He Asked the Way Across the River and Was Never Seen Alive Again
A Whidbey Island man headed to the Yakima country to look at a farm, asked where to ford the river, misunderstood the directions, and drowned—his horse found wandering in the sagebrush two days later.
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.
News was received in this city yesterday of the finding in the Yakima river at Toppenish, the night before last, of the body of a man supposed to be D. Scheidelman, of Whidbey island. Residents who live near the place where the body was found say the man appeared Saturday, May 12, and asked where to ford the river. He was told and nothing more was heard of him. Two days later his horse was found wandering in the sage brush. It was thought that the stranger failed to understand directions and got into deep water.
Immediately after the body was found Coroner J. A. Taggar was notified and took charge. He found upon the corpse $80 in cash, a railway conductor's badge and a gold watch. Papers were also found which led to the supposition that he had relatives at Whidbey island and had come from Seattle.
A message was sent to A. Harker & Co., at the City dock, this city, informing them of Scheidelman's death and that it appeared that Mr. Harker had had dealings with the dead man on May 7. Mr. Harker states that he was acquainted with the man and knew that he had gone to Yakima to look up a farm. His family live on Whidbey island, near Snakalum, and were notified by mail last night. There is no telegraph line to that point.
“He was told and nothing more was heard of him. Two days later his horse was found wandering in the sage brush.”
Before bridges and ferries made the region routine, a river crossing could kill a man who simply misjudged directions, and word of a death in Yakima had to travel by mail because there was no telegraph to Whidbey Island. It is a reminder of how recently the map of Washington was a place where ordinary travel carried real risk, and of how identity was pieced together from a watch, a badge and a bundle of papers.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.