A Father’s Deadly Lesson
A tragic household accident on the White River ends in the death of a toddler when a borrowed rifle discharges during a demonstration.
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.
A shocking accident occurred on the White River on Wednesday, caused by the mishandling of firearms, which resulted in the shooting and killing of a son by his father, A.L. Ritter. Mr. Ritter, a farmer on the White River, borrowed a breech-loading rifle from a neighbor and took it home. While Mr. Ritter was explaining its working to his wife, the cartridge in the gun was exploded in some way, but except being somewhat startled for a moment, Mr. and Mrs. Ritter felt no alarm until they attempted to trace the course of the ball. A two-year-old son was sleeping on the bed in the room in which the explosion took place and the fact that no sounds or movement was perceptible from him caused the parents to hurry to his bedside, where it was found that the ball had entered his body at the left groin and ranged through his frame, coming out at the breast and again entering at the chin, lodging in the top of the head and causing instantaneous death. While Mr. Ritter is to be censured for his lack of caution and his carelessness, the grief of himself and wife causes a general feeling of sympathy in their great sorrow.
“While Mr. Ritter is to be censured for his lack of caution and his carelessness, the grief of himself and wife causes a general feeling of sympathy in their great sorrow.”
While this account is a tragic relic of 19th-century farm life, the incident serves as a grim reminder of how accidental firearm discharges remain a persistent feature of American life. The 1888 headline speaks to a timeless local struggle with safety, echoing modern debates over the necessity of firearm education and home storage protocols in Washington State.
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