An Expensive Dip in the Sound
A purser's accidental plunge into the harbor leads to a secret payoff to hush a blunder.
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.
R. W. Cilliam, purser of the steamer City of Seattle, took an involuntary salt water bath before last night. He didn't care so much about getting into the water, but to have his new suit of clothes christened in such an undignified manner was more than he could bear. He had been ashore during the evening and returned to the boat in a skiff, the painter of which was passed up to the night watchman to hold while the steward scrambled on deck. Unfortunate Cilliam was standing when the watchman gave the rope a yank. The boat went one way and Cilliam the other. A splash followed, and then Cilliam was floundering about in real danger, as he cannot swim. Luck favored him in the way of an outgoing tide, which carried him within reach of one of the steamer's boats. When he got on deck it is said that he gave the watchman $5 to keep quiet.
“He didn't care so much about getting into the water, but to have his new suit of clothes christened in such an undignified manner was more than he could bear.”
Harbor mishaps were a common hazard for Seattle’s maritime workforce. While today's safety regulations are far more stringent, the sight of someone falling off a dock or skiff into Elliott Bay remains a classic, if perilous, part of the waterfront's history.
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