A High-Stakes Chase Through the Woods
Federal inspectors track and capture four Chinese immigrants in the timber-heavy region near Sedro-Woolley after a two-day manhunt.
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.
Chinese Inspector Schuyler and Inspector Plum captured four Chinese men after a weary chase in the woods near Sedro-Woolley. The men, who gave their names as Pong Gee Gone, Wong Ah Choe, Latin Yek Tow, and Chin Yaw, were intercepted after a tip regarding a band of six traveling toward Seattle. The inspectors tracked the men for two days through the dense timberland before making the arrest. On the train, one of the men, Chin Yaw, attempted to bribe the inspectors to secure their release. The men were brought before United States Commissioner Emery for examination.
“Inspector Plum roared out nearly at the top of his voice: 'Make it five, John, make it five!'”
This account documents the aggressive enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the Pacific Northwest. It reflects a time when federal authorities, supported by local newspaper narratives, actively hunted immigrants, mirroring the broader history of racial exclusion that defined Washington's legislative and social landscape for decades.
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