A Jinxed Steamer Sold at Auction: The Henry Bailey's Bad Luck on the Skagit
After repeated sinkings in the Skagit River and a crew's libel suit, the steamer Henry Bailey went on the auction block at Seattle's Yesler dock—fetching a fraction of its original cost.
The steamer Henry Bailey, which has lain up at Yesler dock for some time past by order of the federal court, was sold yesterday by Deputy United States Marshal for claims against her, and was brought in by Harry Cann, of T. H. Cann, presumably for the Pacific Navigation Company, for $3,000.
The principal bidders were Cann and C. H. Lilly, of the firm of Lilly, Bogardus & Co., the well known feed men of West street. The bidding was started in at $1,000 and raised $100 at a time until $2,000 was reached, when it dropped down to $500 and then to $300, and was sold to Mr. Cann for $3,000.
The Bailey was formerly owned by the Pacific Navigation Company and leased by it to Clough Truesey, who had very poor luck with the boat, it having been sunk in the Skagit river several times. The steamer was libeled by the crew and others, and the marshal considers the price received ample to settle everything against her. It is said that Cann is acting for the original owner. The Bailey cost originally between $15,000 and $18,000.
“The Bailey was formerly owned by the Pacific Navigation Company and leased by it to Clough Truesey, who had very poor luck with the boat, it having been sunk in the Skagit river several times.”
The Henry Bailey's fate shows how precarious maritime investment was in 1890s Seattle: a vessel could be a fortune or a liability, and crews often had to sue to get paid. Yesler Way at the waterfront is now a very different place, but the tensions between owners, workers and lenders still shape the region's fishing and shipping industries.
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