The Opium Ring and the Floating Body: A Seattle Murder Mystery
When Abner Abbott’s body was found in the tide flats, suspicion fell on a smuggling ring. Was he silenced for knowing too much about a $400 check from China?
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.
It is believed by some of the friends of Abner Abbott, the young man whose remains were found floating in the waters of the tide-flats under the King street trestle Saturday, that he is the victim of the opium smuggling ring. There are many circumstances connected with his disappearance that go toward sustaining this theory.
The hotel porter who was at the dock when Abbott's party arrived in Seattle from Fairhaven says that he was certain that Abbott's large valise, which he carried to the hotel, contained opium. He made some remarks about its weight at the time.
Later, Abbott frequently displayed a check for $400, drawn by some Chinese firm. Charles Sargent, who was at that time acting night clerk of the Seattle Hotel, states that he saw the check in Abbott's possession on the evening when he left the hotel for the last time. This check was not on his person when his remains were drawn out of the water.
It is thought by those who believe in this theory that the opium ring was desirous of getting him out of the way for fear that his carelessness in displaying his check and in the use of his tongue, when stimulated by liquor, would get them into trouble. He had been flourishing the check around in the Eureka saloon just before he left there to meet his death.
They do not believe that Abbott was engaged in the smuggling business, but had been employed for a good round sum to get the opium through for them.
De Witt, who was around with Abbott a great deal, it is said disappeared about the same time. He appeared to be very anxious to find Abbott, and stated when he went away that he would write his address, so that word could be sent to him if anything should be learned about Abbott, but he has not been heard from since.
This 1900s-era murder mystery highlights Seattle's early entanglement with Pacific Rim trade networks and the dark side of immigration enforcement. While modern drug wars often target supply chains, this story focuses on the peril faced by individuals caught in the middle of transnational smuggling rings—a dynamic that echoes in today’s debates over border security and organized crime.
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