Tree Limb Crashes Through Steamboat Cabin
A dangerous commute on the Snohomish River leaves a steamer damaged and its passengers shaken after a low-hanging tree limb shears the cabin roof.
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.
The steamer City of Quincy met with an accident in the Snohomish River yesterday morning; a big branch from an overhanging tree swept off her rail, broke the windows in the ladies' cabin, and crushed the side of her house amidships. The damage is estimated at $100, and the boat will lay up until Monday morning to allow repairs to be made.
“A big branch from an overhanging tree swept off her rail, breaking the windows in the ladies' cabin.”
In 1891, the Snohomish River was a primary arterial highway for cargo and commuters, subject to the whims of the wild landscape. Today, while we have replaced steam-powered riverboats with bridges and highways, the tension between Seattle's infrastructure and the untamed natural environment remains a defining, often hazardous, feature of life in the Pacific Northwest.
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