The Snohomish 'Lady' and the River Trick
A local performance in the Snohomish social scene reveals a talent that bridged the gap between labor and artistry, even if the era's framing was narrow.
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.
Mr. McWilliams, whose first appearance in a Snohomish Minstrel show was received with great favor, gave a creditable performance as the leading lady, and displayed talent as a character actor and comic singer. The listeners evidently felt that he was a very acceptable addition to our local talent pool. Following his performance, the account turns to a separate, strange event on the river involving local loggers. The loggers have been on a struggle with the Superintendent of the Tulalip Indian Reservation to prevent them from slipping the logs at the point where they cross the trail. They have been engaged in this contest since last May, and several times they have been kept traveling between Tulalip and the Point. They want to come with their armed Indian police and drive the loggers out, but the loggers have stood their ground. They have also been annoyed by the high water of the river, which makes it nearly impossible to cross, yet they persist in moving their timber.
“The listeners evidently felt that he was a very acceptable addition to our local talent pool.”
The intersection of theatrical performance and labor struggles highlights the vibrant, sometimes gritty, identity of early Snohomish. While the language used to describe the minstrel performance reflects the problematic biases of the 1879 press, the underlying story captures a community navigating both the arts and the intense land and river access rights that remain central to the region today.
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