A Blanket Theft, a Brutal Assault, and No Arrests in 1883 Spokane

About 4 o'clock Monday morning, two intoxicated Native American men were making their way toward their camp on the north bank of the Spokane River when they noticed a number of gaudy blankets in a Chinese camp at the foot of a slight ridge on Big Island, a few yards east of the third bridge. They decided to take one of the blankets. They crept into the camp and seized the bedding, but the theft roused the Chinese residents. The whole camp followed the men as far as the bridge, where all but two gave up the chase. The two continued to the north side of the bridge, and the pursued men gathered rocks and charged their pursuers. Before they could get beyond reach both Chinese men were struck; one fell upon the bridge. One of the Native American men picked up a rock as large as a man's head and threw it with all his force into the face of the prostrate man, producing frightful wounds. The other Chinese man escaped. Thinking they had killed the man on the ground, the two men made themselves scarce. The injured Chinese man, whose name was given as Y Ho, was taken to Dr. J. M. Morgan's office. His face was a sickening sight, covered with cuts, bruises and blood. There was a gash on the top of his head and two deep cuts over his eyes. Dr. Morgan dressed the wounds. The wounded man was reported much better than could have been hoped for, but the paper feared he might not receive proper care. With good nursing the Chinese man would very likely recover, notwithstanding the frightful nature of his hurts, but the paper would not be surprised to hear of his death any day. So far nothing had been done toward apprehending the men, as the guilty ones were unknown. A portion of the affair was witnessed by one or two white men, but they could not identify the perpetrators. They should be punished severely for the deed if caught.