Tragedy in the Woods Near Sultan
A teenage boy searching for game in the Washington wilderness dies in a heartbreaking accidental discharge.
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.
Sultan, W.T., Dec. 18.—V. E. Rowe, a youth about 16 years of age, son of Edward Rowe of Sultan, started from home on Monday for the purpose of hunting during part of the day in the surrounding woods. He remaining longer than was his custom on such missions alarmed the folks, who caused a search to be made, and parties have been out every day this week trying to find him. Today his dead body was found with a shot through the heart. The surroundings indicated that while jumping from log to log he slipped and fell, his rifle being accidentally discharged through his body as he fell, causing his death.
“Today his dead body was found with a shot through the heart. The surroundings indicated that while jumping from log to log he slipped and fell.”
Accidental firearm fatalities remain a sobering reality of Washington's rugged backcountry, where the distance between a simple day hike and a life-ending event can be measured in a single misstep. Over a century later, the terrain near Sultan remains as unforgiving to the unprepared as it was in 1885.
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