A Log Raft Turns Deadly Off Decatur Island
Amos Plasket, a San Juan County resident, fell from a log into the water within yards of shore and drowned before he could be recovered.
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.
DROWNED.—Amos Plasket, a resident of San Juan County, was drowned at Decatur Island on or near the 18th inst. He was on a log raft going out after his boat, anchored there 16 yards from shore, and when within reaching distance of it he was precipitated from the log into the water, from which he was not recovered until life was extinct. It is thought that in falling he struck the edge of his boat in such a manner as to incapacitate him from using the proper means for his preservation.
“When within reaching distance of it he was precipitated from the log into the water, from which he was not recovered until life was extinct.”
Decatur Island's waters remain a working landscape for log booms and small craft, and drownings still remind us how quickly a routine job can turn fatal. The story also shows how thin the margin was for workers whose safety net was often only a nearby boat.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.