A Hero at the Waterfront
An elderly boatswain risks his life in the dark to pull a man from the frigid waters of Elliott Bay.
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 about nine o'clock last night, three men were walking along by the City Dock at the foot of Washington street, when one of them, Gordon McDonald, an old man and boatswain of the Hydahmie, who was a little ahead of the other two, heard a cry and a splash, and looking round found that one of the others, an elderly man named Michael Copeland, was missing. He, dark as it was, plunged into the water and risked his own life, finally succeeding in ducking Copeland and bringing him to the surface. Other willing hands were there, and the man was finally brought up onto the dock. He had, however, been in the water nearly ten minutes, and was consequently insensible. For half an hour he was rolled on a barrel and then taken into the Gold Bar saloon where he was finally brought to life. He had in a bag under his arm in gold, $20 in bills, and in his pockets 40 cents in silver. Gordon McDonald, who so gallantly jumped to the rescue, is also an old man and his act is the more worthy of recognition on that account.
“He, dark as it was, plunged into the water and risked his own life, finally succeeding in ducking Copeland and bringing him to the surface.”
The waterfront near Washington Street remains a place of intense daily activity, though today the wooden piers and saloons have been replaced by seawalls and high-end urban infrastructure. This story serves as a reminder of the raw, often perilous nature of Seattle’s maritime life before the harbor was heavily engineered.
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