Nightmare in the Storeroom
Local merchant J.N. Scott endured a terrifying night of captivity after being surprised by armed intruders in his own shop.
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.
J.N. Scott was bound, gagged and robbed last night in his store. Two men effected entrance at one of the rear windows and had a gun on him when he awoke. While one held the gun on him the other tied him with belts and suspenders, put a gag in his mouth, then rolled him up in all the bedding they could find. They then opened the safe from which they secured nothing. They went through his clothes and secured his watch and $25 in money and departed. Mr. Scott finally worked the gag out of his mouth but could not raise anybody and was compelled to lie there bound and nearly suffocated until the carpenters who are building an addition to the rear of his store came to work about 7 o'clock this morning. On account of the roaring wind last night he did not hear them until they had effected an entrance and had thrown their bull's eye light on him and covered him with the gun. There is no clue and their detection is unlikely.
“On account of the roaring wind last night he did not hear them until they had effected an entrance and had thrown their bull's eye light on him and covered him with the gun.”
Early 20th-century frontier retail was a high-risk venture, often operating with little security. Today, Kennewick's commercial districts are monitored by digital surveillance, but the vulnerability of a lone proprietor remains a resonant fear in the modern era of retail crime.
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