A Near-Fatal Robbery Attempt in Tacoma
Dr. F. C. Miller narrowly escapes a highwayman's bullet while riding near the slaughterhouse.
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.
Last night, between 8 and 9 o'clock, as Dr. F. C. Miller was returning from a professional visit to the First Ward, an attempt was made to rob him by a highwayman. At a point near the slaughter-house, while the doctor was riding at a brisk run, a man entered the road ahead of him, and, brandishing a revolver over his head, called on him to stop. Taking in the situation at a glance, Mr. Miller dropped his body forward to the right side of his horse's neck, at the same time hitting the animal a cutting blow with his riding whip, intending to pass to the right of the man, but the whip made the horse shy to the left instead, leaving the doctor's body exposed. The would-be robber, when not over ten or twelve feet to the front, pulled the trigger, his revolver pointing directly at his victim. The ball pierced the rim of the doctor's hat not two inches from his head, and passed harmlessly over his back. A minute more and the horse had carried him out of harm's way.
“The ball pierced the rim of the doctor's hat not two inches from his head, and passed harmlessly over his back.”
This dramatic account of a highway robbery on the outskirts of 1886 Tacoma highlights the danger of traveling rural roads at night during the territory's rapid expansion. It serves as a stark reminder of the lawlessness often found on the edges of early frontier cities.
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