The Jury That Saw No News
Confined for ten days during the anti-Chinese riots of 1885, a sequestered jury was kept in the dark about the city’s upheaval—until they caught a stray remark about New York politics.
The jurors before whom was tried the case of the Territory vs. Daniel Hughes, for the murder of a Chinese person at Squak, were confined for ten days. They were not allowed to see any paper published this side of the Rocky Mountains, and they were not allowed to converse with anyone on any subject that had a bearing on the Chinese question. They knew nothing of the forcible expulsion of the Chinese from Tacoma, nor of the threatened like expulsion from Seattle. They did not learn of the results of the elections in the Eastern States, but one day, as they were marched to their meals, one of the jurors heard someone jubilantly shout, 'New York has gone Democratic!' and from that remark, he concluded that the Democrats had gained more victories, but he was not further enlightened until the end of the trial.
They were very much surprised last Sunday morning, when they looked out of the windows of their rooms in the Occidental and saw large numbers of soldiers in the streets. They at first thought the town was under martial law, but as everything remained quiet and in the usual condition, they concluded that the soldiers were stationed here to quell any possible uprising of the people to drive out the Chinese. They did not learn that anyone had been indicted or arrested on account of the Chinese agitation in this city until they saw some of the prominent members of the Knights of Labor giving bonds, when they surmised the truth of the matter.
“They at first thought the town was under martial law, but as everything remained quiet and in the usual condition, they concluded that the soldiers were stationed here to quell any possible uprising of the people to drive out the Chinese.”
This story highlights the volatile atmosphere of 1880s Seattle, where labor agitation and anti-Chinese sentiment threatened the city's stability. It mirrors modern challenges where urban unrest and political polarization can feel like a sudden 'martial law' presence in our streets, reminding us that civic peace is a fragile, actively maintained state.
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