Mob Tension Stirs in Wilkeson
A brutal assault on two local women near the railroad tracks leads to the arrest of an Austrian man and triggers fears of mob violence.
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.
The little town of Wilkeson is greatly agitated today over an assault made by two Austrians last night upon a married woman and her daughter of that place. To prevent any serious demonstration, George Mutchike, who was arrested in connection with the affair, was brought to the county jail this morning for safe keeping. The two women were walking along the railroad track between Wilkeson and South Wilkeson at a late hour when the two Austrians attacked them. Mutchike, it is alleged, seized the younger woman, while his partner, who is still at large, tackled the older one. A fierce struggle ensued, in which the older woman overcame her assailant. She then rushed to the assistance of her daughter. Picking up a stone, she struck the Austrian a blow on the head which dazed him so completely that he was captured on the spot by two men who, hearing the screams of the women, had hurried to their rescue. Deputy Sheriff Gregory of Wilkeson wired the sheriff office here of the trouble early this morning, and on learning that a lynching might result, Sheriff Denholm advised Gregory to bring the Austrian here at once.
“On learning that a lynching might result, the Sheriff advised bringing the prisoner here at once for safe keeping.”
This story highlights the volatile social climate in industrial towns of the era, where suspicion and xenophobia frequently escalated into vigilante threats. It remains a stark reminder of the lawless nature of justice in the early 20th-century Puget Sound region.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.