The Blasting Accident at the Railway Camp
A railroad contractor working on the Canadian Pacific line met a sudden, tragic end while clearing stumps near Vancouver.
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.
It is a painful duty to record the sudden death of Mr. Owen McCormick, of the well-known firm of McCormick & Harkins, railway contractors, who are engaged in clearing a portion of the right of way for the Canadian Pacific Railway. For the past two months the firm, of which the deceased was a member, has been engaged in this character of work, and the late Mr. McCormick made a host of friends in and about Vancouver. Mr. McCormick for some days has been devoting his attention to the blasting of large stumps, and today a rather larger charge of powder was placed for a large, stubborn-looking tree. He remained where he deemed a safe distance, but a jagged piece of wood flew with such force that it struck him, inflicting a death wound from a crack through the chest about four miles east of Vancouver. The deceased only lived a few moments after the accident.
“Today a rather larger charge of powder was placed for a large, stubborn-looking tree. He remained where he deemed a safe distance, but a jagged piece of wood flew with such force that it struck him.”
This account of a 19th-century railway contractor serves as a grim reminder of the hazardous labor conditions that built the Pacific Northwest. Today, the expansion of regional infrastructure—like light rail or high-speed transit—remains a subject of intense civic debate, often balancing the necessity of progress against the physical and economic costs borne by those doing the dangerous work.
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