Extradition Granted for 'Lone-haired' Harris Murder Case
A brutal killing in Blaine leads to a cross-border legal battle as the accused is committed to custody in Victoria.
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.
Yesterday the prisoner Chas. Mitchell, held under the Extradition Act at the request of the United States for the murder of 'Lone-haired' Harris at Blaine, Washington Territory, in the month of January last, was brought up before Hon. Justice McCreight on remand. The witness John Williams testified that he saw Mitchell strike Harris three or four times, and identified the gun produced in court as the one Mitchell had in his hand, covered with blood and hair. The prisoner was then formally committed for extradition and removed into custody in the city jail.
“I saw Mitchell strike Harris three or four times... it was covered with blood and hair.”
This case highlights the porous, often dangerous nature of the international border in the 1880s, where jurisdictional disputes between the US and Canada were common. The legal handling of such cross-border crimes shaped early law enforcement protocols in the Pacific Northwest.
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