A Grooming Tragedy at Alki Point
A hunting trip near West Seattle ends in a gruesome accident when a man’s shotgun discharges while stepping over a log.
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.
While hunting at West Seattle Sunday afternoon, William J. Lawrence accidentally shot and severely wounded himself. Lawrence had been working for Frank Romine, who has a ranch some distance from West Seattle. Sunday afternoon, Lawrence, in company with some friends, went over in the vicinity of Alki point grouse hunting. He was in the act of stepping over a log when the breech of the gun struck it with some force. The concussion discharged the shell. Lawrence's right hand, which was over the muzzle, was blown off and the shot in their course upwards played havoc with his face. Fortunately the eyeball itself was not injured. A tourniquet was made and the flow was in a measure stopped. After considerable trouble Lawrence was taken to the West Seattle ferry and eventually to Providence hospital. Yesterday the arm was amputated about an inch above the wrist, and he is now resting, though his recovery remains uncertain.
“He was in the act of stepping over a log when the breech of the gun struck it with some force. The concussion discharged the shell.”
Accidental discharges were a regular, grim feature of life in a city still surrounded by wilderness, mirroring the frontier transition of Seattle in the 1890s. Today, Alki Point is a densely populated residential and recreational hub, far removed from the hunting grounds where settlers once roamed.
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