Fatal Brawl in the Peerless Saloon
A jury has cleared a local bartender of responsibility in the death of a Seattle traveler who died from a head injury sustained during a fight.
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.
We find that P. C. Warwick came to his death from a blow on the left side of his head, received in the Peerless saloon on the 12th day of February, 1909. Said wound resulted in blood poisoning, which hastened death. With the above verdict, a jury of six men, called yesterday afternoon to inquire into the death of P. C. Warwick, a Seattle commercial traveler, exonerated George Botts, a bartender, who struck the man and knocked him against the sharp corner of a steel safe. The verdict was received after only a few minutes of deliberation. Warwick's remains were taken to Seattle yesterday afternoon by friends, and the funeral will take place there.
“We find that P. C. Warwick came to his death from a blow on the left side of his head... Said wound resulted in blood poisoning, which hastened death.”
Public brawls in saloons were common flashpoints for civic violence in 1909 Tacoma, often handled with quick jury exonerations if the victim was considered an outsider. Today, the Peerless Saloon’s former location highlights the city’s shift from a gritty industrial port of call to a modern urban center.
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