Betrayal in the Alley
A grocery store owner was severely beaten and robbed by a young man he had previously befriended.
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.
O. W. Peterson, who keeps a grocery store on Front street, was brutally beaten last night by W. A. Hail in what appears to be a robbery attempt. Mr. Peterson, an elderly man known for carrying his cash on his person, was putting his horse away in an alley near the Bellevue house when he was struck on the head with a blunt instrument. Despite being struck multiple times, Peterson managed to grapple with his assailant and identify him as Hail, a young man who lived nearby and whom Peterson had befriended. Detectives later found Hail with blood on his clothing, and Peterson positively identified him. Hail was a recently discharged soldier from Walla Walla who had been working as a cook.
“Not knocking the old man insensible at the first blow, his assailant rained half a dozen more on his bald head.”
The neighborhood around Front Street (now First Avenue) has undergone massive transformations since the 1890s. This story highlights the dark side of local 'mutual aid' and the vulnerability of small merchants during the depression of the 1890s.
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