The Abandoned Steamship
A pilot takes legal action against a long-neglected steamer in North Seattle to recover unpaid wages.
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.
Captain Samuel A. Hoyt has libelled the steamer Gold Dust for hull, engine, tackle, apparel and furniture, to recover a balance due him of $1,000 for wages as pilot on that craft while she was running between this city and Olympia. The Gold Dust is on the ways in North Seattle, where she has been for a long time. No owner appears willing to pay off the bills, and she is rotting away.
“No owner appears willing to pay off the bills, and she is rotting away.”
Maritime liens are still a fixture of Seattle law, though the 'rotting away' of abandoned vessels remains a persistent issue in the industrial waterways of the Duwamish and beyond.
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