Tragedy at Admiralty Head
Four soldiers drown in a boating accident off the coast of Whidbey Island, with a lone survivor found clinging to the overturned craft.
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 party of five men, soldiers from the barracks at Fort Townsend, were out sailing Sunday, and when off half a mile from Admiralty Head were capsized. Four of the party were drowned. Mr. Evans, the lighthouse keeper, boarded their craft with two small boys from Coupeville, and got into a boat to row to their assistance. The tide carried them away so fast that it was an hour before he could get across. When he reached the boat there was only one man on the upturned craft, and he was almost perished from the exposure, but he was able to cling on to one of his comrades. Mr. Evans took them in his boat and tried to resuscitate the one, but was unsuccessful. He took the survivor and the body of the man to his house. The names of the party are: Sergeant John Henderson, Sergeant Paul Wetdlick, Private Quigquest, and Rupert O. Born, company clerk, and Private Michael Keating, the latter being the only survivor. The cause of the disaster was Sergeant Wetdlick, who was the boat's master, acting out of a habit of frolicsomeness. All the men had been drinking.
“The cause of the disaster was Sergeant Wetdlick, who was the boat's master, acting out of a habit of frolicsomeness.”
Admiralty Head remains a site of stark beauty and treacherous currents near the modern Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. This tragedy serves as a grim reminder that even in the 1890s, the recreational use of the Puget Sound waters often intersected with the military presence in the region.
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