The Tragic Cost of a Long-Standing Feud
A fifteen-year-old boy shoots and kills a man in downtown Oakesdale, Washington, following years of harassment.
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.
OAKESDALE, W. T., July 3.—At 4:30 this afternoon, Will Crow, a boy fifteen years old, stepped up alongside Michael Hogan, alias 'Carley' Hogan, and shot him, his brains blown out in front of Swayze’s saloon. He died instantly. About a year ago, Hogan attacked the boy with a shovel and shot off two fingers. Today the boy heard that Hogan said he would kill him on sight, hence the shooting. The boy is in jail. Hogan was a well-known character.
“Today the boy heard that Hogan said he would kill him on sight, hence the shooting.”
This 1886 report from Oakesdale highlights the often-lethal consequences of personal disputes in the untamed environments of Washington territory. It mirrors modern discussions about cycles of violence, the accessibility of firearms, and the devastating impact of long-term community tension in small towns.
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