Police Raid Hidden 'Fan Tan' Parlor
Officers storm a fortified gambling den in an alley between Yesler and Washington, arresting eighteen men in a late-night sweep.
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.
Detective Cave and Officers Powers, Baldus, and Corbett arrested eighteen Chinamen at 7:10 last evening for gambling. The game, it appears, was the favorite celestial amusement known as 'fan tan.' The location of the find was in a little alley between Fifth and Sixth and Yesler Avenue and Washington Street. There is a house used by the celestials as a combination of lodging house upstairs and gambling and opium joint below. The windows and doors were made of heavy 4-inch stuff, reinforced by heavy cleats and barred by heavy bars. The officers took the inmates by surprise, however, and captured the whole gang, with layouts and everything. Not a single inmate escaped. They will be tried today in the municipal court.
“The officers took the inmates by surprise, however, and captured the whole gang, with layouts and everything.”
This account reflects the period's pervasive anti-Chinese sentiment, where cultural practices were routinely criminalized and reported with dehumanizing language. Modern readers must recognize this report as a product of the exclusionary policies of the late 19th century that targeted Seattle’s Chinese community.
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