The Cowboy of Elliott Bay
A Spokane journalist turns cowboy on the open water, lassoing a fleeing deer from the deck of a Puget Sound steamer.
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.
A lively deer hunt, ending with the lassoing of a fine doe, took place out in the Sound opposite Seattle yesterday. About 9:30 in the morning the steamer San Juan left here for Sidney in charge of Captain Nibbe. From Duwamish Head she made straight across for Bean's Point; and before long the passengers saw a black spot moving over the water toward the further shore. As the vessel drew nearer, those on board discovered that the spot was the head of a deer, which was swimming to the land. The steamer of course could go much faster, and Captain Nibbe gave orders to make a circuit and head the swimmer off. The rudder was turned, and in a few minutes the boat was between the deer and the land. Then the wary fugitive made a sudden turn out to the middle of the Sound. The San Juan gave chase, and again intercepted. After half an hour of sharp pursuit, the poor swimmer began to show signs of great fatigue. Then Mr. C. B. Dillingham, city editor of the Spokane Spokesman, who was aboard the San Juan, took part in the hunt. Making a lasso knot in the end of a rope, he wound the coil and stepped forward. As the ship again drew close to the panting beast he swung the lasso with a skill gained by several years spent as a cowboy on the plains. The loop fell over the head of the deer. Mr. Dillingham gave a short pull and braced himself. A brief splashing and struggle followed. The chase was at an end. The steamer towed the prize toward the beach. There, in the shallows, the mate, Walter Keeney, drew a knife across the heaving throat; the body, which proved to be that of an uncommonly large doe, was pulled on board the steamer and taken to Sidney, where it was put on sale.
“As the ship again drew close to the panting beast he swung the lasso with a skill gained by several years spent as a cowboy on the plains.”
Today, seeing a deer swimming in Elliott Bay would likely trigger a viral social media moment, likely followed by a call to wildlife services. In 1891, the encounter was viewed as an opportunity for sport and fresh meat, reflecting a time when the boundary between wilderness and urban infrastructure was far more porous.
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