A Thief Caught in the Act at a Waterfront Saloon
A loafer attempts to rob a sleeping worker, but is thwarted by an observant patron and a prompt police response.
In Justice Von Tobel's court yesterday, John Barnback, a saloon loafer, was sentenced to thirty days in the county jail for petty larceny. W.J. Wilson and P.J. Brockley own a saloon in the southern part of the city. Wilson, tired from working long hours, asked Barnback to watch the place while he took a nap. Before sleeping, Wilson counted the money in the till. As he dozed off, Barnback reached into Wilson's pocket and withdrew a handful of silver. An old man sitting in the rear of the saloon saw the act and demanded a drink for his silence. Barnback gave the man 'two bits' to keep quiet, but the man took the money and returned with a policeman. Wilson woke up, noticed the situation, and Barnback was promptly arrested and sentenced.
“An old man who sat drinking in the rear of the saloon saw the act, and said: 'What does this mean?'”
Petty crime and the social culture of the waterfront saloon were fixtures of life in late 19th-century Seattle. This story provides a rare glimpse into the daily friction between working men and the 'loafers' of the district.
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