The Terror of Northern Wisconsin Found in Seattle
A dangerous outlaw, responsible for a train robbery, is tracked to a quiet Seattle neighborhood and captured just as he prepares to flee to a logging camp.
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.
Harry Holzbray, known as the terror of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, was arrested yesterday morning in Seattle. Holzbray was the man who started a recent train robbery on the Milwaukee & Northern Railway at Kiel, Wis. He had arrived in this city at 9 p.m. Saturday and was incarcerated in the county jail. To a reporter, he said he had made for the West immediately after the robbery. He pushed rapidly across the country, stealing rides on trains until he arrived in Seattle.
He had appeared at a boarding house on Second Street, where he was assigned a room. The landlord, familiar with the description of the robbery suspect, informed the police. Deputy Sheriff John Goode and an officer went to the house, but decided to wait until morning to make an arrest, as Holzbray was armed. At 6 a.m., Holzbray ate breakfast, paid his bill, and headed out with a bundle of clothes, intending to make for a Wisconsin logging camp. Officers were awaiting him on the street. When they drew near, they approached him, feigning conversation, and as they passed, threw him to the sidewalk. Holzbray struggled and tried to reach for his hip pocket, but an officer gave him a tap on the head that quieted him. He was handcuffed and taken into custody.
“They were dressed in citizen's clothing to avoid raising suspicion, and as they approached the man they walked toward him, apparently engaged in earnest conversation.”
This 1889 capture of a fugitive on Second Street highlights how Seattle’s early growth and proximity to the frontier made it a magnet for those fleeing justice—a reputation the city's 'wild' downtown would struggle with for decades. Today, the area remains a bustling corridor, though the era of train robbers has long since been replaced by modern urban concerns.
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