Highway Robbery at the Edge of Town
A traveler is ambushed and robbed by two men in the dark at the lower end of Second Street.
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.
Between 8 and 9 o'clock Wednesday evening, at the lower end of Second street, Mr. John Ferrell, who lives this side of Prosser, was assaulted by two thugs and relieved of about forty dollars. Mr. Ferrell can give no description of his assailants, as the first thing he knew they jumped upon him from their hiding place, and while one struck him over the head the other caught him by the throat and held him while he was being robbed. Street Commissioner Leach heard the outcries and saw two men running away, but the night was dark, and he is as much at a loss to describe the highwaymen as is Mr. Ferrell.
“The first thing he knew they jumped upon him from their hiding place.”
Assaults on commuters and travelers at the edges of town remain a perennial issue in civic life. This 1891 report shows that even as Yakima grew, the insecurity of public streets after dark was a significant public safety concern.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.