Fatal Brawl in Port Madison
A domestic dispute involving a mill worker and a lighted lamp ends in a deadly fire.
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.
From a resident of Kitsap County, we learn the particulars of the tragedy which occurred at Port Madison on April 5th. There was employed in the mill at Port Madison a Chilian named Peton, who lived with an Indian woman. There was also another man, an American named Isaac Hose, who had worked about the mills on the Sound for the past twenty years. On Monday evening about half-past seven o'clock, Hose, who had been drinking freely, went to Peton's house, where the occupants had also been imbibing. Hose had not been in the house but a short time when he said something which offended Peton's klootchman, who picked up a lighted lamp and threw it at her visitor's head. It struck him, causing a fearful gash in the side of his face, and at the same time exploded, setting his clothing on fire. The house also took fire and burned to the ground. Before the flames could be extinguished, Hose was fearfully burned and died while being carried to the steamer to be brought to Seattle. Peton and his klootchman were arrested and sent to Seattle to appear before the grand jury.
“The only intelligent words they could get was that the trouble resulted from a drunken row.”
This tragedy highlights the volatility of 1880s mill towns, where the intersection of labor, isolation, and alcohol often led to sudden violence. The use of the term 'klootchman' reflects the era's dehumanizing language toward Indigenous women, a common practice in the colonial press of the time.
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