The Mysterious Death on Mercer Island
A secret society lodge mourns the loss of a prominent member killed in an ambush on the shores of Lake Washington.
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.
To Whom it May Concern: Our beloved brother, James Coleman and one Wilbur Patten, on the 5th day of February, 1886, in an unexpected, cruel and tragic manner, met with an untimely death from the shots of an assassin, or assassins, ambushed on the south end of Mercer's Island, Lake Washington, King County, W.T.; therefore, be it resolved, that we owe it to ourselves, from the love we bear to our departed brother and the protection we owe to each other, to spare no effort or expense in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this horrible crime. Resolved, that in the death of our beloved brother, our Order has lost a worthy and exemplary member, this community an intelligent and prominent citizen, and his family a devoted husband and loving father. Resolved, that these resolutions be spread on the annals of St. Andrews Lodge, and a copy thereof, duly authenticated under the seal of this lodge, be presented to the family of our deceased brother, and that the lodge be draped in mourning for ninety days, and that the newspapers of the city of Seattle be requested to publish these resolutions.
“We owe it to ourselves... to spare no effort or expense in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this horrible crime.”
In 1886, Mercer Island was a rugged, sparsely populated frontier, a far cry from the affluent residential hub it is today. The mention of an 'ambush' by a secret society reflects the era's reliance on fraternal orders for justice and social protection in a territory where the arm of the law was still weak.
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