A Fatal Misstep on the Skookumchuck
A tragic river crossing in rural Washington leaves a young man dead after a single, impulsive movement.
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 young man named Wickersham was drowned above the forks of Gray's river, Wahkiakum County, last Monday, in a very singular manner. He had been engaged in hand logging and on his return from a visit to this city that day, went to his place about two miles above Jesse Baker's, taking with him another young man named Chas. Nemaer. They crossed the fork of the river in a boat when Nemaer, jumping out, gave the boat a backward shove with his foot as he sprang. The recoil upset the boat, and Wickersham, falling out, was drowned before the eyes of his horror-stricken companion, who was powerless to aid him. All efforts to recover the body have thus far been unavailing. Wickersham was a single man, well spoken of by his acquaintances on both sides of the mountains.
“Nemaer, jumping out, gave the boat a backward shove with his foot as he sprang. The recoil upset the boat.”
This 1886 report of a fatal river accident highlights the extreme isolation and physical danger inherent in Washington's early logging industry. While modern safety regulations have drastically reduced workplace fatalities in forestry, the unpredictable power of Washington's rivers remains a persistent hazard for those working or recreating in the backcountry.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.