The Saturday Night Highwaymen
A masked gang terrorized citizens on the edge of town, holding up two men at gunpoint in a single night.
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.
A gang of highway robbers held a busy session in Tacoma Saturday night, holding up two men and relieving them of their purses. The first victim was Oliver A. Garrison, who resides at Bismarck. As he was hurrying home late Saturday night he was suddenly confronted by three masked men near the corner of Pacific avenue and Sixty-fourth street. Garrison found himself facing three dangerous-looking revolvers, and was relieved of his watch and $16. Several hours later, John E. Moser, employed in the Northern Pacific shops, was held up near X street and 15th street while walking home from a dance. A revolver was flashed close to his nose, and he surrendered $30.
“Garrison found himself facing three dangerous-looking revolvers, and heard a command to throw up his hands.”
These street robberies reflect the dangers of walking through Tacoma's sparsely developed outskirts in the early 20th century. While the city has grown, the fear of sudden, opportunistic street crime remains a constant historical thread.
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