A Foggy Night on the Sound
A collision between two steamships leads to a libel lawsuit and the suspension of a 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.
At 9 o'clock at Commercial dock, a libel was filed in the United States district court by the owners of the steamer 'Mary F. Perley' to recover $1,000 for damages sustained in a collision with the 'Flyer' on the evening of October 1. The Perley was due to leave at 3 o'clock but was held until 7, at which time Capt. Jordeson had a load of wood and the boat was underway on the trip to Tacoma. The collision occurred near Alki Point in a heavy fog. The wheel and the tail of the Perley were demolished. Yesterday the board of local inspectors rendered a decision holding the Perley responsible for the collision and suspending the license of Capt. Thomas Redding, her master and owner, for the space of sixty days. As soon as this was made known, Capt. Redding at once filed a libel against the Flyer.
“The Flyer was not heard to respond, so Capt. Redding slowed the Perley's engines until the Flyer hove in sight.”
Marine navigation on Puget Sound has always been a high-stakes game of visibility and right-of-way. Today, radar and GPS have replaced the fog whistles of 1892, but the legal complexities of maritime collisions remain a core part of the Sound's commercial life.
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