The Opium Thief of Port Townsend
A worker entrusted with thousands in opium decides to sell the cargo and flee, setting off a frantic, brief escape that ends in a Seattle jail cell.
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.
Sheriff Shoudy arrived here last night with Leonard Butler, back to Port Townsend to answer to a charge of grand larceny. It appears that Butler was working for Messrs. Waterman & Katz, and while in their employ, stole thousands of dollars worth of opium, which he sold, and converted the proceeds to his own use. When his employers learned of the theft, he acknowledged it, and they sought to compromise the matter by taking part payment in cash and allowing him to work out the remainder. Butler went to his room to get the money, but instead of returning, made his way over to Port Ludlow, where he took the steamer 'Geo. E. Starr' for Seattle. On his arrival here he was arrested by police officer Strase and locked up. He is a tall young fellow, and had the appearance of being a hard worker. He had fifty cents in his pocket when arrested.
“He is a tall young fellow, and had the appearance of being a hard worker. He had fifty cents in his pocket when arrested.”
In the 1880s, Port Townsend was a primary port of entry for the Pacific opium trade, and the resulting legal and illicit entanglements were common fixtures of local news. Today, the city is a quiet maritime destination, but the ghosts of its frontier-era vice economy still underpin the dramatic, often lawless history that defined early Washington state ports.
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