The Venison Peddler of South Tacoma
A Thurston County man finds the local market for illicit game isn't as lucrative as he hoped after a run-in with a game warden.
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.
William Johnston, a resident of Thurston county, appeared in South Tacoma yesterday with the hind-quarters of a deer slung over his back. He at once commenced to peddle the venison about the town, but before he had gone far a deputy game warden was at his heels and Johnston found himself a prisoner. The man faced Justice Graham this morning and entered a plea of having deer in his possession and attempting to sell it out of season. He was fined $100.
“He at once commenced to peddle the venison about the town, but before he had gone far a deputy game warden was at his heels.”
While wildlife management and hunting seasons remain a point of contention in the Pacific Northwest, the informal 'peddling' of game has largely faded into history, replaced by strictly regulated commercial meat markets. It serves as a reminder of an era where local subsistence and poaching blurred the lines of civic legality in rapidly growing Tacoma.
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