Fatal Altercation at Kettle Falls
A confrontation between a local marshal and three men on the riverbank leads to a shooting death, sparking unrest in the community.
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.
SPOKANE, Nov. 19.—Wednesday evening just at dusk, City Marshal Skelton, of Kettle Falls, heard a great uproar on the river bank just below town. Investigating, he found it was caused by three drunken Indians from the reservation across the river. He told them to be quiet, and they subsided. He turned to leave, but heard the noise again. He returned to find the men had dismounted, one following closely behind with a knife. He threatened them with arrest, but the foremost Indian grabbed him by the collar and brandished the knife. Skelton managed to free himself and, as the man plunged at him, he fired his revolver, striking the Indian in the back of the shoulder. Skelton returned to town for assistance, and on returning found the other two men had crossed the river. The body of the dead Indian was found on the river bank where he had been dragged by his comrades. The man was an Okanogan who had come to Kettle Falls to purchase supplies. The local Indigenous community is greatly excited over the killing.
“The dead Indian was an Okanogan who had come to Kettle Falls to purchase supplies... The Indians are greatly excited over the killing.”
This incident reflects the fraught, often violent power dynamics of frontier law enforcement in the late 19th century. The reporting style highlights the pervasive racial biases of the era while detailing a fatal encounter that likely had deep consequences for relations between the town and the reservation.
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