The Dead Man with the Tattoo: A Sailor’s Body Washes Ashore in Snohomish
Identification of a drowned sailor near Jewett's logging camp reveals a life marked by ink and industry, closing a chapter on the Snohomish River.
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.
On Friday, January 27, 1893, the body of a man washed ashore near the line between Snohomish and King counties, not far from Jewett's logging camp. The deceased wore a grey cloth shirt with black stripes running lengthwise, shoes that were either buckled or laced, and stood 5 feet 6 inches tall. One arm was marked in Indian ink with the image of a woman. His initials, A.E.H., found on his clothing, identified the body as that of A.E. Hoyle, formerly quartermaster of the Salvador, in the employ of Mr. Foster on Yesler's wharf in Seattle at the time of his death. His body was brought to Seattle on Sunday, and the coroner's inquest was unadvanced as of the last news from there.
Shingles are in good demand at $2.00 per thousand.
This brief notice captures the transient, often perilous nature of 19th-century waterfront labor. The identification of A.E. Hoyle via a tattoo and initials speaks to an era before digital records, where personal markers were the only proof of identity for men who moved between logging camps, wharves, and ships. It serves as a somber reminder of the human cost behind the timber boom that built Snohomish.
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