A Touchet Farmer Dodged Bullets When Armed Guards Mistook Him for an Escaped Convict
A rumor, a coatless pursuer, and a single shot on the railroad tracks — all for a neighbor riding home on a bay horse.
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.
TOUCHET, Nov. 30.—Yesterday Touchet was the center of interesting activity for the space of a few hours. Early in the day it was rumored that an escaped convict was hovering in our vicinity, and all the public highways leading from the little metropolis were closely guarded and patrolled by heavily armed bluecoats, anxiously scrutinizing every passerby and volubly discoursing possibilities and results. Late in the afternoon one of the number was seen returning along the railroad in great haste, coatless, and almost breathless, and furtively glancing backward every few steps as if determined to keep the victim in sight. Upon reaching the station he reported that he had really discovered the convict and repeatedly shot at him, but that he failed to come down.
The report further stated that the man had evidently found friends since leaving the penitentiary, as he was well dressed and was riding a bay horse, and upon being fired at had crossed the river at Lowden's and gone south. Constable Byrnes was immediately summoned and with his usual promptness responded with a good horse and plenty of ammunition, crossing the Walla Walla River at the Donahue bridge. He scoured the hills and surrounding country. Armed deputies were ordered to note all travelers along the main routes leading south and a special guard was placed at the bridge, but 'Tracy' made no appearance. The citizens were somewhat relieved when it was learned later that the supposed desperado, whose life might have been so wantonly sacrificed, was none other than our good friend and neighbor James Talbot, who was leisurely returning home and was no doubt naturally surprised to see a man walking along the railroad track, deliberately present a gun and fire at him without hesitation or a word of warning.
Jimmy says he simply dropped to one side of his horse and, giving him a word of persuasion and a gentle prod with his spurs, was soon out of range of his would-be assassin.
“The supposed desperado, whose life might have been so wantonly sacrificed, was none other than our good friend and neighbor James Talbot.”
In an age of armed posses and fast-moving rumor, a Walla Walla County man nearly died simply because he fit a description. The episode rhymes with today's arguments over armed volunteers, mistaken identity, and how quickly a small town can turn a neighbor into a suspect.
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