The Price of Public Gunfights
A shootout in the streets of Walla Walla leaves locals shaken and a judge scrambling for safety.
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.
It is a matter for sincere congratulation to the citizens in the vicinity of the corner of Main and Third streets in this city that 'shooters' have changed base and gone farther down the street. Iron-clad fronts are no longer talked of in our neighborhood, and 'mine host' Hartman of the Oriental has caught up with the feeling of security. The down-towners, however, are not in such a state of ecstasy and complain as loudly as the up-town folks used to that it is by no means pleasant to rush frantically outdoors to see 'who's a shootin'' and be brought up standing by the sight of the muzzles of six-shooters pointing directly at their faces. The last affray of this kind occurred at the lower end of Main street on Friday last, involving two brothers and one or two attorneys due to a lawsuit. No one was shot, though some five or six shots were fired, and the balls ranged up and down the street. Marshal Seitel arrived promptly and by the persuasive eloquence of his revolvers succeeded in disarming and arresting the combatants. One brother was bound over in the sum of one thousand dollars to keep the peace. The price of shooting in this city is going up; for shooting at a man now, frightening the Judge and everybody else in range included, the market value is $1,000.
“Marshal Seitel arrived promptly on the ground, and by the persuasive eloquence of his revolvers succeeded in disarming and arresting the combatants.”
This 1864 report captures the raw, volatile nature of early Walla Walla, where legal disputes were frequently settled with revolvers in the streets. While public shootouts are no longer the primary method of settling lawsuits, the 'Wild West' atmosphere described reflects the inherent instability of frontier towns before established law and order solidified.
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