A Night of Brutality on the Waterfront
A Chinese laborer is murdered by a gang on the Seattle docks, sparking a community divide over law and justice.
While returning to his boat on the wharf last Thursday night, a Chinese laborer was accosted by a gang of three men. Albert Ford and his companions led the attack, and after hitting the man and ordering him to leave the wharf—which he attempted to do—they set upon him to rail for the boat. When the man fell, the assailants threw him into the water. It was a cold-blooded attempt to drown the victim as they desired. The perpetrators of the murder also assaulted a young girl, the daughter of one of the waterfront party, but other citizens intervened so no harm came to the girl. The perpetrator of the assault is prominent, and the town is divided into factions, one desiring to shield the culprits and the other demanding the law be enforced.
“The town is divided into factions, one desiring to shield the culprits and the other demanding the law be enforced.”
This 1886 report captures a volatile moment in Seattle history, occurring just months after the violent anti-Chinese riots of late 1885 and early 1886. The mention of a town divided by factions—those protecting the perpetrators and those demanding justice—mirrors the deep civic fractures Seattle experienced during this era of intense labor and nativist unrest.
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