Tragedy on the Ocean Dock
A man's fatal tumble into the cold waters of Elliott Bay leaves police searching for a name.
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.
It was reported at police headquarters last evening that an unknown man wearing a slouch hat had fallen off the Ocean dock into the bay and drowned. Officers Balduf, Powers, Glasscock, and Lieut. Thom investigated but failed to find evidence to confirm the report. However, a man named Ostrom positively stated he saw the victim stumble over the Columbia and Puget Sound railroad track and disappear into the water. The report was later confirmed by the discovery of a black slouch hat floating near the spot where the man vanished. No marks of identification were found.
“The report was confirmed later by the finding of a black slouch hat floating near the spot where the man disappeared.”
Accidental drownings were an unfortunately common occurrence in 19th-century Seattle, particularly along the poorly lit and treacherous wooden wharf structures of the industrial waterfront.
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