Tragedy in the South Prairie Mines
A Seattle man is crushed to death while working in the coal tunnels.
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.
At 10:30 o'clock on Sunday night, a German named Peter Scul, an employee of the South Prairie mines, was crushed by a mass of coal and instantly killed. He was working in the face of one of the principal tunnels and had worked around a mass of coal in the main vein. He had at one end so loosened it that, on account of a fault at the other end, the coal, weighing fully a half ton, was detached by its own weight and fell upon him. Deceased was about 34 years of age, and was a resident of Seattle. It is said he had a wife and two children, who are poorly provided for. Coroner Bostwick held an inquest on Monday, findings of which were in accordance with the above. His body was brought by a special train to Puyallup for interment on Tuesday and was accompanied by quite a number of mourners. Rev. Mr. Whitworth officiated at the funeral.
“He had at one end so loosened it that, on account of a fault at the other end, the coal, weighing fully a half ton, was detached by its own weight and fell upon him.”
Mining and industrial labor remained the backbone of the regional economy for decades, but the physical dangers faced by workers like Peter Scul highlight the lack of safety nets that persisted until the labor reforms of the early 20th century.
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