The Great Seattle Silence: A Christmas Without Drunks or Arrests

Christmas Day was lovely in the early part of the morning, and the atmosphere cool and bracing, quite favorable to the exercise. Towards evening, however, the weather began to deteriorate; the clouds grew thicker, the atmosphere became heavy, and shortly after dark the rain began to fall and continued until morning.

It was generally set down as a dull day in some quarters, but we concede it to have been such in one whole in others it was otherwise. There were fewer men in town than are usual on such occasions, this being particularly noticable about the saloons, and generally at that portion of the town ill humor or rage is to be found. In fact, most of the mills are still running full blast here and now the logging camp proprietors have been advised: advantage of the long spell of fine weather which has prevailed of late and are driving their business vigorously.

For this reason there was a lack of loggers and mill men about the city, who usually come here before this time and take up their winter quarters, and during the holidays make a lively time of it. The city was remarkably quiet as far as any boisterous demonstrations were concerned during the day and evening, and in fact during the last four days not a single arrest has been made which is quite noteworthy, as drunken men are usually plenty on such occasions as Christmas.

But the Christmas trade was fully proportionate to the rapid growth and advancement Seattle has made during the past year, to which fact our merchants have generally can attest. The several establishments, which have made a specialty of holiday goods, received a far more extensive patronage than their proprietors had anticipated, and by Christmas evening the choicest portion of their stock was pretty well exhausted, notwithstanding the fact that the provision for an increased trade, and laid in a much larger stock than before.

The day closed here with a ball in the evening at Dealer's Hall, under the direction of Prof. Brather. The attendance was not large, but a very pleasant time was enjoyed, and all who participated in the dance were highly pleased with the affair. The cause of the small attendance is to be found, first, in that the evening was a very unfavorable one, as it had rained during the whole time, and secondly, that a large number of our local ball-goers attended elsewhere. Quite a number went out to Renton and Newcastle, while others took a trip to Madison and Blakely, by this means combining the pleasure of a trip out of town with that of a ball and social enjoyment.