A Brutal Attack on a Prisoner
An Indigenous man held in the Spokane jail is shot through the bars by an unknown assailant in a cowardly act of violence.
A dastardly deed was committed at the jail on Wednesday morning. An Indian, who was known to be held in the jail, was shot while lying on his bunk under the influence of liquor. The shot was fired through the bars at the northern partition of the jail, hitting the Indian from behind. Mr. Drumheller rushed against the interruption and searched for the Indian to move him out of the way. With a series of painful groans, the victim was moved. Dr. J. M. Morgan examined the wounds and found that the bullet had entered the right side, piercing the lower lobe of the lung and liver. Higher up, near the armpit, there were other wounds. The report of the shooting went through the town like wildfire, causing intense excitement. There is not a decent man who has heard of the subject that has not expressed indignation at this frightful crime. While it would be difficult to prove who did this, it is hard to believe that white men would be guilty of such an act of savagery. It was more the work of a skulking coward.
“There is not a decent man who has heard of the subject that has not expressed indignation at this frightful crime.”
This 1880s account of a jailhouse shooting highlights the extreme vulnerability of Indigenous people within the early territorial justice system. It reflects a period of intense racial violence in Spokane, where the press often framed such acts as 'cowardly' while simultaneously reinforcing the dehumanizing language of the era.
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