The San Juan Huntresses of English Camp
Two young women in the San Juan Islands hunted a deer without a gun, pursuing it by rowboat until they could dispatch it with a knife.
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.
Miss Mamie Cook and Miss Hannah Pandwith killed a fine deer without a gun last Saturday at English camp, San Juan island. They saw the deer swimming across the bay. Miss Cook is an expert with oars, and she and Miss Pandwith immediately gave chase in a rowboat. The deer had a quarter of a mile the start, but after a long pull they overhauled and lassoed him. He showed fight, whereupon one of his fair captors stabbed him in the neck. As he grew weak from loss of blood they held his head under water until he gave up the ghost. They towed their venison ashore in proud triumph. It took two strong men to carry the carcass.
“They towed their venison ashore in proud triumph. It took two strong men to carry the carcass.”
While this historical snippet reflects a rougher, frontier-style reportage typical of the 1890s, it also captures a striking moment of female agency and physical prowess in the Pacific Northwest. Today, San Juan Island remains a place where local lore and wilderness interaction are central to the identity of the community.
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