A Desperate Night at the Clifton House
A Clallam County resident struggling with alcoholism and personal heartache attempts to end his life in a downtown hotel.
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.
James Hamblin, a well-known resident of Clallam County, made a desperate attempt at suicide yesterday morning by cutting his throat with a pocketknife at the Clifton House on South Fifth Street, and now lies at Providence Hospital in a serious condition. Delirium tremens, resulting from a spree, and a love affair are the supposed causes of the attempt. Hamblin had taken a room at the Dereg Hotel at the corner of Jackson and South Third streets, last Saturday morning, saying he wanted to 'straighten up.' He appeared to be recovering, but on Sunday evening he went out and took a room at the Clifton House. Mrs. W. C. Thomas, the housekeeper, was awakened by moans and found Hamblin in a pool of blood. Health Officer Palmer was summoned and discovered Hamblin had driven a knife into the right side of his neck and cut his wrist. A note was found addressed to a Minnie Angeles, and another scribbled on a notebook said, 'I am tired of trying to do right and always go wrong.' Hamblin is said to have a ranch in Clallam County.
“I am tired of trying to do right and always go wrong. Now I do quit, see?”
This account captures the grim reality of 1890s transient hotel life in Seattle—a place where people struggling with addiction or social isolation often ended up in crises. The 'Clifton House' and 'Dereg Hotel' were part of a dense, precarious ecosystem of boarding houses in the Pioneer Square area that served a largely itinerant, male workforce.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.