The Shadow Over Squak Valley
In the autumn of 1885, a series of indictments revealed a brutal campaign of violence against Chinese laborers in the Snoqualmie Valley.
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.
The Grand Jury, on the part of the Territory, brought in true bills charging Perry Payne, Samuel Robertson, Daniel Hughes, DeWitt Ramsey, Joseph Day, Carly (an Indian) and Johnnie (an Indian) with murder in the first degree, for killing Fang Wue (a Chinaman) at Squak, on Monday, September 14th. The Grand Jury brought in true bills, charging all the above-named defendants with murder in the first degree, for the killing of Mack Geong (a Chinaman) at Squak, on September 7, 1885. The Grand Jury, on the part of the Territory, rendered true bills against all the defendants in case No. 4626, charging them with murder in the first degree, for the killing of Ling Han (a Chinaman), at Squak, on September 15th. The defendants were all arraigned, excepting Robertson, and given until Saturday to plead.
This reporting documents the anti-Chinese violence of the 1880s in the Snoqualmie Valley, a dark chapter often overlooked in the region's history. It serves as a stark reminder of how xenophobia fueled physical violence in the early days of Washington Territory, mirroring cycles of racial tension and displacement that have recurred throughout the Pacific Northwest's history.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.