The Tragic End of Bertha Baht
A young immigrant woman, displaced by hardship and poverty, takes her own life in the tide flats of South Seattle.
The body of a young Hebrew woman named Bertha Baht was found floating in the water near the corner of South Fourth and Weller streets yesterday morning. There were no marks of violence, and a note found in her room confirms she took her own life. Bertha had been struggling for some time, living in a small room on Weller street where she was often seen gazing despondently out the window, sometimes holding only a crust of bread. Bertha was from a formerly wealthy Russian family who lost everything after her father left for Winnipeg. She came to Seattle hoping to find a husband or a fresh start but found only isolation, struggling to adapt to American life. She was known to be despondent, having spoken of suicide before. Her remains were discovered by a resident, Miss Kate Baker, when the body drifted against the posts of her house over the tide flats. She will be buried in the new Jewish cemetery near Woodland Park.
“She was of a despondent nature at times, and on more than one occasion spoke of committing suicide.”
This account captures the brutal reality of the 'boom and bust' era, where vulnerable immigrants often fell through the cracks of a rapidly expanding city. The tide flats described were later filled to become the Industrial District, erasing the physical landscape of Bertha’s final moments.
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