The Perpetual Motion Man is Back in Custody
Dr. Hannibal Mills, a local eccentric and inventor, has been apprehended in Portland after fleeing a bail-jumping charge related to a saloon shooting in Seattle.
Dr. Hannibal Mills, who jumped his bonds in connection with a case where he was held to answer for shooting Ole Anderson, one of the proprietors of the Occidental saloon on February 23, has been caught in Portland. Chief Hunt of that city telegraphed to the Seattle police last night, and Captain Sims replied that the doctor was wanted. The matter will be turned over to Sheriff Woolery, who will send a deputy to bring the erratic inventor back to Seattle.
“The apostle of perpetual motion will not come to Seattle again.”
Eccentrics and 'perpetual motion' inventors were common fixtures in Victorian-era newspapers, often treated with a mix of curiosity and legal scrutiny. The Occidental Saloon was a well-known Seattle establishment of the time, long since lost to history.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.