By this time the Chinese consul at San Francisco had become alarmed for the safety of his countrymen in the Sound country, and had written Governor Squire to ask whether the local authorities could and would give them protection under the law and the treaty, in case the agitators should attempt to put their threats into execution. The governor had applied to the sheriffs for the information as to the exact condition of affairs, and asked whether they were confident of their ability to preserve order. Nearly all replied confidently. John H. McGraw, afterwards governor of the state, but who was at the time sheriff of King County, was “firmly convinced” that he would be able “to protect the lives and property of all persons in the county, without the intervention of the military arm of the government.” Nineteen-twentieths of the able bodied men could be depended upon, as he thought as a posse comitatus, in case the lawless and viciously inclined should make any open attack. Sheriff Byrd thought there had been no disposition to show harm to the Chinamen in Tacoma, but he was not satisfied that his town would escape trouble should they refuse to go by the 1st of November. A large number of men were taking an active part in the expulsion movement, and should they meet with resistance from the Chinese, trouble would be sure to follow.
But he was sure that a sufficient number of “good substantial citizens among the businessmen of Tacoma” would stand willing and ready to assist him in preserving peace, and he would immediately make a thorough canvass of the city to ascertain how many reliable men he could command in case of emergency. At Whatcom there were but few Chinese, and Sheriff DeLorimer replied that they would soon be gone, and they would go in peace.
