The Tale of the Leschi Park 'Baby Seal'
A local newspaper mistakenly reports the birth of a sea lion pup at Leschi Park, but local fishermen reveal they actually caught a stray baby seal elsewhere and dropped it in the tank.
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.
When the keeper of the sea lions at Leschi Park went to feed them on Friday morning, he was surprised to find a new addition: a baby seal. The local press erroneously reported that one of the sea lions had given birth to a pup. In reality, the baby arrived after three local fishermen, B.F. Goldwater, Tom Urquhart, and Pete Burns, caught the seal near the steamer Mexico while trolling. They attempted to keep it in a sack at the Mirror saloon, but eventually dropped it into the Leschi Park tank, where it mingled with the sea lions. The park keeper, unaware of the ruse, began telling visitors stories about the mother's deep affection for her offspring, while the fishermen struggled to keep from laughing at the delusion.
“They appeared deeply interested, but with difficulty refrained from laughing and thus undeceiving the deluded keeper.”
Leschi Park remains a prominent Seattle landmark, though its days as a public park with a menagerie of live sea lions are long gone. This story captures the chaotic, booster-driven spirit of 1890s Seattle, where even a stolen seal was leveraged for civic prestige and a good headline.
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