Steamboat Rivalry on the Sound
The 'City of Everett' narrowly defeats the 'Multnomah' in a spirited dash from Tacoma to Seattle.
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.
Passengers from Tacoma to Seattle were given a treat yesterday in the way of a boat race between the City of Everett and the old stern-wheeler Multnomah. The two boats left the Northern Pacific dock together, and at once the old-time rivalry was manifested. The Everett was able to crawl away from the Multnomah on a straight course, but on rounding the points the latter cut in close to the shore, thereby saving quite a distance. The race continued to Seattle and resulted in the defeat of the Multnomah, though she was only a few feet behind when the Seattle dock was reached. The passengers on both boats entered into the spirit of the race heartily. The City of Everett was running in place of the Flyer.
“The passengers on both boats entered into the spirit of the race heartily.”
Steamboat races were the primary entertainment and transit thrill of the Puget Sound in the early 1900s. While today's Sounder train or ferry commute lacks the 'cut-the-corner' drama of stern-wheelers, the rivalry between Tacoma and Seattle remains a constant, if significantly quieter, undercurrent of regional identity.
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