The Steamboat Duel: Annie Stewart vs. The Messenger
In a race for passengers and profit on Puget Sound, two steamers engaged in a high-speed chase that ended with the Annie Stewart arriving five minutes ahead of her rival.
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.
The opposition between the steamer Annie Stewart and the Messenger has set off in good earnest. Both boats steamed away from Mill Wharf about 6 o'clock bound for Tacoma, each with a fair number of passengers, and the Messenger was about two or three minutes ahead of the Annie. The Messenger had reduced fare from $3 to $1, while the Annie Stewart had likewise laid down to 60 cents. On they sped neck and neck, as spirited men would put it, the Annie gradually gaining on however, and finally after a long pull, racing for rival and coming into Tacoma five minutes ahead.
The rumored purchase of the Otter by Captain Varr has been confirmed, and will soon be put on the route between here and Olympia in opposition to the Messenger, leaving here for Olympia and way ports every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning at 9 o'clock, until further notice. The Otter is one of the most commodious, elegant and trim little boats on the Sound, and under the excellent management she will have, will undoubtedly receive an extensive passengerage on that line.
Under the new arrangement the North Pacific will leave this port for Victoria and way ports every Monday and Thursday morning at 5 A.M., while the Annie Stewart will leave for Port Townsend and way ports every Tuesday and Friday morning at 9 o'clock A.M. The steamer Alida will leave for Tacoma every day, Sundays and Wednesdays excepted, at 10 A.M.
This 1877 account of a fare war between steamship lines mirrors modern competition in ride-sharing and airline pricing strategies. Just as the Annie Stewart slashed fares to 60 cents to undercut the Messenger’s $1 ticket, today’s transportation giants often engage in predatory pricing or subsidy wars to capture market share on routes like Seattle-Tacoma.
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