Tragedy in the Rabbit Woods
A quiet hunting excursion near Fairfax ends in a lethal accident for a local man, leaving his friend in despair.
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.
Julius Goudal of Fairfax was shot and killed yesterday morning while rabbit hunting by Henry Mauline, a friend of the family. Mauline, who came from France about two years ago, went to Fairfax in quest of work and had boarded with the Goudal family for about a week. Goudal suggested taking a rabbit hunt and the two men started out yesterday morning. When about a quarter of a mile from town, a rabbit was run into a hole. Goudal suggested 'smoking it out,' and while he was preparing to make a fire, Mauline stood with both hammers of his 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun raised. Tired of waiting for the animal to come out, Mauline turned away, at the same time throwing the gun, still cocked and with his finger upon the trigger, over his arm. The gun was discharged, the shot striking Goudal in the back. He took two or three steps forward and fell backwards, dead.
“Mauline is nearly crazed over the accident and has threatened to take his own life.”
Fatal hunting accidents were common reportage in early 20th-century Washington, reflecting the proximity of daily life to the rugged landscape. The human element—the heartbreak and 'near crazed' state of the survivor—is a recurring tragedy of rural life in the historical record.
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