The Laundries of Lenora Street

Though a close watch was kept yesterday for the rest of the party of Chinese immigrants who landed from a sloop at Smith Cove on Friday night, no additional captures were made. Besides the eighteen men in jail, it is thought at least twenty landed and are hiding in the woods skirting Lake Union or are being sheltered by residents of the city. Customs and police officers kept a close watch on incoming steamers. Inspector Munn says that the Chinese wash-house at the corner of West and Lenora Streets, where he and Deputy Sheriff Taylor Holden captured nine men Saturday, is notoriously a resort and shipping station for contraband Chinese.

'We have had an eye on the place for a long time,' Munn said, 'but it is next to impossible to get a case against the owner. On dark, rainy, or foggy nights the smugglers make a landing. As soon as the landing is effected, the newcomers are met by a pilot who guides them, a few at a time, to the wash-house. At the laundry, their clothing is changed, and several baskets of laundry are prepared. One man, who knows the town, goes ahead with a basket of laundry on his back. Behind him, half a block away, follows a contraband brother. He also has a basket of laundry on his shoulder. Thus, from six to eight of them, guided by one in the lead, go boldly through the city to the Chinese settlement on Main Street and escape even suspicion. The Chinese are very shrewd, and unless they are deserted by their guides, they seldom lose control of themselves. There are about 1,000 miles of Puget Sound shore for a half-dozen men to guard, and though a few are caught, the majority land safely.'