Five Sailors Perish in Grays Harbor Surf
A survey crew's small boat capsizes in the dangerous entrance to the harbor, sparking a frantic search along the beach.
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.
We received the sad news last Sunday that five of the crew off the U. S. coast survey steamer McArthur had been drowned Saturday morning while going from the vessel in a small boat through the surf to their work, a few miles north of the entrance to Grays harbor. One of them was Lieutenant F. H. Crosby, commander of the steamer, who leaves an estimable wife and two children, at present residing in Ocosta. Teams were driven along the beach on Sunday in search of any of the bodies that might be washed ashore, but none were found. One of the teams became frightened during the search, and ran off of a bridge, throwing the occupants out. A sailor received a broken shoulder blade and one of the horses was killed.
“Teams were driven along the beach on Sunday in search of any of the bodies that might be washed ashore, but none were found.”
The mouth of Grays Harbor has remained one of the most treacherous maritime transit points in the Pacific Northwest for centuries. While modern Coast Guard technology has changed the nature of rescues, the volatile power of the harbor bar continues to demand respect and caution for any vessel navigating the entrance.
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