Vigilante Arsonist Attacks Chinese Gardeners
A Spokane farmer’s livelihood was destroyed and his livestock slaughtered in a brutal, racially-motivated attack.
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.
N.C. Morgan, who has a farm some four miles southeast of this city, towards Moran Prairie, has been a resident of this county for a long time. Some two years ago he leased his farm to two Chinamen for gardening purposes, and contracted with them for cutting wood. At that time he received a threatening letter ordering him to sever his contract, but he paid no attention to it. Nothing has since been done to him of any moment until the affair we just report. Mr. Morgan's family has been in the city ever since last November, while his daughters attended the college. He spent most of his time on the ranch. Thursday he came to town to arrange for their return to the country. Friday night the premises were visited by several unknown parties and the fire started. The two Chinamen live in a house nearby, but on their attempting to go out when the fire commenced the parties on the outside commenced shooting, and shot a number of holes through the house. Of course the entire contents of the house and barn were consumed, the worst feature being the burning to death of a valuable span of horses. The loss is from $800 to $1000. This outrage is one of the most cowardly ever perpetrated in this county, and the most unfortunate feature is that suspicion points to no one.
“This outrage is one of the most cowardly ever perpetrated in this county.”
This violent episode from the 1880s reflects the brutal climate of anti-Chinese terror that defined the Pacific Northwest during the Exclusion era. Such events highlight the dark reality behind the economic development of early Washington, revealing the human cost of the xenophobic movements that sought to drive residents of Chinese descent out of the region.
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