Tragedy at the Newcastle Mine
A young worker is severely injured in a mining accident and brought to Seattle for an emergency amputation.
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 Monday last Michael Bagley, 16 year old son of Jas. Bagley, of Newcastle, was thrown from the little underground engine and had his leg broken. The limb was set, but for some reason the boy suffered so terribly that it was found necessary to bring him to this city for medical and surgical treatment. Some of the surgeons held a consultation and concluded that the limb must be amputated, and accordingly the operation was performed yesterday at the hospital. The unfortunate young man is very weak, and it is feared he cannot recover.
“The unfortunate young man is very weak, and it is feared he cannot recover.”
Newcastle was a significant coal mining town whose industry fueled the early growth of Seattle. This story highlights the extreme danger and lack of safety nets for child laborers during that era, a sharp contrast to modern industrial labor regulations.
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