Showdown on the Train
A conductor attempts to enforce policy on a woman carrying dogs in a passenger car, only to find himself looking down the barrel of a pistol.
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, Conductor Holt and the baggage master had a little experience. Upon making his rounds, Holt discovered a woman with a couple of dogs in her seat. He informed the woman that the dogs must go to the baggage car. She protested, and when he seized the basket, she reached into her apparel and drew a 'nifty-looking six-shooter,' down whose cavities Holt looked for a moment before dropping the basket and seizing the gun. Amidst her furious curses, she was disarmed. The woman then braced up to the baggage master, and a lively sparring match ensued. Finally, the woman turned her wrath upon her male companion, who sat quiet as a lamb throughout the entire encounter. The six-shooter is now at the superintendent's office awaiting a claimant.
“She reached into some portion of her apparel and drew a nifty looking six-shooter down whose cavities Holt looked for a moment or two.”
Public transit conflicts are a timeless Seattle tradition. This encounter illustrates the early, rugged enforcement of rail company policies and the volatile nature of travel in a city that was rapidly expanding its transit infrastructure.
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