A Hunter's Final Trip Near South Yakima
After successfully bagging a deer, a hunter is swept away by the current of the Naches River.
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.
Coroner Taggard received notification this morning that Godfrey Jones, who has resided in South Yakima for several months, was drowned Sunday afternoon while fording the Naches River. Jones and two friends left the city some days since on a hunting trip and had gotten about forty miles up the river. There, Jones shot a deer. With the assistance of one friend, he took the deer and attempted to cross the river, but the current proved too strong and he was carried away. His friend barely escaped. The body was not found, and his companions started for this city, arriving yesterday evening after a hard trip. Men have been stationed to intercept the body when it floats down.
“The current proved too strong, and he was carried away.”
Fording mountain rivers remains a dangerous activity in Washington, despite the advent of modern search and rescue. The story reflects the perilous nature of wilderness recreation in the 1890s.
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