The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-04-09
TALES TERSBLY TOLD
How Judge ]. R. Lewis Cleaned Out
the Mad Houses.
AN UNLUCKY NUMBER OF MONTHS
Congress May Pass National
Bankruptcy Law-The u. 3. 10
Nave the second Largest City in
the World.

S. r. Crawford has the following In
Sundays Post Inteligencer regarding
Judge J. r. Lewis, who is now on visit
to this city from his California home
"Judde Lewis was appointed to the bench
first in Idaho, but was resigned out Of
out OF Office by some rascal, and knew
nothing of the matter until his successor
appeared on the scene with commission
in bis pocket. When the facts became
known to the president, be appointed
Judge Lewis judge Of the Third judicial
district of the territory of Washington,
embracing the Puget Sound counties. and
ex-officio chief justice of the territorial
supreme court. This was in 1875. At
that time squaw dance houses fourished
on the Sound like green bay trees. Olym-
pia being about the only town on the
Sound that did not possess one OF these
institutions. During the first term of
court held at Port Townsend Judge Lewis
instructed the grand jury very explicitly
as to the law against squaw dance houses
and similar nuissnces, but to his honor's
surprise, when the grand jury finished its
work and sent in its report asking to be
discharged, it made no mention of the
nuisance he had referred to. Thinking
the jury might have misunderstood the
first instructions, the court gave them q
second and special charge on the mad
house business and sent them back. Next
day they came in and asked to be dis
charged, reporting that they found no
further business to consider. The Judge,
after administering scathing rebuke,
discharged the grand jury, and calling
the sheriff informed him that the court
took judicial notice OF the fact that nui-
sance in the shape Of squaw brothel, or
madhouse, existed at the foot OF certain
street in Port Townsend. and that in the
name OF the law and the people of the
territory of Washington, he was COM
manded to abate said nuisance forthwith.
The sheriff, frightened half to death,
pulled himself together, and inquired
how he should abate it. "By fire or wa
ter sir, replied the judge. That night Port
Townsend's mad house went up in smok e
and the good work was continued so eff
fectually that within few months the
last squaw dance house on Puget Sound
closed its doors, and by strange fatality
every building built and used for that
purpose was destroyed by fire. Among
the last to go was the one at West Seattle,
which was used for time by George T.
Myers as cannery, but the curse SEEM
ed to be on the building and one night
1t burned. The Pennell mad house in
Seattle was the largest and mort preten-
tious on the Sound. 1t stood on the site
now occupied by the electric plant OF the
gas company and cost several thousand
dollars in its construction. Its proprietor
was man OF more than ordinary ability,
and had large political following. When
Judge Lewis sent forth the edict that mad
houses must go, John Pennell closed his
joint and moved to large stock ranch in
eastern Washington, which he had pur-
chased with the earnings of his famous
mad house. A year or two later, with
out any apparent cause, the old Pennell
madhouse illuminated the city with its
lurid flames and passed into history. A
madhouse was saloon and dance hall
combined, where lewd Indian women and
low-lived men would eongregate nightly,
dance to bad music and drink worse
whisky. The vice became so common
that men who had some claim to respec-
liability would sometimes be seen on the
floor dancing With "Halibut .Mouthed
Emma" "Scarfacei Jennie" or some
other devotee of the place; then they
would 90 home to their families feeling
that they had not done anything bad,
after all, thus illustrating the wisdom of
the man who wrote:
'Vice is monster of such hideous nein
That to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,