The Realities of a Frontier Childhood
A playful rivalry between two young boys in Elma takes a gruesome turn, highlighting the rough-and-tumble nature of early Chehalis County life.
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 little son of D. McTaggert, one of the employees of the electric light works, while playing with Willie Eberting, had the tip of his left forefinger completely severed by the stroke of an ax in the hands of his playmate. Just how it happened no one knows. The little sufferer was very indifferent to his misfortune, and bravely bore the necessary dressing by the doctor. He said he would 'cut off Willie Eberting's finger when he got well.'
“He said he would 'cut off Willie Eberting's finger when he got well.'”
This anecdote captures the stark, resilient spirit of a logging-era frontier town where medical mishaps and childhood violence were part of the daily rhythm. Today, such an injury would be a major medical incident, but in 1891, the community's reaction was focused on the child's 'brave' lack of sentimentality.
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