A Soaking and a Saving at the Seattle Waterfront
A porter on the City of Topeka fell overboard while inebriated and had to be prodded with a pike pole to save his life.
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.
Harry Webb, porter on the City of Topeka, had rather an unexpected saltwater bath yesterday afternoon. He appears to have partaken too freely of Easter eggs, and his brain was affected in such a manner that he was top-heavy. While trying to walk down the dock to the steamship his head got too far to one side and he toppled over into the water. Several parties saw him, and although the water was not very deep at that point, he did not seem to be able to help himself. A bystander took a pike pole and reached down to him, but Webb's head was under water, and he did not realize any one was trying to help him. To attract his attention the man jabbed him in the shoulder with the pike, and then Webb groped about until he got hold of the pole, to which he literally clung for dear life, even refusing to let go after being hauled ashore. He insisted that the pole was very dear to him for having saved his life, and parted from it only by force.
“To attract his attention the man jabbed him in the shoulder with the pike, and then Webb groped about until he got hold of the pole, to which he literally clung for dear life.”
Accidental falls into the Sound were a common hazard for maritime workers in the era of wooden docks. Today, the waterfront is significantly more regulated, but the danger of the deep water remains a persistent element of Seattle's identity.
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