The Great Funeral of the Dead Man's Flats
Seattle prepares for a bizarre civic spectacle: a mass burial of thousands of dead men in a reclaimed swamp, complete with a parade and a $5 entry fee.
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.
Funeral of the Dead Men's Flats.
There will be a grand funeral at the Dead Man's Flats this afternoon. Those who would go well to take a basket, as the wife of Mr. Reese did in that remarkable declaration of Chanticleer fame, and it will be provided in abundance. The senders will meet the city hall at 1 o'clock. A force of men are putting the float and if the last pile hammer is not too old, it will be moved base as above.
$5 will be asked Tacoma will turn out with an escort, and a grand time is expected. Preference of officers, not the scarcity of ales, will determine the sale as several people desire the same lots. The next whistle at 12 o'clock noon, at 75 cents.
Ladies' club and wrap now available. Toklas Saturday morning.
This event highlights Seattle's ongoing battle with its geography—specifically, the reclamation of wetlands that were once considered 'dead man's flats' due to disease or danger. Today, we still grapple with land use in flood-prone areas like the Duwamish River corridor, where industrial history meets modern housing and environmental justice struggles.
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