The Mob That Didn't Hang Wallace
A vigilante mob strings up a man in Seattle, only to be turned back by a local citizen standing between the prisoner and the rope.
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.
A man named P. Wallace was brought here from a camp near the city. He was accused of a serious crime, and was followed by a mob from the camp. A rope was placed about his neck and he was told that he had but a few minutes to live and that, if he wanted to say anything, he had better hurry up. Wallace made a statement protesting his innocence. At this the mob hooted and yelled and the rope was thrown over a limb. Wallace was suspended to a small branch while the mob stood in the ash still hoping that he would confess. It was several minutes before the half-dead man could regain his breath. Colonel I. Leary, who is greatly respected in town, was called upon to address the crowd. He responded and advised the mob to desist and allow the law to take its course. The sheriff and several other citizens followed the same way. The resolute Leary and the peaceful Seattle citizens finally persuaded the mob to release him. The crowd then dispersed.
“A rope was placed about his neck and he was told that he had but a few minutes to live.”
This 1886 incident reflects the volatile 'justice' of a frontier town on the cusp of becoming a major city. Today, Seattle's civic discourse still wrestles with how to address crime and public safety without surrendering to the impulses of populist anger.
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