The Scandal at the Phoenix Hotel
A man’s attempt to win back his estranged partner through a staged suicide ends in confusion and a police call.
Ernest Catterlin, a dissolute character who lived on the earnings of a woman named Myrtle, attempted to end his life yesterday morning in the Phoenix Hotel, at the corner of Washington and South Third streets. Catterlin was found on his knees in the entrance to Washington alley by an officer, praying and acting strangely. He claimed he wanted to see Myrtle, who had deserted him. Catterlin later claimed to have ingested spirits of camphor, but the city physician suspected a 'fake' attempt at suicide to gain sympathy. It is reported that Catterlin deserted a wife in Marion County, Oregon, and eloped with Myrtle, a 16-year-old girl, bringing her to Seattle, where she was forced into a life of shame.
“I must see her; if I don't I shall die.”
This incident exposes the predatory dynamics often hidden in the boarding houses of Pioneer Square during the 1890s. The 'suicide attempt' trope was a common method of emotional manipulation, but the paper's blunt account also shines a light on the exploitation of young women coming to Seattle to escape their pasts.
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