A Whiskey Flask on the Pend Oreille: Laborer Drowns at Usk Landing
Fred Campbell fell from the Steamer Spokane while intoxicated; his body was brought to Newport as officials searched for anyone who knew him.
Booze and the Pend Oreille claimed a victim at Usk Tuesday. While the Steamer Spokane was landing on the down trip, Fred Campbell, a laborer, fell from the upper deck into the river. He was in a badly intoxicated condition and unable to make any effort to save himself. A boat was put out as soon as possible, but a friend of Campbell's who was also drunk jumped into the boat and nearly upset it. An oar was lost and Campbell went down to rise no more before he could be reached. An almost empty whiskey flask floated to the surface to show where he had gone down.
The body was recovered late in the afternoon and brought to Newport on Wednesday noon's boat. It now lies at Miller's undertaking parlors while an effort is being made to locate friends of the unfortunate laborer. Campbell was about 30 years old and a fine looking man. He was dressed in rough clothes and there were no papers found on him, nor any money. An emblem of the Catholic Order of Foresters on his coat indicates that he belonged to that order and an effort is being made to locate his friends through the order.
“An almost empty whiskey flask floated to the surface to show where he had gone down.”
A century later, the Pend Oreille still draws boaters and workers, and alcohol remains tangled with river accidents. Campbell's death is a reminder that behind every industrial boom were transient laborers whose names and families were not always known.
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