The Cough-Mixture Case: Whisky, Good Fellowship and a Reservation Trial
A white 'Indian farmer' from Arkansas was charged with selling liquor to Indians after he shared cold medicine on a canoe trip. The case collapsed when the court heard it was born of a tribal feud.
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.
J. Loften, the white man employed as an 'Indian farmer' on the Port Madison reservation, was tried before Commissioner Emery yesterday on the charge of selling liquor to Indians. The evidence showed that the charge was trivial and the result of spite.
In November Loften came to Seattle from Arkansas to assume his position. Some of the Indians took him to the reservation in a canoe. Before starting, being ill with a cold, he secured a mixture of whisky, glycerine and other ingredients, which he took on the way down the Sound. The weather was cold and the Indians also were suffering, so in a spirit of good fellowship and in Arkansas style he shared his cough mixture with the sons of the forest.
It was afterward thought that the matter grew out of a feud among the Indians and through the influence of James Seattle, son of old Chief Seattle, who had ties to the tribe. The complaint exaggerated the offense. A warrant for Loften was placed in the hands of Constable Quilter for service last Tuesday evening. Quilter found Loften and brought him to the city, bringing with him Charley Kauko. Later, to save time, they hired a canoe and paddled up the Sound, arriving Tuesday afternoon. After a four-hour hearing, Loften was acquitted. The Indian braves returned to the reservation in the canoe. It is not known whether there was any smuggling on board.
“In Arkansas style, he shared his cough mixture with the sons of the forest.”
Alcohol regulation on and near reservations remains a contested area of tribal and federal authority. This case shows how a small act of courtesy could become a criminal charge—and how Native factionalism and a white man's technical defense shaped the outcome.
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