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The Great Log Jam: A Man Survives a Frozen River Nightmare

W.H. McKern of Boston arrives in Seattle after a harrowing journey through ice-choked waters and frozen rail lines, offering a rare glimpse into the brutal winter conditions gripping the Pacific Northwest.

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 Mysterious New Who Passes a Large Tale.

W. H. McKern, of Boston, Mass., arrived from the north at the terminal station here this morning, having been severely injured in a terrible accident that came to Everett on the 28th inst. He is quite ill, and had a rough trip.

An area all quiet in Boston, and no how much has been made since some of the miners are still in their winter quarters, but work on the diking is being done. The weather has been very cold, the ice continuing to accumulate around most of the dams. People at common are without food and shelter and rough houses.

The population here is now from 300 to 600 people. It is generally believed that the ice has been removed in Everett, and the base camp was removed. He is just ten months old on the streets of sixty people per day.

"The channels are still blocked up, which prevents any mining getting done. The canal will be open from fruit to wood work before the last fall if March or April."

Mr. McKern is not in a position to stay in this city much longer than he was here some summer. It promises many to return during the summer.

Another Fight. MANILA, Much 1—This number nothing happened all night short of detail thin morning. The Philippine Republic military command has made its last stand and cry to the native population of the town, as given much trouble.

Then · 1899127 years apartNow · 2026

While today we worry about traffic jams on I-5, a century ago, a 'log jam' meant being trapped by ice and snow for days, with no power or food. McKern’s account of people without shelter in Everett highlights how vulnerable early settlers were to the region's extreme weather, a struggle that still resonates during modern winter storms like the one in 2023.

The original page

The Seattle Star (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1899-03-04. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Seattle Star (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, MAR 4, 1899, Page 1
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.60323, -122.33028 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗