The Opium Runners of Port Townsend
Customs inspectors engage in a high-stakes boat chase after catching smugglers unloading contraband in the dead of night.
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.
At 2:30 a.m. in Port Townsend, customs inspector T.R. Delaney observed two men acting suspiciously on Washington Street. Upon spotting the officer, the men dropped a heavy valise, fled to the beach, and rowed out to a waiting sloop in the bay. Officers Delaney, O'Brien, and Hubbard pursued them in a customs boat. The smugglers eventually abandoned their sloop and a skiff, jumped ashore at Point Wilson, and escaped into the hills. The valise contained 85 cans of opium valued at $300. The abandoned sloop, which hailed from Victoria, was seized by authorities.
“When they saw the officer approaching they dropped a heavy valise, ran to the beach, embarked in a skiff and put off to a sloop out in the bay.”
Smuggling across the Salish Sea has been a constant feature of the region's geography since the 19th century, evolving from opium and spirits to modern-day human and drug trafficking. The geography remains largely the same, with the rugged coastline near Port Townsend still providing countless coves for those attempting to bypass official ports of entry.
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