100 years ago in Spokane: Top Prohibition agent fined for drunkenness

S.S. Murphy, the chief federal Prohibition officer in Spokane, was convicted on a drunkenness charge and fined $20.

Murphy claimed that he “did not drink enough to make anyone drunk and am convinced that I was not drunk.”

However, several witnesses begged to differ and testified that Murphy had been “very drunk.” The judge agreed.

From the outdoors beat: Two “girl hikers” strode into Spokane as part of a yearlong quest to live a “rigorous outdoor life.”

Bama Clark said that a year earlier she had been given two months to live by doctors, apparently because of tuberculosis. So she and her sister Mae decided to hike and work their way around the West, starting from their hometown of Pueblo, Colorado.

“We always carry our blankets and sleep wherever night overtakes us,” said Bama. “We have had little trouble in finding work in most places.”

She said they have done “newspaper work, detective work, clerked in stores, washed dishes, done housework, dug spuds, picked fruit, cooked” and done odd jobs.

They kept their “good clothes” in their packs for wearing at work, but on the roads and trails they put on hiking clothes, which the Spokane Daily Chronicle described as “men’s khaki clothing.”

The only serious problem they encountered was in Centralia when “some Wobs” (Wobblies) stole their bedding and Bama’s trousers. She had to go shopping the next day before she could continue.

They were now headed for Hood River to pick berries. Then they were planning to trek to Portland, Los Angeles, and “then possibly back home.”

How was Bama’s health?

“I have never felt better in my life,” she said.