The Blacksmith’s Last Ride: A Tragic Accident in Touchet
Coroner rules death 'pure accident' as community mourns S.F. Olsen, a stranger who found only brief friendship before his fatal encounter with a local hack line.
WAS PURE ACCIDENT No Inquest Over S.F. Olson, Touchet Blacksmith
WAS KILLED MONDAY EVENING Search of Effects Fails to Reveal Any Relatives in This Country—Aged Parents Live in Norway.
Coroner W. D. Smith this morning decided that no inquest was necessary in the case of S. F. Olsen, the Touchet blacksmith accidentally run over and killed by a Bryan Brothers' hack Monday night. Careful inquiry into the accident convinced the coroner that it was unavoidable and no blame is attached to the driver of the rig, a youth named Clark who was working extra that day.
Olson's remains were taken to the Pickard undertaking parlor yesterday. Interment will not take place until Manager Heaton has made an effort to locate some of the dead man's friends or relatives in this country.
Morning inquiries revealed a letter from his aged parents in Norway in which the father spoke of his approaching golden wedding and wished it possible that all his children could be present. The letter was dated July of last year.
One or two letters from friends in North Carolina and others in Denver, Colorado, gave no inkling of any relatives in this country or any previous place of residence in the east except at Asheville, N.C.
Olsen evidently came to Touchet from the Sound, where he had been employed. Business letters from Snohomish and other points being found among his effects.
He carried an accident policy with the Fidelity and Guaranty association of San Francisco, but from stubs of receipts it is inferred that the premiums for several months have not been paid. The policy was taken out last November.
Manager Heaton yesterday visited Touchet and made careful inquiry of Olsen's neighbors, but nothing of importance regarding his past history was found. Since coming to Touchet three weeks ago and opening up a blacksmith shop he had made friends. He was considered sober and industrious and had already worked up an excellent trade.
This 1903 obituary highlights the precarious existence of transient laborers in rural Washington, where a single accident could leave a man without family or insurance coverage. The story of S.F. Olsen, who arrived with no local ties and died before his policy lapsed, mirrors modern concerns about worker safety and the fragility of social safety nets for mobile workers.
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