A Child Lost to the Woods
A tragic accident occurs near Snohomish as a young boy, out with his rifle, fails to return home.
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.
News has been received of the death from starvation and cold of the 8-year-old son of J. A. Palmer, who lives six miles east of Snohomish, in the vicinity of Chain Lake. The boy left home last Friday at 4 p. m., taking with him his rifle and saying he was going to a neighbor's for some salve for his sore foot. This was the last time Mr. and Mrs. Palmer saw their boy alive. Nothing was thought of the boy's continued absence until Sunday morning. The weather having turned into a cold, drizzling rain, the parents thought the lad had decided to stay until the weather came off warmer, as he was thinly clad. On Sunday morning the neighbor for whose house the boy had started visited the Palmers, when it was learned that the little fellow had not reached his destination at all. This announcement caused much alarm, and a search party at once started out. Yesterday noon the dead body of the boy was found lying face downward between two logs in a dense thicket about two miles from home. A few feet away lay the boy's rifle, with two cartridges discharged. It is supposed that the boy started in pursuit of game, in following which he became lost.
“The dead body of the boy was found lying face downward between two logs in a dense thicket.”
While Snohomish County has urbanized significantly, the rugged, unforgiving nature of the dense woods remains a reality for residents today. Tragedies involving lost hikers or children still periodically pierce the veil of our modern, connected lives, reminding us how thin the margin between safety and the elements remains.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.