The Opium Barrel That Shook Tacoma
A mislabeled shipment of 'sour krout' hides a fortune in smuggled drug, marking the largest seizure in the port's history.
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.
TACOMA, Feb. 25.—Two barrels purported to contain sour kraut, which arrived here this afternoon on the Northern Pacific railroad from Spokane Falls, marked 'J.C. Calvin, San Francisco, via the Oregon & California railroad,' aroused the suspicion of the railroad employees by their weight, being too tight to contain the substance marked.
Inspector C. Mulkey, of the customs department, was called, and looking into the barrels, discovered that they were filled with three-ounce tin taels of opium. The heads were opened, and of the smuggled drug were found packed in sawdust. The total value of the seizure is $8,000, the largest ever made at this port.
It is thought the drug was smuggled across the border near Colville, and packed for shipment to Spokane Falls, thence to Ellensburg and over the Oregon division to Tacoma. The mystery of the entire transaction is who made the shipment from Spokane Falls. The way bill is from Spokane Falls to Ellensburg, but Ellensburg is substituted and the shipment made by J.L. Calvin.
Under the superintendence of J.B. Crook, in charge of customs here, the tin boxes were taken out of the barrels and reshipped to Port Townsend, to be stored in the custom-house there.
While modern drug enforcement focuses on digital networks and international cartels, this 1904 seizure highlights how early 20th-century border security relied on physical inspection and the ingenuity of smugglers using mundane goods like sauerkraut to hide high-value contraband. It also reflects Tacoma's role as a critical transit hub for Pacific Northwest trade, making it a prime target for cross-border smuggling routes from Canada.
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