1885 Trial Examines Killings of Three Chinese Men in Squak Valley
A trial in Seattle reveals the cold-blooded coordination behind the 1885 anti-Chinese expulsions in Squak Valley, where white laborers and land owners conspired to drive out local workers with gunfire.
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.
Yesterday’s report of the trial of Perry Bayne, indicted for murder, closed with the testimony of Jim Graham, an Indian. At the opening of court, Dr. L. B. Dawson, coroner of King County, testified: 'I visited Squak Valley on Tuesday, September 8th, with the Prosecuting Attorney and Sheriff McGraw. We went to the camp of Wold Brothers and found the bodies of three dead Chinese men wrapped in blankets. I examined the body of Fang Woey; a bullet had entered his back and emerged just below the left nipple, fracturing the sixth rib. Another ball had entered the right buttock. I also examined Yen Sang, from whose body I removed a bullet. He died from hemorrhage after a shot severed an artery. These men were likely shot while lying down or leaning forward. The fatal shots were fired by men standing up.' Sam Robertson, a witness who was present at the shooting, testified that he, Perry Bayne, and others armed themselves at George W. Tibbetts’ store. Robertson stated: 'Bayne took a revolver and buckled it around him. Tibbetts gave him the ammunition. We went to the Chinese tents. We got over the fence. Mr. Bayne gave the order to fire, and we all fired. After the firing, Ramsey said, "What shall we do now, Perry?" Perry said, "Dry up your d—n mouth; don't call my name; everybody knows me here."'
“Dry up your d—n mouth; don't call my name; everybody knows me here.”
The Squak Valley (modern-day Issaquah) Massacre remains a foundational, albeit grim, part of Seattle's history. It serves as a stark reminder that the city's current battles over housing equity and the presence of immigrant labor are echoes of a 19th-century history defined by violent exclusion and nativist riots.
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