A Mill Worker Vanishes, Leaving a Stamped Letter and a Shanghaiing Theory
J. R. Flack left his Tacoma room without his clothes or wages. His boss at Wheeler, Osgood & Co. suspects the former sailor was “shanghaied” aboard a vessel.
J. R. Flack, an employee in Wheeler, Osgood & Co.’s mill, is mysteriously missing. He has not been seen at his room in the residence of Robert [—] since Monday. A letter has been found on the stand in his room addressed to W. Thompson, of England. It was stamped and ready for mailing. Flack’s clothes and all his personal belongings are still in his room. Mr. Osgood thinks that Flack must have been “shanghaied,” as he was once a sailor. He had not drawn all of his wages up to date, and was a very talkative man, all of which Mr. Osgood takes as confirmation of his theory that he must have been shipped or spirited away. When Flack was [ill] some time ago he was very prompt in informing his employers of the fact. Flack is about 35 years of age, of short and stout physique, probably 5 feet 4 inches high, and will weigh about 135 pounds. He has a dark complexion and wears a small black mustache and short side whiskers. He wore a dark suit of clothes when last seen. His family are in Oak Park, near Chicago.
“Mr. Osgood thinks that Flack must have been “shanghaied,” as he was once a sailor.”
Shanghaiing — the coercive abduction of sailors and laborers — was a real Pacific Coast labor abuse in this era, and Tacoma’s waterfront made such disappearances plausible. The case also reads like a modern missing-person alert: belongings left behind, wages uncollected, a letter ready to mail.
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