The Cigar Drunkards of Seattle
In 1877, police were baffled by a new phenomenon: Native Americans getting intoxicated not from liquor, but from smoking cigars. As the city grappled with enforcement of temperance laws, this bizarre loophole left officers scratching their heads and citizens demanding new legislation.
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.
DRUNK ON CIGARS.
It has been said that there are men as drunk as church doors who purchased bitters at the drug store some years ago, while the Maine liquor law was being vigorously enforced; but for Indians to get drunk on cigars is something new under the sun. For several weeks past, drunken Indians have been frequently noticed on our streets, and the police have been hard at work to find out, if possible, from whom they obtained their liquor.
On Sunday one of the officers found a party of 'Indians' in the rear of one of the bagnios on the Lava Bed. He questioned them as to where they had got their liquor; but they all testified that they had nothing but cigars, and that these were purchased in the establishment in question.
If cigars affect Indians in this manner there should be a law against selling cigars to them.
This 1877 account highlights the complex and often tragic intersection of colonial policy, indigenous agency, and public health. While the newspaper frames it as a humorous anomaly or a legal loophole, it reflects the intense pressure on Native communities to navigate prohibition laws that were designed to control them rather than protect them. Today, we recognize that substance use among Indigenous populations is deeply tied to historical trauma and systemic inequities, requiring compassionate, culturally grounded solutions rather than punitive measures.
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