Deserters on the Cow Paths: Three British Sailors Slip Into Blaine
Three sailors flee the British warships at Esquimalt, stealing down the east coast of Vancouver Island by night to cross into American soil at Blaine.
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.
BLAINE, Oct. 12.—There passed through Blaine three British sailors who had recently escaped from the warships lying at Esquimalt. They had left their ship and stolen up along the east coast of Vancouver Island until opposite the mouth of the Fraser, where they crossed the gulf in a small boat and walked down to Blaine. They had come by cow paths and other trails so as to avoid capture, but they said Sunday night was the first decent night's sleep they had enjoyed for a week, which was owing to their safe transit into Uncle Sam's dominion. They left for up Sound in the morning, tired and footsore but happy.
“Sunday night was the first decent night's sleep they had enjoyed for a week, which was owing to their safe transit into Uncle Sam's dominion.”
In 1891 the line between British Columbia and Washington was a genuine escape route for men who wanted out of imperial naval service, and Blaine was a border town that took them in. The border still shapes this corner of the state, though the travelers and the stakes have changed entirely. What survives is the small human detail — tired, footsore, and finally able to sleep.
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