The Waterfront Thief of Madison Street
A persistent petty thief is finally caught in the woods near Lake Washington after a long chase through the city.
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.
Herbert Spencer, the notorious petty larcenist, was arrested last night by Officer Mefford in the woods below Jackson and Madison streets, near Lake Washington, after a long chase. He was tagging from house to house, and ran when the officer tried to arrest him. Meanwhile, Detective Edward Cudihee yesterday recovered four of the seven bolts of cloth that were stolen recently from the sample case of the Atlantic Tailoring Company, in the Rengstorff block, and E. Voland's tailor shop. The cloth had been pawned in Ellensburg.
“Herbert Spencer, the notorious petty larcenist, was arrested last night by officer Mefford in the woods below Jackson and Madison streets, near Lake Washington.”
In 1893, the woods surrounding the current Central District and Madison Valley were still wild enough to offer a hiding place from the law. Today, the 'woods' are long gone, replaced by dense urban residential blocks.
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