Humpy the Fisherman Is Shot Dead Over the Right to Cut Hay
A disabled fisherman and a rancher quarreled over who owned a patch of grass near Palmer Lake. It was the third killing caused by a ranch-boundary dispute in a single year.
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.
LOOMIS, July 31. — [Special.] — In a dispute over the ownership of a ranch and the right to cut the hay on it, a humpbacked cripple by the name of Spence was shot and killed by W. D. Garred early this morning, near Palmer Lake, a few miles north of this place. Garred claims that Spence, who was boisterous but inoffensive, and who was well known as 'Humpy the fisherman,' threatened him with a pitchfork, when he shot him twice, one ball passing through Spence's neck. Garred came to Loomis and delivered himself up to Justice of the Peace Stocker, who placed him in charge of two deputies and notified Sheriff Rash at Conconully. The body was brought here today. The shooting seems to have been unjustifiable and is generally condemned. This is the third murder caused by ranch disputes in this section within a year.
“This is the third murder caused by ranch disputes in this section within a year.”
Behind this brief item lies a frontier truth that still echoes in the rural West: arguments over who owns the ground — and what grows on it — could turn lethal in an afternoon. Three killings over ranch boundaries in a single year shows how thin the line between property and violence could be on the Okanogan. 'Humpy the fisherman' was a local figure until a hay field made him a casualty.
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