A Moonlight Party’s Muddy Misadventure
When a 'jolly party' of Seattle revelers chartered a steamer for a midnight trip to Chautauqua Beach, they learned a hard lesson about the Puget Sound tides—and the limitations of their captain.
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 jolly party of about thirty young men and women chartered the little steamer 'Jennie Jane' for a moonlight sail to Chautauqua Beach. The hour set for the departure was nine sharp. The enterprising captain did not report until 9 p.m. Everyone, being in high spirits after getting on board, soon forgot their anger at the captain for his inexcusable delay. The occupants of the forward part of the boat sang, the after part another, and those in the rowboat in tow another. Altogether it was a jolly party. Arriving at the beach, a campfire was started, and the songs, jolliness, and story-telling whiled away the turning hours, after which refreshments were partaken of.
The hour arriving for their departure, steam was gotten up on the steamer, all hands got on board and the wheel began to move, but to no avail. The little craft was hard aground. It then dawned upon the captain that he was in shallow water and that he hadn't thought of the tide. It might be appropriately mentioned that the inaugurators of the excursion had hired the vessel by the hour, and, of course, were very vexed over the matter. The rowboat, which was fortunately taken along, now came into requisition, and the captain was ordered to take the party ashore, to wait until the tide was high. The young folks, however, preferred the boat, and the captain was obliged to remain with them. At 1 a.m. the tide began to rise, and at 3 a.m. the boat was afloat again, and the party reached home at 4 a.m., tired and weary, but happy, in the belief that the next time they would be sure to charter a steamer with a captain who knew his business.
“The little craft was hard aground. It then dawned upon the captain that he was in shallow water and that he hadn't thought of the tide.”
This 1887 account of a party stranded by low tide captures a classic 'Seattle moment'—the intersection of leisure, local waterways, and the unpredictable nature of our Sound. Today, while we have better tide tables and GPS, the vulnerability of small-scale transit and the charm of an accidental moonlight adventure remain a distinct part of the region's character.
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