The Lost Woman of Van Asselt
A respectable woman vanishes into the woods, only to reappear at police headquarters armed and in crisis.
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 officers on duty at police headquarters were astonished yesterday morning by the appearance of a middle-aged woman with a double-barreled shotgun over her shoulder. She had a haggard look, and her dress was wet and torn in places. She walked up to the registering window, and, in a voice that betrayed insanity, asked for protection. Capt. Woolery asked her who was going to hurt her. 'They're after me, they're after me,' she replied, and the old gun came around in a dangerous manner. 'No one will hurt you while you are here,' replied the captain, and he proceeded to take away the gun. Police Matron Taylor took charge of the poor woman. Two men afterward entered and told the captain that Mrs. Almira Evans, a hard-working and respectable woman of Van Asselt, had wandered from her home Monday night and been lost in the woods. Search parties had been out all night. When they saw the woman in Police Matron Taylor's charge they recognized her as the missing Mrs. Evans. She will be held pending proceedings in the superior court to have her sent to the asylum.
“They're after me, they're after me, she replied, and the old gun came around in a dangerous manner.”
This tragic story highlights how the mental health crises of the late 19th century were handled entirely by the police, with the 'asylum' being the only prescribed destination. Van Asselt, then a rural community, is now a neighborhood in South Seattle.
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