A Doctor’s Departure Ends in a Station House Theft
A traveling physician is swindled of his life savings by a trio of 'Whitechapel fraternity' members while waiting for a train.
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.
Dr. H. Von Ernst was robbed of $725 last evening while boarding the 8:35 p.m. eastbound Northern Pacific train. Louis Mayer, Arthur Bolson, and Charles La Fevre, three well-known members of the 'Whitechapel fraternity,' were locked in city jail last night charged with the crime. Dr. Ernst has been running a museum of anatomy on South Third street. Yesterday, he sold his museum and was preparing to return to Denver. While he waited at the depot, the three men jostled him, pretending to be stumbling. When he entered the train, he discovered his purse, containing his gold, was gone. Despite the doctor’s frantic offer of a reward for the money's return, officials believe it unlikely he will ever see his funds again.
“He ran out, but could see nothing of the three men, who were around him but a moment before.”
This incident highlights the precarious, often transient nature of Seattle’s medical and commercial life in the 1890s, where 'museums of anatomy' and wandering specialists were common. Today, the site of the former depot area and the surrounding Pioneer Square neighborhood retains its reputation for being a place where one must stay alert to their surroundings.
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