The Street-Level Economy of 'Rolling' Drunks in 1887 Seattle
A courtroom testimony offers a rare, unflinching look at the predatory 'rolling' culture haunting the Pioneer Square waterfront during the city's early development.
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.
When the case of the Territory against O’Brien and Hoole, indicted for the robbery of J.H. Perkins, came up in the District Court for trial, Hoole, the younger of the accused, took the stand and turned state’s evidence. He said that he and O’Brien met Perkins in a saloon on South Second street, near Washington; that they were all pretty full, but Perkins was the drunkest of the three. They discovered from his conversation and inquiries which they made, that he was a stranger, and they at once concluded to roll him. They volunteered to show him the town, and he accepted their offer. They walked up Washington street until nearly to the top of the hill, when O’Brien nudged Hoole in the ribs as a signal for the work to begin. When Hoole gave Perkins the 'feat'—that is, he tripped him up—and as he fell, they both jumped onto him. One shoved a handkerchief in his mouth and held it there, while the other went through his pockets, taking a watch and what money he could find. Hoole claims that they only got about 65 or 70 cents, while Perkins claims that he was robbed of a large sum of money—something like $250.
“They discovered... that he was a stranger, and they at once concluded to roll him.”
The practice of 'rolling'—targeting vulnerable, intoxicated people for theft—was a common hazard of 19th-century boomtowns. Today, Pioneer Square remains a flashpoint for debates over public safety, poverty, and civic policing, echoing these same Victorian-era concerns about morality and street-level crime.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.