The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-04-22
AN OLD-TINE MURDER.
Tie Murderer Narrowly Is
capped Hanging.
euTnE LIVED MANY YEARS MORE
The FIRST White Murderer on Puget
Sound How lie Gave His Cap
tors WORK Years After.

Ever since the killing % Murderer
Thomas Blanck. old-tirneFs have 9%en a.
cnaagfnu stories az bloodshee. murder
and carnage n the woods. on the plains
and on ne sea. b8t up - date William
Norris. the ex-pciiceRan. holds fhe cram
rsgonzhfp Of giving ogg the most interest
tux Incident in this lire Ills story siao
has the additional distinction Of beng
true. and deals with the trsi man ever ar
rested for murder on Puget SOUND Mf-
Morris came 20 the Sound thiFty-hFe
years ago ard has lived here ever stree.
The other evening he vas regali5g some
OF his friends with stories % tae past,
and said:
II remember the frst man ever arrested
in these parts for murder. for 1 arrested
him myself at Port Biakeley IN lso- the
British ship Narius was loading lumber
at the mills for Melbourne. ami ] and
SONS. more fellows were in the hold plsc-
ing the timber The mate WAS dig Iel-
low named Butler. and the employing
stevedore was a young man named "a
Smith He was "A Southerner. - years
old and the son 81 an Episcopal minister
a mighty nice fellow, but he had an awful
gnean temper The mate was down IN
the hold most OF the time and Smith and
him kept rowing, for Smith claimed me
stevedOre was the man TO boss the Job,
while Butter Swore il was the mates
duty. They cassed each other. and the
mate called him all kinds Of dirty names.
Smith after a while didn't say much but
1ust watched ~ and by the mate went
on deck. and Smith sneaked out and fol-
lowed him The mate went 10 the
fo'casile: you see the ship vas moorcd In
slack but the lines were pulling taut.
The mate put one foot on the port bow
spring and looked down. and Smith came
up behind hirn and hit him a crack on
q eFesft E.r2P 4
right there and saw the whole thing. for
thought ali along something was going
to happen
..rhe mate fell back on the fo'castle
ard then Smith hit him another crack.
smashing his head fat 70 the deck and
spatierlng his brains all around. sic and
Jack Morris were on the fo'castle In a
second and I said. said T.
Smith. hold on
smith then said ne would so over 10
Mrs. Renton's drug store and get some
camphor 10 revive him. Just then elf
ford Parker~eVeryhody knows Gin. he
used TO be mate on the steamers here for
years~came on deck and said:
NO. by ---. he don't go for any cam
phor. wen hang him.
''nut Smltn was already gone. when
he came back We had "a rope oVer a yard.
and had Il all made up 20 hang him. for
he deserved a. You see. We saw him muir
der Butler from behind and In those
days everything was loose and we just
took things In our own hands. When
Smith came hack says 20 him. says ];
Smith. we're going 20 hang your
And he looked at the rope and then al
all OF us and dropped the camphor. and
big tears came outen his eyes. and he
says;
Boys. you're not going to hang me.
are your
And said that was Just what we were
going 10 10. aud then he said he guessed
he'd have TO die. and he cried some more:
but he was a manly fellow. We took
hold of him and I tied him. and just
then the captain jumped aboard. all ex-
cited. and yelled out
Don't kill him, Let the law take It's
oourser
An have heard that same captain
say many time since that he wished 10
hlazes he'd let as alone. for then he'd
have been hung. lie was never hung
worked for him myself five years after
ward. and he was a fine fellow 20 work
for. but / amt come 10 that rart OF the
story yet. We pat him IN irons and took
him 70 Seattle IN a small boat. and he
tried 10 upset the boat and drown US
twice coming over We turned him over
to Sheriff WyckofT. but I guess / won't
tell much ABOUT that. WyCkon was nice
fellow and has lots OF friends vet even
~ TT - AFAAk smith Was tfaEd and don
know what they didn't DO 10 him: hut the
lawyers held out aud Smith was kept In
the old jaii al SteilaCoom for three years.
until one day they went there and smith
Was gone We'll that WAS all FORGOTTEN ia
few days. and there Was no more talk
about g. Two years afterward when
was going by Charley Rurnttf's hard
ware store IN this toWn-Chariey used "a
keep everything IA his store. groceries.
hardware. and all that-thcy called me IN
and said there was s. la the store for
me and Charley Griswold to pay our way
20 Hastings mill. on Burrard Inlet. ia
british Columbia. and load a shin for
sydney with timber. me TO take charge
Of one side Of the hold and Charley the
other We didn't know who had sent for
las. hut Charley was There when We tried
10 hang Smith and knew an about a. \
lot Of other fellows We're there too-Capt.
Johnny Bristou. Who owned a plunErr.
AMI nil Brown.of Freeport They are both
dead now isill was fine fellow One
day be had row with "a siwash aud
the siwash came at him with hu AK
and another Indian came 40 behind him
with club and-hut that Is another
story.
Me and Charley GrlsN OLE figured out
since We had the money that WAS lefi
for as. that Ne ha1 better 80 % Eurravd
Inlef and &c could get back IN time 20
We went up on ths ell ELIZA Anderson
when We Eot 90 che wharf Who 30 Yea
think was thc FIRST man We saw I, WAS
Smith lie JUST cried when Dc saw Us
and said
'Roys yoa d---d HAsr; rats. how are
you
"That VAS tee vav thev used 90 talk ir
those DAYS AMI so "a Thought nothing oF
his calling us names W. shook Aarfs
With him. but ~ were rishtN fura-
founded AZ seeing slnIth lni hirl vsts
a charge of murder stauIins ever h.n
He sah}.
''Rcys I'm happier 20 see you lhav 4
- ta see use OILS mother"
Ard Eheu he kvpT ara Cr1 ins E3ess
n forgot al about ua trying To hHaE atw
fse WEARS before Ate Rsh~t Hs ~ a.
would Ne-k for hiu aHt W 'off hiw He
would Ile has come up frem san Fran
elsco N}th .h- zaip Nsramatcfrk ara Ms
bass strKetiar. ou her. See 1aI oVsr SO
r. hts Ia. hrf art We DRANK an efeht ar3
talked evsv Ola }fnss hui we Ai3at se-
dTank Fherlrt aet o-t --sutf tfN sht1
ard Wbtn No eat hroarH he save rs eseH
So nsore TRAN rar PAS NJ rsne b.. x
81 Seattle Ra3 taa& sae tht iAsf t.wr ;
ever saw Suth when W. Sat Hnur
talA Wv-kon hsA e.rn Smits and Sst
worked far heu. tu3 Ne iusg rrsrpei h's
hanfs ana yfllsi.
"'Haly smoke Neu 81 rhr1 gag SwHA
xEs4r~
"AuI slif -yfe' sra tt.- D. sal-
So Tn ID E}sA ~ ent a~tt.
TlIF CASE IN HARRY coon.
III >,y.y~,,xBoc Father A&k- ths. isttitlft.