The Great Carp Distribution of 1885
A federal fish car arrived in Seattle from Washington D.C., sparking a city-wide frenzy as residents rushed to claim their share of a new, 'hardy' species.
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.
Yesterday morning, the Post-Intelligencer mentioned the arrival in this city of the carp car from the United States Fish Commission, which arrived late Tuesday evening. The car was placed on the siding near the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company's sawmill and was visited by hundreds of curious persons, as well as many applicants for fish. The car is complete in all its arrangements, being furnished with a kitchen, dining room, office, lockers, berths and all the necessary conveniences for five men. The fish tank is under the car, between the tracks. In the car is an engine for pumping the water from one tank to another, and a refrigerator where the water can be reduced to almost any degree of coolness. I. Frank Ellis, in charge of the car, said, 'We left Washington three weeks ago today, having 30,000 young carp for distribution in the West. These fish were hatched in a pond in the block adjoining the White House.' Among those supplied with twenty fish each were C.W. Lawton, Fred. M. Hall, Adolph Pepland, the Black Diamond Coal Company, and Dr. D.M. Kennedy. The carp are a hardy fish, but require the water changed every few hours. Out of the 30,000 we had when we left Washington, we have only lost 75 fish. When full grown, carp average from 20 to 30 pounds in weight, but I have seen them weigh as high as 90 pounds. Mr. Ellis enjoyed a drive about the city with Mayor Yesler and expressed surprise at the size and thrift of Seattle, noting that railroad officials in Tacoma had unfairly labeled it a 'one-horse town.'
“While at Tacoma they told us there was no use taking our car to Seattle, as Seattle was only a one-horse town anyhow. On our arrival at this beautiful city, you can imagine our surprise.”
While today we view common carp as an invasive pest threatening Washington's salmon habitats, in 1885, they were touted as a high-tech government solution to food security. This story captures the era's boundless (and misguided) faith in human engineering and the familiar, enduring rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma.
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