Early Mercer Island Was a Haunted, Dangerous Place

Think the snow makes things tough? Our predecessors had to deal with a sinking Island, bears and murder. Read on:

Mercer Island Named for Supernatural Pioneer, 1860

Our island was named Mercer’s Island for Thomas Mercer, an early Seattle pioneer who often visited the Island. The Native Americans believed the Island was haunted and sank into the lake every night. Once Mercer spent the night on the Island, causing the natives who rowed him to and from to believe that he had supernatural powers.

This story is from historylink.org, an online encyclopedia of Northwest history. I love this site. It lets me indulge my addiction to Northwest history, despite blog stats that show that readers routinely pass over history-related posts.

What else happened on Mercer Island in the 19th century?

Man Kills Bear on Mercer Island, June 1873

Please report any bear sightings to mercerislandblogger@yahoo.com. Be sure to tell the police, too.

Mr. G. Proctor sighted a bear near his premises and gave chase. Not only did he kill the bear, he pursued it out into the Lake and dragged it back on shore.

Now THAT’S killing a bear. Full story by Greg Lange.

James Colman is Murdered Near Mercer Island, February 1886

This story of murder includes such evocative details as:

• ” Suspicion falls on George Miller, whom Colman had accused of illegal land dealings.”
• “The boat was beached on the west side of the island, directly opposite the Mathieson home in Seattle. Blood stained the wooden seats.”
• “At the trial in Port Townsend, 9-year-old Alla Olds took the stand, but when the prosecuting attorney made her cry, she told her story to the judge instead.”
• “For years, many on Mercer Island referred to the island’s southern end as Murder Point. The place where the boat was found became Deadman’s Bay.”

Alan J. Stein did a beautiful writeup on the murder and also brought us the story of the naming of Mercer’s Island. Stay warm & stay away from Deadman’s Bay.

Photo credit: Roy Mac, flickr (bear) and Canadian Elligirl, flickr (rowboat).

Deer on Mercer Island circa 2008

My neighbor spotted three deer outside her house this weekend. I’ve heard they swim (!?) over from Seward Park and the Eastside.

Not my neighbor’s house, and not those deer. Photo: Noel Zia Lee on Flickr.

Mercer Island Weekly said there were deer spotted near Pioneer Park about the same time last year.

Has anyone else seen deer on the Island this year? And more importantly, has anybody ever seen a deer swim? I’d love to see some pictures of that, or at the least hear an elaborate description.

The Flowers are Confused

Spring weather in February confuses the flowers. It was a beautiful weekend.

A confused crocus.

Here are the Olympic Mountains from the top of Island Crest Way around 40th.

The weather’s nice for lounging in the garden, if you don’t have a job:

An unemployed freeloader.

Hunted by an Owl

The other day I was out running on West Mercer Way. It was about 5 pm, and getting dark. Something heavy tangled itself in my hair. I thought it had fallen from a tree. But then it fell up, not down, and I saw a bird fly on ahead of me. A crow, I thought, with bad aim and a very short life expectancy, given its flying habits.

The bird alighted on a branch, and I got closer and saw it was an owl.

Not the owl that attacked me. Photo credit: Flickr.

I stared at him. He stared back. It’s a strange feeling to be hunted. I said, “Boo!” He looked at me, swiveled his head around, and then back. I said “Boo!” again, mostly to re-establish my position in the food chain. He stared.

I started to run again, and as I did he took off behind me. I ducked. It wasn’t quite fear, but I didn’t want a bird in my hair. I decided to go straight home. I wanted to turn around and see if he was following me, but I worried that he’d get my eyes.

Later, a friend suggested that the owl might not have been hunting; he may have been building a nest, and thought my hair would be useful. Somehow, that didn’t make me feel promoted in the owl worldview.

Wildlife is to be respected, though I hadn’t anticipated needing to respect it on West Mercer Way. Bonus lesson for runners: run during the day.