Tragedy on the Nooksack River
A canoe capsizes while ferrying settlers near the Nooksack River crossing, highlighting the precarious nature of travel in the remote Washington Territory.
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.
On Monday last, a canoe load of persons going down the Nooksack river from the crossing camp near Farndale was upset just below the junction, above Lynden, by striking a snag. A little Indian girl was drowned, and seven or eight men and women narrowly escaped with their lives. Indian Marie was piloting the canoe when it struck a post and turned over in the river. John A. Tennant, Rev. Lindsley, Rev. Teele, Rev. Dobbs, and others were among the passengers. Fortunately, none of them were non-swimmers and would have all drowned but for the assistance of the Indians, who were out fishing and diving into the river bed, rescuing them from the water.
“A little Indian girl was drowned, and seven or eight men and women narrowly escaped with their lives.”
The Nooksack River remains a lifeline for the community, though it is no longer the primary highway for settlers as it was in 1885. The dangerous transit of the late 19th century reminds us of how much the landscape and local infrastructure have been tamed, though river safety and accessibility continue to be critical issues for the region.
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