The Iron Hook Assault
A hardware store clerk is severely injured by a one-armed man wielding a prosthetic iron hook in a dispute over a wheelbarrow.
John Shuler, a clerk in the Pacific Hardware Company's store on Yesler avenue, near South Second, received a painful wound last night at the hands, or rather hook, of Dan Mahoney, the one-armed man who runs a news and fruit stand on Commercial street near the coal bunkers. Mahoney, who was slightly drunk, started to walk away with a wheelbarrow that was standing out in front of the store, but was intercepted by Shuler. Mahoney, who lost his right arm in the burning of the collier 'Manitoba' in 1894 at the coal bunkers in this city, has a long iron hook attached to his arm which he uses to pick up boxes or buckets, and when stopped by Shuler, threw that arm around quickly and caught Shuler under the lower jaw with the point of the hook and gave it a jerk, tearing the jaw open for at least an inch, making a very painful and ugly wound. Mahoney then walked away, the crowd about him evidently being afraid of the terrible iron hook. Word was sent to police headquarters and Detective Hart set out to find Mahoney. He found him at the corner of Washington and South Third streets, and had considerable difficulty in getting him to jail, as he was full of fight and tried to get his hook into the officer.
“Mahoney... has a long iron hook attached to his arm which he uses to pick up boxes or buckets, and when stopped by Shuler, threw that arm around quickly and caught Shuler under the lower jaw with the point of the hook.”
This incident captures the gritty, often violent nature of street life in 1890s Seattle, where industrial accidents (like the burning of the 'Manitoba') left men with permanent disabilities and limited options. The 'iron hook' detail is a vivid, if gruesome, artifact of the era's industrial hazards.
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