The Great Dockside Stampede
A pair of range steers escaped their handlers at a Seattle wharf, terrorizing workers and prompting a desperate, armed chase through the northern city streets.
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 tragedy witnessed by possibly 50 people occurred at the Schabacker dock this morning. Two range steers, which were taken up to St. Michael’s on the Roanoke, escaped the lighter and were brought back here. They were taken off the steamer at the dock and celebrated their lucky return by going on a rampage. One of them broke through the gate and is now racing around the northern part of the city. The other held undisputed control of the dock until 10 o'clock this morning. The crew of the Alliance gave the brute a wide berth, and no one there was temporarily even injured. It was finally decided to kill the animal, and a butcher and an expert rifle shot were summoned to put up the steer’s life. The animal was quickly dispatched, but not before a fierce fight. The executioners are at present looking for its mate.
“They were taken off the steamer at the dock and celebrated their lucky return by going on a rampage.”
This chaotic scene near the old waterfront mirrors the ongoing tension between the city's rapidly industrializing past and the unpredictable reality of moving heavy freight through urban centers. While the 'northern part of the city' today consists of bustling neighborhoods and parks, in 1899, it was a rugged frontier where livestock and steamships collided daily.
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