A Life-Changing Fall on Second and Yesler

Ah Sam, a Chinaman employed in the Occidental Hotel, received what, to almost any white man, would have been a fatal fall yesterday afternoon. He was standing on the narrow sill outside of a second-story window of the hotel, at the corner of Yesler Avenue and Second Street, holding onto the upper sash while washing it. While so engaged, the sash gave way and the worker was precipitated to the sidewalk about twenty feet below. He fell on his shoulders, dislocating his spine at the articulation of the dorsal and lumbar vertebrae and spraining his wrist. He was carried into the hotel by J. C. Mitchell and others who witnessed the accident, and Dr. Lilli attended him. At first, his injuries were thought to be fatal, as the dislocation of the spine could not be reduced without danger of compressing the delicate spinal cord, but late last night he was resting easy, and the chances are favorable for his recovery.