The Swindled Sheep of Whatcom County
A malicious act of agricultural sabotage left 2,000 sheep dead, exposing the brutal desperation of early range life.
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.
Word reached here a few days since of a most heinous outrage being committed in the vicinity of Willow Creek, in Whatcom County. T.D. Parker, of this place, and Henry Lewis and J.A. Alger, of Ladd Canyon, had a band of two thousand head of sheep ranging thereabouts, all of which were in fine condition. A few mornings since, the entire band was found dead, some scoundrel having scattered saltpeter promiscuously over the ground, which the sheep mistook for salt. The perpetrator of this act should be apprehended, if possible, and brought to a speedy retribution.
“The entire band was found dead, some scoundrel having scattered saltpeter promiscuously over the ground, which the sheep mistook for salt.”
This 1887 report of livestock sabotage highlights the intense, often violent competition for public land and resources in Washington's early development. Today, while the conflicts have moved from open-range sheep grazing to urban zoning and housing density, the volatility of property-rights disputes remains a persistent thread in the region's history.
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