The Hood Canal ‘Pirates’ Who Robbed Ranchers for Weeks
John Flynn and Timothy Ross were arrested in Port Townsend after a two-week pillaging spree along Hood Canal; a boatload of stolen goods came back with them.
Port Townsend, March 5.—Special.—John Flynn and Timothy Ross, two pirates who have been robbing and pillaging ranchers along Hood Canal for two or three weeks, have been arrested and held for trial in the superior court. A boatload of plunder was recovered. The rascals appropriated every article they could lay their hands on, and actually used household articles devoid of value, except to the owners.
“The rascals appropriated every article they could lay their hands on, and actually used household articles devoid of value, except to the owners.”
Hood Canal’s isolated ranches were vulnerable enough in 1895 for a two-week robbery spree to go on before arrests. The “pirate” label is period color, but the underlying story—rural property crime and the limits of policing in out-of-the-way places—still has a familiar ring.
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