Final Leap at Pier 6
A man identified as Robert B. McManus ends his life in the harbor after leaving cryptic clues behind.
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.
After nailing two pawn tickets on the northwest corner of pier 6, a man believed to be Robert B. McManus leaped to death from the dock yesterday. Rescuers were quick to put out after him. The launch John L. was headed toward him and several fishermen started to the rescue. As the launch neared the man, he dived. He came up again, and again dived beneath the surface of the water, that time to stay. His body has not been recovered. From the pawn tickets, City Detective Frank W. Clark ascertained the man's identity. He pawned a signet ring, with the monogram 'R. B. M.' cut in it, at a pawn shop on First Avenue on December 28. He merely gave his address as Seattle. On January 8, he pawned a gold watch at a shop on Occidental Avenue. There he gave his address as the Hotel Grand. At the first pawn shop he gave his name as Robert B. Malcolm. At the second place he signed his name as Robert B. McManus.
“He came up again, and again dived beneath the surface of the water, that time to stay.”
This tragic report from 1909 captures the desperation that could accompany economic instability in early Seattle. Today, Pier 6 is part of the extensively redeveloped Seattle waterfront, a vastly different environment from the gritty, industrial shipping docks of the early 20th century.
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