The Tragedy of a Seattle Longshoreman
John Cousins, a laborer, collapsed and died in the arms of a friend in a sudden, grim reminder of the precarity of life on the Seattle waterfront in 1876.
A man named John Cousins, a longshoreman by trade, aged about 35 years, fell dead on the street yesterday. He was walking with a friend at a late hour last night, when he was seized with a violent cough and burst a blood vessel, falling dead into the arms of his comrade, the blood streaming from his nostrils and mouth. He resided in a small house in the rear of Dixon's barber shop, to which place he was taken. Dr. Weed examined the body this morning to see whether it would be necessary to hold an inquest, but it was evident the man had died from natural causes, so no inquest was held.
“He was walking with a friend... when he was seized with a violent cough and burst a blood vessel, falling dead into the arms of his comrade.”
While Seattle’s modern waterfront has shifted from a site of grueling manual labor and makeshift housing to one of tourism and luxury, the story of a worker dying suddenly while walking home serves as a stark, timeless reminder of the vulnerability of the laborers who have always built and maintained the city.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.