The Sad End of 'Shannon the Wag'
After surviving a previous brush with death, a Vancouver man found his final end in a lonely shed—and the town was in no mood to wait for a second resurrection.
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.
Shannon the Wag is dead. For several days he had been in the last stages of alcoholism, and Monday night he crawled into an old shed to die. Some friendly hand threw a blanket over him, but there were no watchers, no relatives to soothe his last moments. Next morning he was found dead, and now he rests in the potter's field, where he is more useful to the community than he was while living. Several years ago, Shannon was sick, apparently dead, and some hours after being laid out for burial astonished the hospital attendants by sitting up and skirmishing around for a drink. This time, they buried him quick.
“Several years ago Shannon was sick, apparently dead, and some hours after being laid out for burial astonished the hospital attendants by sitting up and skirmishing around for a drink. This time they buried him quick.”
This grim dispatch from Vancouver, Washington, highlights the brutal stigma and lack of social support for those suffering from alcoholism in the late 19th century. Today, the 'potter's field' remains a chilling reminder of how society treats its most vulnerable, reflecting a long history of institutional indifference to addiction and homelessness in the Pacific Northwest.
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