Assault in Old Town
An Italian peddler attempts to assault two young girls, sparking a neighborhood manhunt.
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.
Begaao Salvator, an Italian apple and peanut peddler, this evening at dusk entered the home of Mrs. Philip, at Old Town, during her absence, and attempted to rape her two little daughters, aged six and ten. He tore their clothes and bruised them, but their cries brought help. Salvator fled, and a warrant is out for his arrest.
“He tore their clothes and bruised them, but their cries brought help.”
The neighborhood known as 'Old Town' in the 1890s corresponds to the area near Tacoma's modern-day Ruston Way and Old Town district. This report reflects the era's frequent use of xenophobic framing when reporting on immigrant populations accused of crimes.
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