The Tragic Death of a Chinese Cook at Port Gamble
An accident in shallow water claims the life of a laborer, highlighting the precarious conditions for workers in the Puget Sound mill towns of 1877.
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 Chinese cook of the barkentine Victor was drowned at Port Gamble a few days ago. He had been ashore and was returning to the vessel across some logs, when he missed his step and fell into the water. Some persons who saw him fall went to his assistance, but his body was lifeless before it was recovered. The fact is a singular one that he was drowned in a little less than four feet of water, on a hard bottom, in which, had he stood erect, he might have walked ashore without difficulty. Justice Dwelly, acting coroner, had him attended to and decently put away, as all good celestials should be, although the superstitious idea prevailing among the natives of the 'Flowery Kingdom' prevented the performance of any heathenish rites over this good 'John.'
“The fact is a singular one that he was drowned in a little less than four feet of water, on a hard bottom, in which, had he stood erect, he might have walked ashore without difficulty.”
This account reflects the dehumanizing language common in the 19th-century press, which often reduced Asian laborers to caricatures even while reporting their deaths. Today, the site of this tragedy remains part of the historic mill town of Port Gamble, now a National Historic Landmark that prompts reflection on the diverse, often exploited labor force that built the Pacific Northwest timber industry.
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