The Sealers’ Rebellion at Neah Bay
A rebellious maritime labor dispute unfolds at the edge of the Washington Territory, where independent seal hunters stand their ground against a heavy-handed federal agent.
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.
I want to tell you how things get along down here. We are having lots of westerly winds, off Cape Flattery. I am getting a ship now and again, and doing my best to get more men about the sealing fleet. There are eight schooners sealing from here. The Seventy-Six is doing well with 600 skins; she has been paying $5 from the start. The Amethyst has 300 skins; the Indian schooner, with Chief Peter as captain, has 350 skins.
Baxter and all pay $5 per skin now. I told you before that the Indians stayed overnight on the Seventy-Six, and were to get put in jail when they get back, but I said I thought Wood would be afraid to put his threat in force, and I was right. Instead, he sent for the captain and wanted to get him to reduce the price to $4; but the captain said, 'No; I will keep on paying $5.' Then Wood changed his tone and told the captain he did not care if he paid $20; he wanted the Indians to get all they were worth, and this is the same man that he sent a written order to leave Neah Bay, or he would get the revenue cutter to tow him out. Is it Wood's place, as Indian agent, to cut the price of seal down to the Indian loss? Baxter’s storekeeper, who is Wood's son, said he thought the captain was too much of a gentleman to raise the price of skins. Wood is using his influence to have the telegraph operator and life boatman removed, but I don't think he will succeed. I hear a rumor that Wood expects to leave here about July. I can tell you the Indians would like him out at once.
“Is it Wood's place, as Indian agent, to cut the price of seal down to the Indian loss?”
This 1885 dispatch from Neah Bay highlights the perennial tension in Washington between concentrated commercial interests (the 'Baxter' firm) and the localized labor and sovereignty of indigenous workers. Just as today’s Seattle labor disputes often focus on the power dynamics between individual workers and management, the struggle at the Neah Bay docks shows a community pushing back against federal overreach in their local economy.
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