Steamer Minnie M. Lost in Bellingham Gale
A stern-wheeler carrying local supplies to Lummi Island is claimed by the rough waters of Bellingham Bay.
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.
The steamer Minnie M., Captain Jones owner and master, was sunk last night at Fort Bellingham, where she had been tied up since Wednesday to admit of repairs on a scow she had in tow. The wind was blowing a gale and the waves running high, dashing over the lower deck and filling the engine room, the doors of which were broken open, giving the water full sweep. She was sunk about 9 o'clock. Captain Jones and his wife, Engineer Hall, and a deckhand got off safely from the roof of the pilot house, which was not submerged. The steamer was en route to Lummi with merchandise for H. N. McDonough, a storekeeper, all of which was lost. The scow is also a total loss. The loss is estimated at $2,000; no insurance. The Minnie M. was a stern-wheel boat of about 100 tons. She was built four years ago to run to Samish flats and points on the Nooksack river.
“The wind was blowing a gale and the waves running high, dashing over the lower deck and filling the engine room, the doors of which were broken open, giving the water full sweep.”
Bellingham Bay remains a challenging stretch of water for small vessels. While the commercial stern-wheelers that once served the Nooksack River are long gone, the hazards of sudden Pacific Northwest winter storms persist for today's mariners.
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