The Vashon Island Opium Cache
Customs inspectors spend a day spading up an orchard on Vashon Island to recover a large stash of smuggled opium.
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.
Fifty-three metal cans of opium were captured this evening in an orchard on Vashon Island by Deputy Customs Inspectors Delaney and Walsh. There were originally fifty-four cans, but one had been opened by someone who did not know what the contents were and had been thrown away in the bushes. J.E. Mace located the point where the opium was cached and provided a diagram of the premises, though it was so inaccurate that the officers had to spade up half an acre before finding the contraband. The opium, wrapped in oilskins, had been landed off a boat during the night. Several locals were aware of the cache, but officials had to press them hard to elicit information.
“It was so inaccurate that the officers spaded up half an acre before finding the dope.”
This report highlights the persistent, shadowy trade in contraband that characterized early Puget Sound history. While the nature of the goods has changed, the tension between remote, rural privacy on Vashon Island and municipal law enforcement remains a relevant local theme.
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