A Mysterious Drugging at the Hospital Gates
A man arrives at Providence Hospital in a delirious state, claiming to have been waylaid and robbed on the road from Ballard.
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.
A man named Patrick Curran lies at Providence hospital, hovering between life and death. He had been unconscious for hours, with the exception of twenty minutes last night, when he roused himself enough to say he had been drugged and robbed. Yesterday morning, Curran dragged himself up the Providence hospital steps and fell exhausted at the door. His clothes were covered with mud, his hat gone, and his long hair was matted and filled with coarse sand. Sister Superior Eugene had him taken in and cared for by attendants. At 6 o'clock he regained his senses and said he was on his way to Seattle from Ballard on Thursday night when he met men who asked him to have a drink. He remembers nothing else until he awoke, penniless, having lost nearly $2,000. He appears to be a former baggage master from Salt Lake City.
“He remembers nothing that followed until he awoke and found he had been robbed of nearly $2,000.”
Street-level crime and 'knockout drops' were common hazards in the late 19th century, particularly for travelers or transient laborers. The case highlights the vulnerability of individuals moving between Seattle and its growing suburban outposts like Ballard.
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