Gas Poisoning at the Hotel Brunswick
A young woman nearly dies after an accidental gas asphyxiation in her hotel room.
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.
On Sunday evening a young man and woman arrived in the city by the steamer Starr, and proceeding to the Hotel Brunswick registered as E. Williams and sister, Tacoma. The young man, however, afterward erased the word 'sister' from the register and registered the girl as Miss A. Williams. She was assigned to a room and retired about 10 o'clock, having previously taken the precaution to shut the window and the transom of her room and to blow out the gas. The natural result followed: the escaping gas filled the close room and almost suffocated the girl. She was awakened by the fumes, and springing from the bed, made an effort to reach the door, but was overcome before being able to do so and fell gasping and choking to the floor, where she was found by the chambermaid, who came to clean the room in the morning. Life was almost extinct, and another hour would have been fatal. Dr. Willard was summoned and she finally revived and is doing well. The young man, when told of the occurrence, burst into tears.
“She says that she never before saw or heard of gas, but is now convinced that she will never forget the existence of such a substance.”
Early lighting systems often relied on raw gas lines, a frequent source of accidental death and injury. This story serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers lurking in the rapid, often hazardous, industrialization of late 19th-century Seattle hotels.
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