The Sudden Passing of a Sound Pioneer
A prominent attorney and former Steilacoom citizen collapses and dies aboard a train en route to California.
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.
The people of Western Washington were startled yesterday by the telegram announcing the sudden death of Hon. Frank Clark. Mr. Clark's health had been impaired and he had been urged to try California. He boarded a train at Tacoma yesterday, took a seat, leaned forward, and is supposed to have died then and there without a word of warning. Frank Clark came to Washington nearly thirty years ago. His first occupation was that of cook in a logging camp, but he studied law, was admitted to practice, and became a leading light in the profession. He was popular at home and was repeatedly elected to the Legislature. About four years ago he went to New Tacoma, where he regained much of his standing. In Frank Clark the people of New Tacoma and Pierce county have lost their most able advocate, most loyal citizen and best friend.
“His pulse was still forever and his body cold in death.”
Frank Clark’s journey from a logging camp cook to a powerful attorney embodies the 'bootstrap' myth of the territorial era, yet he remains a forgotten figure in the history of Pierce County. The tragic, lonely nature of his death on a train serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of the early settlers who built the region's infrastructure.
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