The Special Agent's Unlucky Streak
A United States land office agent fears a streak of bad luck after encountering three suicides in three weeks of travel across Washington.
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.
Henry C. Gordon, a special agent of the United States land office, expressed concern last evening about his recent travels. 'Three weeks ago I was sent into Clallam county and arrived at Port Angeles the morning that Smith, the signal service officer, committed suicide. The following week I went to Jefferson county, and when I alighted at Chimacum, the first thing I heard was the news of Isaac Burns’ death; he had committed suicide by blowing himself up with giant powder. Last Sunday I went to Skagit county, and when the train pulled into the Murray station, we found the body of Asa Hampton lying cold alongside the track; he had killed himself by blowing his brains out. If I go out any place next week and run across another suicide, I believe that I will be justified in feeling uneasy.'
“If I go out any place next week and run across another suicide, I believe that I will be justified in feeling uneasy.”
The reporting captures the visceral, sometimes dark reality of the frontier era, where travel and communication were slower and sudden death was a frequent, tragic companion. This story highlights the isolation and mental health struggles faced by individuals in rural Washington during the 1890s.
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