The Abandoned Crew of the Bark Northwest
Thirteen mariners petition the federal court in Seattle for their unpaid wages after a grueling voyage from San Francisco to 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, by F. Parker, Edward Hughes, J. T. Young, Ah Moon, Henry Fuhlier, Wm. Wahlquist, James Hanson, F. Gaflasson, Gust Seaberg, Seth Savory, A. Nisen, Andrew Erichson, and Robert Fall, late mariners on board the American Bark 'Northwest'. The petition alleges that in December 1879, the crew shipped from San Francisco to Port Madison to load cargo. Upon the termination of the voyage in Port Madison, the crew were discharged without being paid their wages. The libellants are seeking compensation for their labor, as well as for the food, lodging, and expenses required to return to their port of shipment. The amounts owed range from roughly $50 to over $200 per person. U.S. Marshal Charles Hopkins has issued a public notice for all interested parties to appear before the court in Seattle on the first Monday of May 1880 to address the claims.
“And praying process against said vessel, her tackle, apparel and furniture, and that the same may be condemned and sold to pay the said wages, damages, compensation and expenses with costs.”
Maritime labor disputes have been a staple of Seattle's legal history since the city's inception. This 1880 wage theft case, filed by a diverse crew including international sailors, mirrors the ongoing struggle for fair pay and accountability in the shipping and transportation industries that continue to define the Pacific Northwest economy.
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