The Day the River Ran Red: A Tacoma Tragedy
In a brutal dispute over territory and pride, 'Negro Bob' was shot dead by Kennek Joe in Tacoma, highlighting the violent intersections of race, labor, and frontier justice in 1877.
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.
The page reprints a Tacoma Herald item reporting that Kanakas and Negroes had been “on the rampage” at Tacoma. Negro Bob and Kanaka Joe had a row, and Kanaka Drew, described as Joe’s tillicum, shot through a door with a Henry rifle at Bob, killing him dead. The item states that the shooting happened a week ago last Sunday night.
This brief report from 1877 captures the volatile nature of frontier towns where racial tensions and labor disputes often boiled over into lethal violence. The mention of 'Negro Bob' reflects the era's dehumanizing language, yet it preserves the name of a Black man who was a victim of fatal conflict in the Pacific Northwest, reminding us that Snohomish and Tacoma were part of a broader regional struggle for safety and dignity.
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