The Smuggler's Hold in Port Townsend
A US Customs inspection reveals a secret cargo of sugar and pork, risking vessel forfeiture and perjury charges.
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.
The Deputy Inspector of U.S. Customs at Port Townsend has seized the American bark Adelaide Cooper, Hall, master, for an alleged infraction of the revenue laws. It appears that the Cooper discharged a cargo of merchandise at this port from San Francisco about ten days ago, and afterwards sailed for the Sound to take in a return cargo of lumber. The U.S. revenue laws require that all vessels for the Sound shall enter at the Custom House at Port Townsend, whither the Cooper proceeded, and Capt. Hall entered the vessel and made oath that she was 'in ballast.' Subsequently the Deputy Collector visited her lower hold and found there 15 barrels Sandwich Island sugar, 300 sacks bran, 23 barrels pork, 13 barrels butter, and 1 large cooking stove. The vessel and goods were accordingly seized for furnishing a false manifest, and if it is ascertained that any portion of the goods were purchased here, or that the vessel cleared in ballast from this port, both will be liable to forfeiture and the master to prosecution for perjury.
“The Deputy Collector visited her lower hold and found there 15 barrels Sandwich Island sugar, 300 sacks bran, 23 barrels pork, 13 barrels butter, and 1 large cooking stove.”
Port Townsend remains a vital maritime port, but the era of small-scale smuggling of pantry staples like sugar and butter has long since been replaced by modern logistics. The story serves as a reminder of the strict, sometimes precarious, enforcement of federal jurisdiction that defined the early growth of Washington Territory's maritime economy.
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