Dynamite Plot Found on Puget Sound Collier
A meticulously rigged infernal machine, timed to trigger via a rat trap and revolver, was discovered in the hold of the steamer Bawnmore.
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 diabolical attempt to wreck the Bawnmore, while on her way up, was frustrated by mere chance. Yesterday, one of the crew was sent into the after hold to do some necessary work and while doing so came across a large and suspicious bundle. He immediately reported to Chief Officer Kennedy what he had discovered, but at the command of the officer, he refused to go below and bring it up. The sailor said, 'Not much. If you want it, you go and get it.' The chief officer went below and picked up a bundle containing twelve pounds of dynamite, which had several strings attached. He found one string attached to a revolver and thence to the hammer of an alarm clock. Another string was attached to a rat trap with a cross-bar, so that the jolting of the vessel would cause the trap to fire the revolver and explode the dynamite. The captain claims it is part of a Sailors' Union program to avenge the imprisonment of their members.
“The jolting of the vessel would cause the bar to set the trap off and fire the revolver and then explode the caps around the dynamite and blow the bottom out of the vessel.”
This industrial sabotage highlights the intense, often violent labor strife that characterized the Pacific Northwest maritime industry in the 1890s. While modern labor disputes in Seattle focus on platform work and gig economy protections, the use of 'infernal machines' reflects a time when conflicts were fought directly on the factory floor or ship deck.
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