Brutal Assault on Indigenous Woman Reported
An Indian woman, identified as Mrs. J'ouls, suffered a fractured skull during a violent attack near the Puyallup reservation.
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.
On Sunday night last, an Indian woman, generally known as Mrs. J'ouls, was severely pounded on the head by a brutal savage. Her skull was broken in by the use of a rock. On Monday, Gen. Milroy escorted Indian Bob to the West Side, where the unfortunate woman lived. She totally recognized him as the guilty party. He stubbornly claims that he was not on the west side at the time on Sunday night. Some pieces of skull have been removed from the poor woman's head, and the brain is wholly exposed to view. Mrs. J'ouls is a sister to old Dr. Slanup, a Siwash on the Puyallup reservation.
“Some pieces of skull have been removed from the poor woman's head, and the brain is wholly exposed to view.”
Violence against Indigenous women remains a critical and underreported issue in Washington state. This 1876 account highlights the vulnerability of women living on or near the Puyallup reservation during the territorial era, reflecting a legacy of legal and social exclusion that activists continue to fight against today.
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