A Hunting-Camp Quarrel Ends With an Axe and a Jail Term
John Potter struck O. E. Talbot at Happy Camp on Sullivan Creek, then pleaded guilty to assault and was sent to the county jail at Colville.
John Potter and O. E. Talbot, two hunters camped at Happy Camp on Sullivan Creek, six miles from Metaline, fell out, and Potter struck Talbot with an axe, cutting a terrible gash in his face. It is claimed that Potter is crazy. Talbot came to Metaline and Judge Mead issued a warrant for Potter's arrest, and Deputy Shears and Talbot went after Potter. John Potter was brought before Judge Mead this evening and pleaded guilty to assault, and was sentenced to 25 days in the county jail at Colville. Deputy Sheriff Welty will start for the county seat with Potter in the morning.
“Potter struck Talbot with an axe, cutting a terrible gash in his face.”
A remote hunting-camp argument turning into an axe attack and a quick jail sentence is the kind of frontier justice that rarely made headlines beyond a column of local notes. Today, violent assaults in rural Pend Oreille County still strain limited sheriff's resources and small-town courts, and the same questions about mental health and custody follow the accused.
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