The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-03-01
| HORRIBLE FATE.
ALBERT THOMPSON GROUND TO
DEATH on THE TT. MYSTIC.
Caught fn the Gearing Hsrhfn~ry'
hi, Legs Are xanxied to 81 Pulp
and the wutlIatrd Body - Cut
Aua ouIy 20 Draw Its Last Gasp
- sight That Made strong Wen
weak, fearless Eyes aoistrn' ana
Loud Voices speak In whispers.

horrors
ffrpfhfg brought 20 mind yesterday ~ the
assfh ~ Aff,~rt Thompson. a fireman on
the tug Mystle. He was literary AaAie1 ny
sF.~bss re f0ues and MUSCLES Of both legs
being ground 30 pulp ~ the relentless en-
Flas Caught fast in the cTusl machinery,
he lived o. conscious OF the heroic out
fyf4ifioes Efforts to release him. his lifea
hlood arippgne away from q thousand
wounds. NJ Cod he murmuFed. Take
me ont" ard IS the surgeons knife cut
the fhena cf rcah that chained him 10 the
rack he fcsbly cried. on" \ r." mo-
r=ents more and death had claimed its
ogu.
n WIS ssEht that r-sde stroUg men
weak. eyes thai hnd n8t f-it the pressure
O. tears for years. rncfstrn and loud voices
sneak tn whispers. The black wagon drew
away from the wharf and the crowd 81
leztly dispersed. SEINE one remarked.
How true IL II that We DO not know what
the hour viii bring forth
FoTty-flve minutes before ALERT Tnonip-
son was a magnificent specimen OF man
hood tall. strong. possessed OF pertecs
health: . rilp. and the work OF God be-
oano sn inHnimate thing. Blanssec slowly
bias auralr and robbed OF life by inclle1.
Tho .ug Mystic hay Al the City slip yes
terfiay morning at tbs foot OF Madison
street Across the .ong walk that extends
into fha water was the fireooat Snoaual-
mic. 1t Was o'clock ~ the morning, and
Tire tug Mystic was getting ready to 20 10
Port Gamble. ~ 40 the lines we're cast
Off and the tag moved slowly oot into the
-trsaFn. Capt n!ekuD was ~ the wheel
and Fireman Albert Thompson WAS in tho
engine room Engineer Farmer was below
forward. The boat was moving very
slowly. the throttle being one-third open.
Two minutes. perhaps three, passed. and
the Mystic was "a hundred yards or SO
from the slip.
Cs,..s.s.ssfsy cant IfaLaswn hoard cry for
help from the engine room and then the
tug ceased TO move. Engineer Farmer and
the captain rushed "a the place where the
CRY WAS heard and looked down into the
crank pit" The sight made them turn
pale.
bottom Of the pit u was Fireman Tnomp-
son speaking and even then his blood Was
oozing away through his crushed and
nangied flesh. lie lay In the pit. both
legs wound and twisted ia the machinery.
y slipped and got caught" he said in a
voice strangely calm under the terrible
ordeal: take me out"
The chain tongs were brought, and En-
Einesr Farmer tried 10 turn the engine
hack. The tongs broke. Thompson was
slowly bleeding To death.
The whistle OF the Mystic was blown
four times - = signal of distress.
Capt. Leighton and Stoker James Burke
~ the firehoat. heard the whistles and
looked cut 80 see'what was up.
'@The Mystic has stopped" said Leigh
ton 10 Burke. There must be something
wrong
lust then capt Blekum put on, from the
Mystic 81 = small boat and on nearing the
flreboat yelled out.
The fireman il caught ia the crank pit ="
The frcboat was immediately gotten un-
der way, and Ia a few minutes had the
Mystic back 90 tho wharf La the mean
time Engineer Farmer had been working,
but In vain. 60 extricHte the doomed man
from his terrible position stoker Burke
and Assistant Engineer Anderson. Of the
nrsboat. Went aboard the Mystic TO help
the engineer. A physician Was sent for.
Anderson had known Thompson for ten
years. and when he saw him held fast In
the grasp of the cranks he felt like giving
way 20 tears. lie took Thompson or that
portion of him which was not wound up.
IN his arms and tried 70 speak hravely.
Give me water" moaned Thompson. II
was brought. and he drank IL eagerly
Then some one brought him some whisky.
He drank Il al g gulp and all this time
the death tick was timing his existence
In this life,
Burke found a long pinch bar. Farmer
got prs on the shaft ~ their con-
hined efforts they raised thu crank enough
20 allow them 20 pan ghompSon's Jeff leg
ont, II was reduced 20 pulp from the
Knee and hip They tried te take otff the
other leg, bat the flesh was jammsd
around the end of the crank pin iu sueA
= Way that It coAld not be faae. / phys-
iciaa Arrived. and decided that the only
way 10 rciease the the dying man AIS 90
sever the nesh that held hira a prisoner
IS che knife did les work Thomson utter
- 8 prolonged Oh" and sank hack
into Auacrsor's arms
Cart Stephenson. % the Nayfower. pass
81 gcpe down - StokeF Burke who
made II fast under ThomnsoHs arms
Then he was raised cat % she crank eit
ana laid on stretcher One gasp fal. NV
cd. He was dead. After the pteces ~ issh
had been picked out al the machinery
they were placed Win the ho-iy Coroner
Yandsll was called, later the remains
were taken 20 Batterwofth's undertaking
rooms
When Can't, E'@sum was seen by Post
TrifAigenceY reporter concerning nc ne
ciaeuJ hc said "tt wlu never be known
exactly cow my brathes-jn-law. Thomp-
ron. fot inth TIE MACHINERY tie sail that
De fet ana became entsnx! >t. suppose
thet ho was on the platform and in reach
ius for tao ssap cock slipped and fell
down into the pit"
Stokcr Burke aeures the accident out "a
foEoW "TAe usstform h about sin f-st
ahevc the nit end VIXEN he went "a shtft
Bs08 prassN3N rot tsueht ana Ga trying
20 FREQ aintse,f he 500 or his knees in front
~ the cfaaks Wheu ore cTauk came over
q cauEat ere ieE and when the ataer came
ever 90 cauEht enc otHer IN t1b way both
legs were arsEed tnto the cranks and
wound around rhe e0e(ue wns going slow
~ and his irsR Frrpet g. estaesthe~~
Alhert Thompson was g. wears old Ito
was born in leVaser Sesne ,hrstfan-
son. $. tIh parcets a-o dead. SIC was n
asfar sN ais afe. AZ ouv tt-un he worked
on snlns passing f~sn lia-tnr p, Isyer-
iroos Ten wears aCo sr wRr fireman on
tra steamer N'akeiey. Fsr f,a- wears De
wRs ure1ssn az the Rla ke'ey nfH wen
the tUr Nvzltc was raised ~ years avs
- .fff Haksjey ana took gre prsItl7, ~
fireman ga aer
tte leaves two sisters Ms. a. r.eksrn
10 seattle AVA Ms. N Esnna,n. ~ Y,rt
1NAkr.ey lie has enc hgether. r. r., r,-
son, Nto IS captain ~ rHe snip Richie
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