The Deserted Crew of the Bark Northwest
Thirteen mariners sue for back wages and passage home after their vessel’s voyage abruptly ends at Port Madison.
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 libel has been filed in the District Court of the Third Judicial District of Washington Territory, holding terms at Seattle, on March 25, 1880, by F. Parker, Edward Hughes, J. T. Young, Ab Moor, Henry Fohlier, Wm. Wahlquist, James Hanson, F. Gatiasson, Gust Scatter, Seth Satery, A. Nisen, Andrew Erichson, and Robert Fall. These men were late mariners on the American Bark 'Northwest,' of which J. Farnham was Master. The crew alleges that on December 9, 1879, they shipped at San Francisco to sail to Port Madison to load cargo and return. Upon arriving at Port Madison, the voyage was terminated and the seamen were discharged. They are now seeking the unpaid wages due at the time of their discharge, along with compensation for food, lodging, and return expenses to San Francisco. The court has issued a public notice for all interested parties to appear on the first Monday of May to interpose their claims, or risk the vessel being condemned and sold to settle the debts.
“They are now seeking the unpaid wages due at the time of their discharge, along with compensation for food, lodging, and return expenses.”
The maritime labor struggle of the 1880s—where workers were left stranded without pay or return fare—mirrors the ongoing vulnerability of gig workers and itinerant contractors in the modern Seattle economy, who often find themselves bearing the financial risks of an employer’s business failure.
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