Olympia, Thurston County, Washington Monday, February 7, 1870 The Pacific Daily Tribune MORE BLOODSHED! Sequel of the McDANIEL and GIBSON Slaughter. Yesterday morning while our citizens were engaged in religious devotions in the respective houses of worship, the news was flashed over the wires that another murder had been committed in Pierce county, where the blood of the two last victims of that sanguinary locality has scarcely had time to dry upon the ground. This last tragedy occurred on Saturday night; the victim being Wm. NORTHOVER, and his slayer Chas. CALDER; the latter a half-brother of Chas. WREN. Our intelligence of this affair is of a vague and unsatisfactory nature, and leaves to conjecture the causes leading to it. We knew NORTHOVER very well; CALDER we have no knowledge of, beyond the relation he bears to WREN, from which we infer that he was in sympathy with, if not a member of, the vigilance committee. NORTHOVER has always deported himself in a quiet, orderly, and inoffensive manner, and was regarded with favor by all who knew him. We can conceive of no circumstances likely to give rise to the quarrel which resulted in his being shot save a heated discussion, between him and CALDER, of the events connected with the killing of GIBSON and McDANIEL. Probably both parties were under the influence of liquor, which impelled them to the use of intemperate language, and thus precipitated the fatal issue. We have endeavored to obtain the particulars of this affair by telegraph, by the operator could not succeed in opening communication with Steilacoom. By mail, to-morrow, we may be in possession of all the facts, and, if so, will lay them before our readers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Olympia, Thurston County, Washington Territory Tuesday, February 8, 1870 The Daily Pacific Tribune A REIGN OF TERROR. No man, unless in sympathy with the bloodthirsty mob now overriding the law in Pierce county, dare give utterance to his sentiments there. To censure or condemn the lawless acts of the cowardly ruffians, while living in their midst, would amount to a voluntary forfeiture of life on the part of any man possessing the nerve or courage to do so. On Monday morning we sent a request to an intelligent friend in Steilacoom to furnish us, by return mail, the particulars of the last murder committed there. Word came back to day, by the stage, that he dare not comply with our wish; were he to give any account of the affair, however truthful and unbiased, it would bring upon him the displeasure of the mob, who would hunt him down and sacrifice his life to their demoniac fury. The officers of law are powerless to restrain the demons or protect peaceable citizens, and universal terror prevails among these, men and women alike, who disapprove the acts of the so-called Vigilance Committee. In view of this state of things, is it not the duty of the executive officer of the Territory to proclaim martial law in Pierce county? Surely enough blood has been shed, and a check should instantly be put upon the proceedings of these men. Let martial law, them, be proclaimed, and steps taken to protect the orderly and law-abiding and bring the guilty to punishment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Olympia, Thurston County, Washington Territory Wednesday, February 9, 1870 The Daily Pacific Tribune THE SHOOTING OF NORTHOVER. From Giles FORD Esq., a resident of Steilacoom, and conversant with the circumstances relating to the shooting of NORTHOVER, as well as with the other exciting events of the past few weeks in Pierce county, we obtain the following particulars: It seems that CALDER, who is a member of the Vigilance Committee, (so called) was in Steilacoom on Saturday, indulging very freely in poisoned whiskey, a bottle of which he purchased and took with him when he left town. Instead of going to his own house, he went to the dwelling of NORTHOVER, near Muck, and commenced insulting a daughter of NORTHOVER's, a half-breed, and nearly a woman grown. NORTHOVER remonstrated with him for his brutal conduct, whereupon CALDER drew his revolver and deliberately shot NORTHOVER; the ball entering his stomach and lodging in his back. After perpetrating this fiendish act, he pursued the girl, who fled from the house. Being more swift of foot, she escaped her pursuer, who was intent upon adding the outrage of her person to the crime already committed upon her father. CALDER thereupon directed his steps to the barn, where he laid down and went to sleep. Meanwhile NORTHOVER's daughter made her way to a neighbor's house, and two or three persons living in the vicinity kept CALDER in sight while a messenger was dispatched to town for the Sheriff. Early Sunday morning Sheriff CARSON repaired to the scene of the outrage, with adequate assistance, and took in custody and handcuffed the ruffian; not, however, without some trouble, as he a made a desperate resistance, and threatened to shoot the Sheriff and his posse, if he ever had an opportunity. CALDER is now in jail awaiting trial for the crime. Dr. STEELE, of Olympia, was summoned to attend NORTHOVER, who, it seems now, was not mortally wounded. The Doctor succeeded in extracting the bullet, and returned to his home by the stage yesterday, leaving NORTHOVER in a fair way to recover. Thus it appears that the first reports of this affair were far from the truth, as Mr. FORD details the circumstances. Mr. FORD further states that the accounts we have had of the feelings in Pierce county are greatly exaggerated, and that the excitement incident to the shooting of GIBSON and McDANIEL has entirely subsided. The Vigilance Committee strongly condemn the act of CALDER; they deem his punishment necessary to their vindication, and are determined that he shall suffer the extreme penalty of the law. So far from life and property being in jeopardy in the county, in consequence of the recent events, Mr. FORD thinks there never was a time when they were more safe. For himself, he has no fears, nor is there reason for any but men of the character of those killed to entertain fears. All of which we are certainly glad to hear and give publicity to. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Olympia, Thurston County, Washington Territory Monday, April 11, 1870 The Daily Pacific Tribune THINGS IN STEILACOOM From persons who returned yesterday from Steilacoom, we gather a few facts relative to the doings in the court in that place, last week. Elsewhere we notice the conviction and sentence of the ruffian who shot NORTHOVER, the circumstances attending which were published some weeks ago. The most prominent matter before the Court was the action of the Vigilance Committee in killing McDANIEL and GIBSON. Contrary to expectation, seventeen members of the Committee were indicted, including CALDER, now in the Penitentiary for shooting NORTHOVER. James ROSS, McLane CHAMBERS, H. GOODTIME and a man named St. CYR were arrested on presentation of the indictments, and held in bonds of $1,500 each to appear for trial at the next term of the District Court. Twelve this remain to be caught, and it is likely that some of them will escape the vigilance of the Sheriff. Some exciting events connected with the finding of the indictments transpired, which we have not space to detail here. One of these, however, we cannot omit mentioning. A Catholic priest, an important witness oft he shooting in town, declined to testify, disclaiming any allegiance to our laws. Judge JACOBS promptly informed the rev. gentleman that he must testify or go to jail for contempt, an alternative which the priest didn't relish. He thereupon communicated by telegraph with the bishop at Vancouver, and received permission to give his evidence, which he did on the following day. Judge JACOB's ruling and conduct throughout this exciting term, we are informed, elicited the warmest eulogiums from the law and order portion of the spectators. He has taught evil-doers a lesson which they will not soon forget, and given assurances of protection to the timid which cannot fail to have a salutary effect. Gloria Lester [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.