, 1876-09-09
Report of The Grand Jury.


To the Hon District Court ct' Kin.
County. ". T.:
The Grand Jury having dispatched
all the matters given them in charge by
tie Court, submit the following report
On part of the United States, We have
had before US large number of wit
nesses to testify as TO the sale Of liquors
| to Indians in violation of law. From @
careful Investigation of this matter We
learn that the law has been openly vic.
lated both in tie city and county, ard
Indians seem TO have had no trouble to
procure all the whisky they want at all
times. We have presented six indict.
ments against persons for disposing OF
liquors to Indians. and hope that our
action may result in stopping this traffic,
or al least lessen the evil
We have determined the fifteen cases
in which parties were held to answer,
as follows In four cases we found nc
bills. In eleven cases We returned to
the Court true bills us follows Two
tor assault with intent to kill two fo1
assault ard battery; one for petit lar
ceny; one for grand larceny; one 70,
adultery.
The District Attorney gave some
complaints to examine, and we found
on these complaints two indictments.
We had number of witnesses sum-
moned who testified as 20 the violation
of the laws which the Court called our
attention to, and have found and pre-
sented six indictments against parties
for keeping nuisances; five for selling
lottery tickets and carrying on lottery
schemes, aud ono to iutimidate with
deadly weapon.
Indictments have been found against
persons for keeping or maintaining
nuisances. Some of these places are
where drunken Indians are to be nearly
always found, making night hideous
with their whooping and yelling.
Others are houses Uf prostitution, where
all kinds Of immoral practices are car
ried on openly in violation of law. And
on the main thoroughfare to and from
our city, can be seen in broad daylight,
scenes which are disgrace to our city
and yet the persons who keep these
houses furnish and harbor these evil
doers. are licensed year after year, and
are endorsed men as of good moral
character.
From the testimony of witnesses on
part of the United States as to selling
liquor to Indians, we learned that the
law of our Territory prohibiting the
sale of beer to Indians is violated daily
and openly. but We thought it best to
indict the cases of selling liquor to In
dians under the laws of the United
States.
| We have had much trouble in getting
testimony TO indict men who keep squaw
brothels, gambling houses, and other
nuisances.
The city police in general seem to
know very little Of what is going on,
and are very backward in testifying in
regard to these places, and the city
government seems to have made nc
efforts to suppress these nuisances.
| We have made a hasty examination
as TO the conduct in Office Of public Of
ficers. The Board of County Commits
sioners have been very careless in the
discharge of their duties in many cases.
They are proceeding to erect a Jail for
the county on lands to which the county
has no lawful title. and on which there
is heavy mortgage. We find that
there has been warrants drawn for
twelve thousand six hundred and sew
enty. seven dollars and sixty-seven
cents. for which the county has de-
fectiye bond for only seven thousand
dollars. We find the county in litiga-
ton for acts of former boards, such as
trading the county farm to persons on
condition that they stop keeping squaw
brothels, thus giving a premium to
crime. Now, lawsuits and costs bur-
den the people as the fruits of such
mismanagement.
In granting licenses to sell liquors
the Board seems to have licensed any
and all persons who apply, even grant,
ing licenses to two corporations.
namely the Seattle Coal and Trans
pcrtation Company, and the Talbot
Coal Company. 1t is doubtful if such
licenses can be lawfully issued to such
corporations. Some sixty persons have