Tragic Drowning of a Sailor off Point Wilson
A young sailor is lost at sea during a sudden squall while the schooner J. M. Weatherwax was under tow.
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 Williams of the Seattle tug Mystic reported that while towing out the schooner J. M. Weatherwax Sunday afternoon, bound for San Francisco from Tacoma with lumber, she was caught in a squall off Point Wilson, during which the mainsail jibed with the result of knocking overboard two sailors, William Faulkner and William Olsen. The former could swim and was saved, but notwithstanding the Mystic immediately put back in search of the body of Olsen, it could not be found. The accident happened in daylight, but nothing was seen of the unfortunate man after he struck the water. The deceased was a Swede, aged about 25 years. He had relatives residing in San Francisco.
“The accident happened in daylight, but nothing was seen of the unfortunate man after he struck the water.”
The lumber trade was the backbone of Aberdeen's early economy, but it extracted a high cost in human life on the treacherous waters of the Pacific Northwest coast. This accident highlights the dangers faced by the 'maritime workforce' that sustained the mills.
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