The Commuter Who Missed His Boat
A classic Tacoma wharf blunder ends with a man watching his ride to Seattle sail away without him.
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 boys about town are having a good laugh at the expense of J. V. Chamberlain. He got aboard the Walla Walla Saturday night with the intention of visiting Seattle, and taking a seat in the cabin, he drifted off into pleasant dreams. When he awoke, the hour was late and darkness had fallen over the scene. The boat was ready for departure, the engine signaled, and Chamberlain grabbed his trusty carpet sack and made for the dock under the warm delusion that he had arrived at Seattle. A little later, he realized that he still trod the planks of Tacoma’s wharf and the boat was taking herself away.
“Chamberlain grabbed his trusty carpet sack and made for the dock under the warm delusion that he had arrived at Seattle.”
This humorous slice of 1884 life captures the era when the 'commute' between Seattle and Tacoma relied on steamships rather than I-5 or the Sounder train. It serves as a reminder that the fierce rivalry between the two cities was already well-established by the time the territory was pushing for statehood.
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