Steamboat Clallam Sinks Near Victoria in 1904
A new passenger steamer sinks in the mist of Puget Sound near Victoria, adding a somber chapter to a recent string of local disasters.
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.
Early this morning, through driving storm mists, death glided over the waters of the Sound near Victoria. Scores cried out for help. The great waves rolled and washed and then, with a sullen surge, closed over steamboat and passengers. The Clallam, new and presumably staunch, had been suddenly overwhelmed, even while assistance was close at hand. Another chapter to the marine horrors of the coast has been added. Such a terrible disaster, following so closely upon the heels of the Iroquois holocaust and the two frightful train wrecks of the last fortnight, is well calculated to set the public pulse to beating with renewed apprehension. The fact is vividly brought home to all of us that those who go down to the sea in ships, as well as those who travel upon the land by rail, take great risks.
“The fact is vividly brought home to all of us that those who go down to the sea in ships, as well as those who travel upon the land by rail, take great risks.”
The sinking of the SS Clallam in 1904 was a watershed moment for Puget Sound maritime safety, mirroring the way major regional infrastructure failures today prompt immediate public anxiety and calls for regulatory reform. The wreck remains a significant point of local historical research for maritime historians and families of the lost.
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