Seized on Jackson Street
A sailor aboard the steamer City of Kingston is arrested with sixteen pounds of opium in his pockets.
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.
Harry Rodgers, a sailor on the steamer City of Kingston, was arrested on Jackson street last night at about 10 o'clock by Chinese Inspector W. L. Meredith and Officer Sam Corbett. When searched at the police station, thirty-three five-tael cans of prepared opium were found in his pockets. The thirty-three cans of 'ti-pe' weigh sixteen pounds, valued at $30 per pound. Rodgers insists that this is 'the first time I ever did it.'
“Rodgers insists that this is 'the first time I ever did it.'”
This arrest highlights the long history of policing the illicit movement of goods through Seattle's waterfront, a struggle that persists in various forms today. The story reflects both the active monitoring of Asian imports and the era's aggressive law enforcement tactics on the docks.
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