The Political Brawl on Fourth Street
A simmering feud within the County Colored Republican Club ends in a shooting that leaves a man critically wounded and a community divided.
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.
John Jackson, an active member of the County Colored Republican Club, was shot yesterday morning by a fellow member named Robert Butts. The friction between the two men grew out of club politics; Jackson, who had been accused of being a political traitor, was told by Butts that he wanted to 'escort him out' of the organization. On the morning of the shooting, Jackson was standing near a barber shop on South Fourth Street near the corner of Main. Butts, positioned across the street, called out for Jackson to come over, but Jackson refused. Butts then drew a revolver and fired at Jackson. One bullet missed, but the second struck Jackson in the right hand near the thumb joint, causing a severe flesh wound. Bystanders subdued Butts, who was described as 'terribly excited,' until Officer Howerton arrived and placed him under arrest. While the two had been rivals, those who witnessed the incident claim Jackson was unarmed and made no threatening gestures. Butts was later held on a $500 bond.
“Jackson was disinclined to prosecute his assailant, and for fear that he would fail to appear, Justice Miller held him in bonds of $300 as a witness.”
Political infighting and the weaponization of 'traitor' labels remain a persistent feature of American civic life. This 1889 account of a neighborhood shooting over club affiliation highlights how intensely local partisan disputes were contested in Seattle's early years, often spilling directly onto the sidewalk.
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