The Great Whale Migration Through Elliott Bay
Passengers on a Puget Sound steamer were stunned to encounter a massive school of whales near Alki Point, marking a rare and wonder-filled moment of natural spectacle in the heart of Seattle.
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. John Arthur was a passenger from Tacoma yesterday on the steamer Hayward. He says that when the steamer had reached a point just south of Alki Point, the passengers were treated to a rare sight. This consisted of a school of whales gaily sporting in the waters of the Sound. Those who claim to know say the leviathans were what is known as black whales. The spouting of these, the largest of living creatures, was watched with interest by the passengers, many of whom had never seen a whale before. Some wished the steamer would go closer to the school in order that they might inspect the monsters of the deep at short range. Others were fearful that the Hayward might go too close and that an attack by the school might result disastrously for the steamer. The passengers variously estimate the length of the whales they saw at from 40 to 70 feet. About a week since, the steamer Premier passed through a school of whales near Whatcom. They were all around the boat at the time, and dived and swam around in the water as if they were at play. It is suggested by many that the school seen by the passengers of the Hayward yesterday is the same school which has worked its way up the Sound.
“The spouting of these, the largest of living creatures, was watched with interest by the passengers, many of whom had never seen a whale before.”
In 1889, sightings of whales in Elliott Bay were a cause for wonder and mild trepidation among commuters. Today, while we are more aware of the environmental stressors on our local orcas and marine life, the sight of a whale remains a powerful reminder of the deep, wild connection between Seattle's urban shores and the Salish Sea.
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