The Confidence Men of the Steamer Route
A trio of swindlers fleeing Seattle justice find their match in a wary traveler on the Puget Sound steamship line.
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.
Three vagrants ordered to leave Seattle last week by Marshal Thorndyke, named Roper, Dowd, and Wiggs, took the boat for Tacoma. On their way, they fell in with a man seeking employment and offered him a profitable situation in the Tacoma mills, stating they were acquainted with the proprietors. The laborer was pleased and treated his new friends. Upon arriving in Tacoma, they offered to initiate him into the mysteries of the 'strap game' before heading to the mill, fleecing him of $60. Yesterday, Roper approached a man named Woodward in Tacoma and offered to show him the game. Dowd and Wiggs joined in to explain it, but Woodward was suspicious. After they walked away laughing, Woodward discovered his pocket had been cut and $44 stolen. He swore out papers for Roper’s arrest, but Roper caught a steamer for Seattle. Woodward pursued him, and upon arrival at the Seattle wharf, the two landed and ran up Mill Street. Woodward shouted for the police, and while Roper disappeared into hiding, Woodward reported the matter to Marshal Thorndyke. Roper remained hidden until nightfall, then stowed away on the mail steamer to return to Tacoma, leaving Woodward behind.
“They proposed to initiate him into the mysteries of the strap game before going to the mill, which they did, fleecing him to the amount of $60.”
This 19th-century 'strap game' on the Puget Sound transit route highlights the long history of transience and opportunism on our waterways. Much like today's concerns about safety and accountability on our regional transit systems, this story captures the frustration of chasing mobile offenders across the complex geography of the Sound.
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