The Tragedy of the Diver in Tacoma Harbor
A routine salvage operation to reach a sunken vessel turned fatal when a burst air pipe left a diver trapped in the depths of Puget Sound.
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.
One of the most tragic marine accidents that has ever occurred in Tacoma harbor happened at noon when Diver Baldwin was killed by the breaking of the supply pipe of his diving apparatus. Today, Diver Baldwin made his third attempt to reach the sunken Andelana. He made the descent all right, but after being down three minutes, the air line broke. On-watch men on the scow realized the situation quickly. A signal was given to draw him up. They worked for one hundred minutes after the pipe broke until the discovery of the man was made in the surface. His face was crushed and the whole head was horribly mangled and had turned black. When the pipe broke, the compressed air on the inside of the diving apparatus escaped, and it is the opinion of the men that the depth of the water was such that the pressure instantly crushed his body.
“The air line broke... the compressed air on the inside of the diving apparatus escaped, and it is the opinion of the men that the depth of the water was such that the pressure instantly crushed his body.”
This 1899 account of a maritime work accident underscores the brutal reality of industrial growth in the Pacific Northwest during the turn of the century. Just as today's infrastructure projects often carry hidden human costs, the rapid expansion of Seattle and Tacoma shipping came at a high price for those working in the most dangerous environments.
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