The River Escape That Failed
A riverside elopement turns into a dramatic showdown when a steamer captain intervenes in a young woman's flight.
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.
There will be no epidemic of elopements in Pierce county this year. The success of the matrimonial journey of Miss Wunger and Rev. Gallertan last week threatened to produce one, but yesterday an attempt to follow their example failed completely. Miss Ella Parsel stole out of her father's house at Riverside Thursday morning and rowed by a third party down the White river to Bay Centre. There she was met later by her sweetheart, Will Smith, and they then continued their flight by steamer to Sealand, intending there to take the train for Tacoma and Astoria. Capt. Sproat, of the steamer, however, objected to the match and frightened the girl into returning to her home with him. Although there are no known objections to the intended, Will Smith, her parents are opposed to their marriage, and furthermore claim that she is not of age. This Smith denies, and reference was made to the record leaf in the family Bible, but it has suddenly disappeared. The love-sick couple are now on their mettle, and if Smith can prove that she is old enough the wedding will take place in Seattle.
“The success of the matrimonial journey of Miss Wunger and Rev. Gallertan last week threatened to produce one, but yesterday an attempt to follow their example failed completely.”
Parental gatekeeping and the 'elopement' as a form of social resistance were staples of 19th-century reporting. Today, these disputes remain just as intense, though they are more likely to play out in private texts or social media posts than on the front page of the daily paper.
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