The Ghost of Whidby Island
A prominent Seattleite vanishes into the rural wilds, triggering a frantic search and a small-town communication breakdown.
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.
Some weeks ago, Col. O. H. Larrabee left this city for a visit to his farm on Whidbey Island. About two weeks ago his mail was returned from the Oak Harbor post office, near his farm, giving the impression that he was about to return to this city; it was also known that he intended to return about that time. Persons in Seattle who have been expecting the Colonel to return were becoming anxious about him, when Major Haller, whose farm is also on the island, came to this city yesterday with the impression that Col. Larrabee was already here. At his suggestion, a telegram was yesterday sent to Mr. O. F. Gerrish, at Port Townsend, inquiring of the whereabouts of the Colonel. An answer was received today stating that he is on the island. Whether this answer is from positive information, or from supposition, is not known. Major Haller says the Colonel always in going to Port Townsend takes his sailboat to Coupeville then takes the stage from Coupeville to Ebey’s Landing, crossing on the ferry. It was thought he might have started thus in his boat during one of the many windy days of late, and been capsized; a more probable, and we hope the true account is that he is still on his farm, being too deeply interested in some of his valuable imported stock to leave at present. If this is the case it is difficult to understand why his mail, including letters and papers from this city, should be returned from the office near his farm to this city. There is certainly cause for grave apprehensions, but we hope the opinion that he is still at his farm may prove correct. LATER.—Since the above was in type, a telegram has been received from Col. Larrabee stating that he was alive and well, and would be in Seattle on Tuesday next.
“It was thought he might have started thus in his boat during one of the many windy days of late, and been capsized.”
The anxiety of a city waiting for news from an isolated rural neighbor feels remarkably modern, even if the tools for resolving such 'apprehensions' have shifted from telegraph wires to instant messaging. This episode captures the precarious nature of island life in 1870s Washington, where weather and irregular mail service could easily turn a farmer's absence into a local panic.
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