The Chinese Driven Out. / The Chinese Exodus.

Bismarck Weekly Tribune, Bismarck, 1885-11-06, p.1

Dateline: TACOMA, W. T., Nov. 4. / WASHINGTON, Nov. 5.

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  • headlineHeadline

  • reportThe article, column 1 of 2

  • reportThe article, column 2 of 2

Summary

Two wire items (columns 3 and 5 of the front page) reporting the violent expulsion of Chinese residents from Tacoma, Washington Territory, on 3 November 1885. The first ("The Chinese Driven Out") describes the action — by 5pm, Tacoma citizens had marched the Chinese alongside drays loaded with their effects to Lakeview, one mile south; 197 Chinese reached Lakeview about 7 p.m. The second ("The Chinese Exodus") reports that the Governor of Washington Territory telegraphed Secretary Lamar, was informed order had been imperfectly preserved but no one seriously injured, issued a proclamation appealing for order, and that after a conference with the president a telegram was sent to the governor approving the proclamation.

In its time

Narrative

At Tacoma, W. T., on November 3rd several hundred citizens marched to the Chinese houses and ordered the occupants to pack and go; by 5 p.m. their effects were loaded on drays and 197 Chinese had walked alongside the wagons to Lakeview, a mile south, where they camped in vacant houses, with provisions sent out to them that night. From Washington, the governor of Washington territory telegraphed Secretary Lamar that about 200 Chinese had been expelled from Tacoma, that local authorities reported no one seriously injured, and that Chinese in the territory had appealed to him for protection; after a conference with the president, Lamar wired approval of the governor's proclamation calling on citizens to preserve order and directed him to use all means at his command to prevent further trouble.

  • “marching in an orderly manner along the streets to the Chinese houses, ordering the occupants to pack their goods and leave”
  • “Many are walking south on the railroad track. The citizens sent out last night provisions enough to last till morning.”
  • “while order had not been perfectly preserved, no one had been seriously injured”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

Also mentioned

  • Secretary Lamar · federal_secretary_addressed

    L. Q. C. Lamar, US Secretary of the Interior 1885–88.

  • The governor of Washington territory · telegraphing_governor

    Watson C. Squire, Governor of Washington Territory 1884–87. Named only by office.

Places

Themes

Tags

Source type

news_item, wire_item

Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# Transcription — Bismarck Weekly Tribune, 1885-11-06, p.1 **Source**: Bismarck Weekly Tribune (Bismarck, Dakota Territory), Friday 6 November 1885, p.1. **Status**: Complete (the two Tacoma items); corrected against the page scan 21 Oct 2026. **Method**: This page carries a dense column of separate wire items. The two items transcribed below — "The Chinese Driven Out" (column 3) and "The Chinese Exodus" (column 5) — are the items the user's filename references. Each sits under a run of display heads that indexes several stories; the decks that refer to the Tacoma story are given in brackets above each item. Other items on the page (Kansas, Virginia, The Party Felicitated, Tom Cannon in Minneapolis, Work to be Pushed, The Hennepin Canal, etc.) are logged in page_metadata.yaml as peripheral_items. --- [Display heads at the top of column 2, over the run of news that includes the first item: "FIRED OUT." / Several Hundred Chinamen Bid a Reluctant Farewell to Tacoma, Washington Territory.] **The Chinese Driven Out.** TACOMA, W. T., Nov. 4.—Yesterday being the time set for the Chinese to leave, many hundred citizens congregated in the morning, marching in an orderly manner along the streets to the Chinese houses, ordering the occupants to pack their goods and leave. The order was complied with. By 5 o'clock, p. m., all the effects were packed and loaded on drays and the Chinese marched alongside the wagons, en route to Lakeview, one mile south of here. The Chinese merchants were given time till morning to pack their goods. One hundred and ninety-seven Chinese reached Lakeview about 7 p. m., and camped in the vacant houses. It is not known whether or not they will go to Port[l?]and, but they prabably [sic] will. Many are walking south on the railroad track. The citizens sent out last night provisions enough to last till morning. --- [Display heads at the top of column 5, "NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.", over the run that includes the second item; the deck for this story reads: The Chinese of Washington Territory Call Upon the Governor for Protection.] **The Chinese Exodns.** [sic] WASHINGTON, Nov. 5.—The governor of Washington territory yesterday telegraphed Secretary Lamar that the citizens of Tacoma had expelled about 200 Chinese from the city limits. The governor then telegraphed the local authorities of Tacoma, asking if they could preserve order. He was informed that while order had not been perfectly preserved, no one had been seriously injured. The Chinese in the territory have made an urgent appeal to the governor for protection, and a gubernatorial proclamation has been issued calling upon all citizens to assist in the preservation of order. This action was reported to-day to Secretary Lamar, and, after a conference with the president, a telegram was sent to the governor of Washington territory approving the issuance of his proclamation, and directing him to use all means at his command to prevent further trouble. *[Text checked against the page scan at 3x ("Port[l?]and" at 10x), 21 Oct 2026, starting from the tile-by-tile page reading of 20-21 Oct 2026. In "Port[l?]and" the fifth letter prints as a short undotted stem; "to-day" is broken at a line end in the print.]*

Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.

Open questions

  • Why does this clipping sit in the user's archive — what's the family-line connection? The same page carries a passing reference to "Judge Murphy" in the Hennepin Canal item (no first name or town; it is Hon. Joseph Utley who is "of Dixon"); possibly the user pulled the page for that mention rather than the Chinese material. Worth confirming.