The Snohomish Assassination Plot: A Lottery of Death
In February 1877, a local deputy reveals that Governor William Pickering was the target of a sinister lottery scheme to determine who would carry out his murder.
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.
SNOHOMISH CITY, WASHINGTON TERRITORY, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1877.
Representing Western Washington.
Enough has been gathered concerning the attempted assassination to find that an organization exists for that purpose; that lots were drawn, and that Weldon drew the lucky prize. For some days Packard has been in receipt of information of their doings and actions. The country will be astonished when the whole truth of this affair comes out.
The bull raised a welt across the Governor's back, and his right hand is much swollen. The tonsa sin is shot through the left arm only. His accomplice was captured unhurt.
(Signed) SHUFFLETON, Deputy.
If the wires are down tomorrow you know the reason.
(Signed) SHUFFLETON, Deputy.
This report details a chilling conspiracy against Governor William Pickering in 1877, revealing that his life was spared by a literal lottery among assassins. It serves as a stark reminder of the volatile political climate and personal danger faced by territorial leaders in the Pacific Northwest during its formative years, contrasting sharply with the secure, procedural nature of modern governance.
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