A Near-Fatal Industrial Error at the Mill
A dangerous malfunction at a Seattle sawmill nearly crushes a worker, serving as a reminder of the perils of unregulated labor in the territory.
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.
At the Yesler mill on Monday, an accident occurred that narrowly escaped a fatal outcome. Mr. Mason, the head miller, was being relieved by Mr. Murphy. While they were turning the driving machinery over to one of the saws, a block of wood fell on the stone and commenced ricing it. The noise prevented them from hearing or speaking until all the power of both steam and machinery was put on one stone, which ran the belt off and put the whole power on the stone which Murphy had cleared, thus concentrating almost instantly about 70 horse power on one run of stone. In all the state of confusion, timber flying over the mill, some of which struck Murphy, hurling him some ten feet. He is badly bruised, but not thought fatally injured. Mason was thrown violently to the floor, but was uninjured.
“In all the state of confusion, timber flying over the mill, some of which struck Murphy, hurling him some ten feet.”
The Yesler Mill was the heartbeat of early Seattle's economy, yet it was a site of frequent, life-altering injuries. This incident highlights the brutal, high-stakes nature of the industrial labor that built the city, mirroring the precariousness still felt by trade and warehouse workers in modern Seattle.
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