Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 75 years ago

Searchers scoured the Spokane River for the body of 28-year-old Portland adventurer Herman Snyder, who was attempting to kayak from Spokane to Portland, via the Spokane and Columbia rivers. 

The expedition went badly from the beginning. The raging waters of the Spokane River near Bowl and Pitcher overturned the kayak, which Snyder had named “Sacajawea.” The man clung to the kayak for nearly a mile before slipping beneath the surface. Searchers found the kayak, which had 10 gashes made by Snyder’s fingers as he fought to maintain his hold. 

A Spokane 18-year-old, hired as the expedition’s photographer, said Snyder had never even scouted the river, except from what he could see from the Monroe Street Bridge.

When they got to Bowl and Pitcher, the photographer got out of the kayak at the urging of his parents. Several locals urged Snyder not to continue, but he shoved off “with a cocksure smile.”

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1712: Pennsylvania’s colonial assembly voted to ban the further importation of slaves. … 1942: The World War II Battle of Midway ended in a decisive victory for American forces over the Imperial Japanese. … 1967: The Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic opened in San Francisco. … 1972: The musical “Grease” opened on Broadway.