The Tragedy of August Raymond
A proprietor of the Steamboat Saloon suffers a mental health crisis, ending in his transport to the asylum at Steilacoom.
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.
August Raymond, one of the proprietors of the Steamboat Saloon, became insane, and for a time was taken care of by his friends, but finally, on Monday, he became so violent that it was found necessary to have him sent to the Insane Hospital. He was examined before the Probate Judge, and there being no question as to his insanity he was ordered to Steilacoom. For safe keeping he was placed in the County Jail, where he tore every stitch of his clothing off his back, and it was found necessary to handcuff him to prevent his injuring himself.
“For safe keeping he was placed in the County Jail, where he tore every stitch of his clothing off his back.”
This account captures the brutal, carceral approach to mental health crises in late 19th-century Seattle, where the county jail was the primary holding facility for the mentally ill. The stark reporting reflects an era that lacked professional psychiatric care, treating extreme emotional distress as a strictly legal and public-order issue.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.