The Collector of Customs and the Steamer Eliza Anderson
A dramatic standoff between a local Customs Collector and a naval lieutenant highlights the administrative dysfunction and power struggles in Port Angeles.
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.
Another incident has occurred in the delightful latitude of Port Angeles, which goes to show that the immortal Victor [Smith] can beat an orderly retreat as well as plan town-sites. It appears that last week a lot of cattle was shipped on the steamer Eliza Anderson for San Juan Island. The steamer touched at Port Angeles for her clearance to Victoria, which was refused by Collector Smith. It was finally agreed that the steamer might run over to Victoria. About the time the steamer was entering the harbor, the engineer announced the bursting of a steam pipe. On the return of the steamer to Port Angeles, Smith demanded of Lieut. Selden the reason for landing. Selden replied that the steamer was disabled. Smith gave Lieut. Selden the lie, and sought protection in his own house. As the steamer was rounding out of the harbor, Deputy Moore drew his sword cane, and claimed he was commander of the cutter. Lieut. Selden immediately wrenched the cane from Moore and hustled him into a boat alongside, sent him ashore, returned to the Anderson and started for Olympia.
“Lieut. Selden immediately wrenched the cane from Moore and hustled him into a boat alongside, sent him ashore, returned to the Anderson and started for Olympia.”
This account depicts the chaotic nature of federal authority in the remote Pacific Northwest during the 1860s. Collector Victor Smith was a controversial figure whose heavy-handed enforcement of revenue laws frequently clashed with local maritime interests and territorial officials.
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