Live Fire Near the Garrison
A local farmer narrowly avoids tragedy when target practice at the fort goes dangerously off-course.
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.
J. H. Wilson, a Milton fruit grower, arrived in Walla Walla this morning and reported that he had been bombarded by rifle bullets as he was driving along the Milton road leading past the garrison. Steel-jacketed bullets whistled about his ears and one ploughed its way through the wagon box near where he was sitting, splintering a box of melons and dropping into the wagon after it had spent its force against an iron rod. Mr. Wilson whipped up his team and drove rapidly away from the dangerous neighborhood. While delivering his load at the Walla Walla produce company's warehouse, he found the bullet which had ranged so close to him. The Ninth cavalry is carrying on target practice at the garrison and the bullets came from the guns of the troopers. A resident noted that inexperienced shots often raise their sights too high, causing bullets to clear the range and strike the public road beyond.
“Either the men will have to improve in their marksmanship or else Uncle Sam will have to provide other rifle ranges.”
The tension between military presence and public safety is a recurring theme in the history of Walla Walla's garrison. This incident highlights the friction between the Ninth Cavalry and the surrounding civilian agricultural community, a common byproduct of the fort's expansion during the era.
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