The Price of a Hand: A Labor Settlement in Port Townsend
A longshoreman injured while unloading cargo from the steamship Walla Walla receives a court-ordered settlement, highlighting the physical dangers of 19th-century maritime work.
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 libel of William Hamilton against the steamship Walla Walla was argued before Judge Hanford in chambers yesterday afternoon. Hamilton, a longshoreman, lost three fingers from his hand while assisting the discharge of a cargo of oil from the Walla Walla at Port Townsend on February 1. He asked for damages and was awarded $1,000.
“Hamilton is a longshoreman and lost three fingers from his hand while assisting the discharge of a cargo of oil.”
Longshore work remains one of the most hazardous professions in the Pacific Northwest. While modern workers benefit from labor unions and OSHA standards, the struggle for fair compensation when a workplace injury occurs remains a persistent, unresolved tension in Seattle’s waterfront economy.
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