A Sudden Tragedy on the Tide Flats
A dray team loses their footing on a rain-slicked plank road and plunges into the dark water below.
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 fine team of dray horses belonging to Foreland Bros. fell off the plank roadway on Commercial Street, near the foot of Charles, yesterday and both were drowned. The teamster was driving them to the barn to hitch them to the dray, when a piece of paper was blown up just under the forefeet of the off horse. He jumped over against the other one, causing him to stagger. His feet slipped and he lost his balance, falling over into the water and dragging the other horse with him. All efforts to save them were futile. The team would sell for $500 any time, and the firm contemplates bringing suit against the city to recover damages, as it is claimed any substantial railing would have prevented the first animal from falling off.
“A piece of paper was blown up just under the forefeet of the off horse. He jumped over against the other one, causing him to stagger.”
The waterfront of the 1890s was a dangerous, makeshift landscape of plank roads built over soft tide flats, where a simple gust of wind could result in disaster. Today, the industrial landscape of the SODO district and the Port of Seattle has long since stabilized these once-treacherous grounds, though the echoes of Seattle's struggle to civilize its rugged terrain remain.
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