A Recluse's Quiet End
The discovery of an elderly junk collector, dead in his Pike Street cabin, reveals a life of isolation and hidden assets.
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.
The body of Antonio de Soza, an old junk collector, was found yesterday morning in his cabin at the foot of Pike street, on the waterfront. The day after the big snow storm some of his neighbors noticed that no smoke came from the chimney of De Soza's house, but paid no special attention to it. Yesterday morning, however, one of them thought he would investigate the cause of the junk hunter's silence and pushed open the unfastened door. The first object that met his eyes was the body of Antonio de Soza stretched out upon the floor. Coroner Horton was called and made an official examination. It was evident that De Soza had gotten from his bunk, clad only in a woolen shirt and stockings, and was about to light some kindling in a little stove when his heart stopped beating and he tumbled over backwards dead. Secreted in his bed clothing were found $14.90 and deeds for two lots in White & Manning's addition in West Seattle and two lots in Anacortes.
“The first object that met his eyes was the body of Antonio de Soza stretched out upon the floor.”
Stories of elderly recluses dying in obscurity, only for their surprising wealth or real estate holdings to be discovered posthumously, remain a recurring trope in urban journalism, highlighting the extreme isolation possible in a growing city.
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