head wound after a harvest-time brawl breaks out behind a local saloon.
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.
B. F. Weedon lies at the Walla Walla Hospital with an ugly wound back of the ear, the result of a row last night in the alley back of the East End Saloon. John Kennedy, a fellow who blew into town with the harvest rush, slashed Weedon with a huge knife, nearly ending his life. The wound was dressed by Dr. Gammon, and it will require several days before the injured man can be out. A number of men engaged in an altercation in the rear of the saloon yesterday evening, and later a fight occurred in which Weedon and Kennedy were principals. The men pushed each other about for a few minutes, when Kennedy drew a knife and struck at his antagonist. The blow nearly severed the ear and made a clear cut to the bone. Kennedy was arrested and will be held on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. Nothing is known of him here. Weedon recently arrived from Deadwood, S.D., and has a brother living in this county. He is a tailor by trade, 21 years of age.
“John Kennedy, a fellow who blew into town with the harvest rush, slashed Weedon with a huge knife and nearly ended his life.”
This incident captures the seasonal volatility of a town influx during harvest, a persistent theme in Walla Walla's history where transient laborers and local nightlife often collided in the city's alleyways.
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