The Forgotten Captain of the Duwamish
After surviving a near-drowning last spring, a local schooner captain is finally hospitalized for exhaustion and neglect.
Capt. Edward D. Quinn, well known as captain of the schooner Teaser for the past ten years, is now in Providence hospital sick with consumption. Capt. Quinn's health has not been good since the time he was upset and nearly drowned near Instruction Island last spring, but instead of going to the hospital he has been living alone in the Teaser, in the Duwamish river, doing his own cooking, and has not had the proper care. Tuesday evening he was brought to the city by the tug Mayflower and taken to the hospital.
“Capt. Quinn's health has not been good since the time he was upset and nearly drowned... but instead of going to the hospital he has been living alone in the Teaser.”
Capt. Quinn’s story illustrates the extreme vulnerability of the maritime labor force in 19th-century Seattle. While the riverfront has been transformed by industry and habitat restoration, the isolation of those living aboard vessels in the Duwamish remains a reality for many even today.
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