Saloon Gunfire Over A Debt
A confrontation in a downtown Seattle saloon ends with a bullet in the wall and a victim who refuses to press charges.
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.
Orange Hadley took a shot with a 41-caliber revolver at N. H. McLean yesterday afternoon in his saloon on Third street, near Cherry. The trouble arose over money matters. Hadley was drinking in the Butler cafe Saturday night when McLean came in and, seeing that Hadley had money, asked him for some. Hadley says McLean wanted a loan, while McLean says Hadley owed him the money. Hadley pulled McLean's ear and McLean punched back. They were separated, but yesterday, McLean walked into Hadley's saloon, and after a brief interchange of remarks, there was a sharp report of a gun, after which McLean came out of the saloon and walked away in an unconcerned manner. Hadley claims that McLean made a move for his hip pocket, prompting him to fire. The bullet struck the lower edge of the diamond plate glass in the right hand door and then glanced across to the wall. McLean, however, says he simply asked for the money owed to him, and he does not intend to prosecute the case.
“I will give you this instead of money.”
Third and Cherry remains a busy intersection in downtown Seattle. The casual nature of saloon violence in 1894 highlights a time when personal feuds were often settled with firearms in public spaces, a far cry from the modern-day urban landscape.
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