Dynamite Shatters Monte Cristo Saloon
An early morning explosion destroys a saloon and boarding house, signaling an escalating campaign of violence in the Everett construction corridor.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A. P. Pintaman's saloon and boarding house, situated twelve miles east of Getchell on the Everett and Monte Cristo railroad, was blown up and totally destroyed by dynamite about 4 o'clock this morning. A large iron safe was blown twenty yards from the place where it was standing. About $500 worth of liquors and bar fixtures were destroyed. As far as can be ascertained at the present writing, no one was seriously injured. The deed was evidently the work of an organized gang who have been extending their operations throughout this neighborhood for some time. A valuable pony belonging to Mr. H. C. Henry, of the firm of Henry & Knicht, together with a saddle and bridle, the property of John McFee, was stolen from the company's stables at this place last night. No clue has as yet been learned as to the identity or whereabouts of the robbers.
“A large iron safe was blown twenty yards from the place where it was standing.”
The Everett and Monte Cristo railway was a famously rugged and difficult project, plagued by the very boom-and-bust instability described here. Today, the Monte Cristo area is a ghost town, preserved as a historical site that hints at the brutal labor and capital conflicts of Washington's early industrial expansion.
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