A Christmas Saloon Fight in Elk Left a Lumberjack Maimed for Life
Two lumberjacks mixed holiday liquor with violence at an Elk saloon, and a 50-minute brawl ended with three fingers bitten off and charges likely for everyone involved.
One of the most vicious fights ever reported in this vicinity occurred at Elk on Christmas between two lumberjacks. The men became mixed up with booze at one of the Elk saloons and then mixed up themselves. During the fight, which lasted for 50 minutes, one of the combatants chewed three fingers off his adversary's hand. The fingers were taken off close to the man's hands and will leave him a cripple for life. Parties who witnessed the fight say that it was the fiercest exhibition they ever saw in any place. But little effort was made by any of the witnesses to separate the combatants. The matter has been reported to the Spokane county authorities, and it is probable that both parties will be arrested, as well as the proprietor of the place in which the fight occurred.
“During the fight, which lasted for 50 minutes, one of the combatants chewed three fingers off his adversary's hand.”
Barroom violence in lumber towns was a recurring hazard in the early 20th century, when saloons doubled as hiring halls, bunkhouses, and social clubs for men working remote camps. The detail that witnesses let a 50-minute maiming unfold still lands as a disturbing comment on bystander culture—and on how isolated resource workers were left to police themselves.
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