A Soldier's Final Quiet
After surviving the perils of the Civil War, Col. J.W. Clark loses his life in a tragic Seattle streetcar accident.
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.
Col. J. W. Clark, who was injured by an electric car at the corner of Second and Columbia streets last Thursday morning, died yesterday morning at Providence Hospital. At the time of the accident, the only injuries apparent were to his right hip and forehead, and Mr. Clark did not think he was seriously hurt. By Saturday evening, a hemorrhage of the lungs indicated internal damage. Aware that his end was near, he summoned friends to draft a will in favor of his mother and sister. He met his death with the stoicism of a career soldier. Colonel Clark was 50 years old and a veteran of the Union army. He had recently visited the World's Fair in Chicago before coming to Seattle to attend to legal matters regarding property he owned near Buckley. He was well-regarded by his few local acquaintances.
“He was perfectly aware of the approach of death and met it like a brave soldier.”
Streetcars were the primary transit mode of the 1890s, and 'electric car' accidents were a recurring, dangerous fixture of a rapidly densifying downtown Seattle. Today, the corner of Second and Columbia is at the heart of our high-rise financial district, where the battle for pedestrian safety continues amidst modern transit congestion.
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