Smuggling Ring Uncovered in Olympia
Inspectors capture six men allegedly smuggled into the city via a Canadian steamer, highlighting the ongoing enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Six Chinamen, supposed to have been smuggled into this city, were captured last night by Inspectors Coblentz and McClelland. The men are supposed to have been landed here on a small Canadian steamer from Victoria, coming up the sound via the west passage, landing 21 Chinamen either at Butler’s Cove or on Priest Point, and then steaming from here to Tacoma, where she either is now or is on her way to Victoria for another contraband cargo. It is supposed that she has made frequent trips between Victoria and Olympia, bringing in both Chinamen and opium. There are now supposed to be 165 Chinamen in Olympia.
“It is supposed that she has made frequent trips between Victoria and Olympia, bringing in both Chinamen and opium.”
This report reflects the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a period of intense state-sanctioned xenophobia in Washington. Today, these sites—Butler's Cove and Priest Point—are quiet residential and park areas, far removed from the violent exclusionary politics that once defined the waterfront.
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