Three Chinese Women Kidnapped in Victoria
A daring abduction at sea is thwarted by customs officers, highlighting the border struggles near the Washington Territory.
Three Chinese women were kidnapped in Victoria Sunday night and put in canoes by their countrymen, who started with them for the American side. When near Port Townsend, the canoes were overhauled, and the women and captors were arrested by a United States customs officer and brought here by steamer. Afterward, the men were taken back to the American side for trial on a charge of attempted smuggling of women into American territory.
“Three Chinese women were kidnapped in Victoria Sunday night, put in canoes by their countrymen, who started with them for the American side.”
This event reflects the intense, often violent, surveillance of the border during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. It underscores how the Salish Sea functioned as both a passage for movement and a trap for vulnerable individuals navigating harsh exclusion laws.
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