A Local Bootlegger Arrested
An officer catches a man red-handed in a tent near the gas house, highlighting the ongoing tension of the era's restrictive alcohol laws.
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 afternoon a man named A. Secor was arrested by Officer Lind for selling whisky to Indians. Mr. Lind has for some time suspected that whisky was being furnished to the Indians encamped on the beach near the gas house, and yesterday he caught this man in the very act, finding him in an Indian tent with his bottles and money in his hand. The prisoner was taken before Judge Cann, and the affidavit being conclusive against him, he made no defense. A fine of $50.25 and costs was assessed by the Judge, who expressed his intention of punishing to the full extent of the law everyone engaged in this business.
“It is believed that there are others engaged in this business, and every effort is to be made to bring them to justice.”
This item reflects the paternalistic and criminalizing approach of 19th-century authorities toward Indigenous populations, using prohibition as a tool of regulation and control. It provides a stark window into how 'vice' was policed in the early days of the city.
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