Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D7574-2
Date(s)
- 1938-10-22 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
W.P. Bonney, Washington State Historical Society, holds double-barreled shotgun used by Lyman Cutler to kill a British neighbor's pig on San Juan Island, beginning what came to be called the "Pig War." In the 1850's, the San Juan Islands were at the center of a territorial dispute between the US and England. Lyman Cutler, failed Frasier Valley gold prospector, settled on San Juan Island and started a farm next to British citizen John Griffin, who raised livestock. One morning Cutler went out to dig new potatoes for breakfast only to find Griffin's pig happily rooting and chewing them. The angry Cutler grabbed his gun, shot the pig and delivered it to Griffin. Tempers rose, both governments were contacted and soon troops and battleships of both countries were massed for attack. The two governments wisely decided not to battle over such a small matter and presented the argument to the German Kaiser for arbitration. The area was eventually given to the US. (T. Times 10/22/1938, pg. 5)
Bonney, William P.; Guns; Firearms;