The Dream That Cracked the Theft Case
A jailed boarder's dream led police to a stolen gold watch and chain hidden under foundation blocks.
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 gold watch and chain was stolen last Thursday from the room of Annie Shealy, a domestic at 514 North Ninth Street. Detectives Sullivan and John McLaughlin arrested a boarder, John McLane, who roomed at the house. He persisted in denying any knowledge of the theft until Thursday, when he was taken to the station at the request of the detectives. On the way back to the station house, the man suddenly said to the officers: 'I had a dream today about that watch and chain. I saw it in the outer back of the pile place on the top of the foundation blocks at 504 North Ninth Street. You tear up that pile and you will find the property.' The officers went to the place mentioned and there found the watch and chain, confirming the man's story.
“I had a dream today about that watch and chain. I saw it in the outer back of the pile place on the top of the foundation blocks.”
While policing in the 1880s often relied on forced confessions or 'stool pigeons,' this account illustrates the erratic nature of historical law enforcement. Today, a 'dream' confession would be quickly dismissed by legal counsel, highlighting how the standards for evidence and interrogation have evolved in the Seattle justice system.
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