Arson Attempt Targets Chinese Business District
A deliberate fire set in the basement of Wah Chong's store nearly triggers a catastrophe for the city's business sector.
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.
Saturday night an incendiary broke through a window in the basement under the Chinese store of Wah Chong and placed a sort of charcoal in which a quantity of coal oil had been poured on a box, close up to the floor, and set the contents on fire. The fire before being discovered had advanced so far that a large hole was burned through the floor and the flames were consuming a pile of goods close by, when the proprietor was awakened from his sleep and fortunately succeeded in putting out the fire. Had but a few minutes more elapsed, the fire would have obtained such headway that the entire building and most likely the greater portion of the business part of the city would have been in flames.
“Had but a few minutes more elapsed, the fire would have obtained such headway that the entire building and most likely the greater portion of the business part of the city would have been in flames.”
This event captures the volatile atmosphere of 1876 Seattle, where Chinese immigrant businesses were both essential to the local economy and frequent targets of xenophobic violence and arson.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.