The Tragedy of a Log in Lake Washington
After a day of fruitless searching, a grappling hook snagged a log that held a secret—the body of a missing 11-year-old boy.
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.
The body of Arthur G. Copp, the 11-year-old boy who fell out of a sailboat and was drowned in Lake Washington Sunday afternoon, was recovered last evening near the spot where the accident occurred. The remains were taken in charge by J. A. Copp, the boy's father, and the funeral will be held today. Within fifteen minutes after the drowning occurred, a dozen men, armed with grappling hooks, began raking the bottom of the lake. Night closed down, but at daylight yesterday the search was recommenced. At about 6 o'clock one of the grappling hooks became tangled in a log which lay at the bottom of the lake. When one of the grappling hooks finally became tangled in it, one of the men suggested that the log be pulled to the surface. The dead boy was found clinging firmly to one of the branches. When the boy went down for the third and last time, it is possible that he clung with such desperation to the log that even in death his hold did not relax.
“When the boy went down for the third and last time it is possible that he clung with such desperation to the log that even in death his hold did not relax.”
Lake Washington was once a place of terrifying, hidden depths for early settlers, whereas today it is the city's primary recreational hub. This story highlights the precarious nature of life on the water during the late 19th century.
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