The Unlucky Steamer Fanny Lake
After surviving a sinking, the riverboat meets a fiery end on the Skagit.
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 telegraph dispatch was received by a gentleman in this city yesterday from H. C. Yining of Mount Vernon, stating that the steamer Fanny Lake had burned to the water’s edge while passing Sterling, on the river, Monday morning at 9:00. No lives were lost. We tried to get full particulars by telegraph, but the wires did not reach us in time for this issue. The Fanny Lake was commanded by Capt. John S. Hill, her principal owner, who will lose heavily by her loss. She was built at Seattle by N. W. Lake in 1878. After a time Capt. Hill bought an interest and has since run her on various routes. In 1877 her bow was cut off by Mr. Hammond and she was lengthened a few feet. For many years she was a very fortunate boat, so far as accidents were concerned, but of late her luck has changed. About two months ago she was sunk in the Skagit for two weeks, and after being raised, ran along until she took fire and burned.
“For many years she was a very fortunate boat... but of late her luck has changed.”
Steamboat travel was the lifeblood of 19th-century Washington, but the high operational risks—sinking, fire, and boiler explosions—made these vessels fleeting features of the landscape. The Skagit River remains a critical artery for local navigation, though its modern role is focused on recreation and environmental conservation rather than the dangerous, daily freight hauling of the 1880s.
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