Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1885-05-16
A REPUBLIC OF TIE SEA.

eve copy the following from the Wush
ington Farmer)
Astoria. Ore, April 20, 1885.
Editor Washington Farmer:-
On March 18TH 1885, the officers and
passeu gers on board the Oregon Railway
& Navigation Company's Steamship.
Queen of the Pacific" were called on to
witness strange procedure, one of the
most singular that has ever transpired In
the annals of man--and one that would
seem to exceed 10 far>fetchedness any pic
turc drawn from the mind of Jules Verne.
1t was no less than the claiming of all
the oceans of our planet comprising three
quarters of the globe, aud undertaking TO
establish republic over all this area,
republic which for ia lical purposes /
annexed to the United States of Amereca.
The formal and official location stake
of the immense claim was driven pre-
cisely at sun down, March 18th, and the
act was performed in the following man>
ner.-
A person little above the average
weight, rather sto9ly built, wearing
long, full! beard snSa white wide brlm
med slouch hat of the pattern in common
use among the live stock men of the Wes
tern grazing lands, had notified the Off
GERS, crew and passengers, OF what was
about to trapspire, and proceeding with
his associates to the "bridge" he inquired
of the catpain on duty:
captain, where are we now9"
And received for answer: "Seven
miles off Cape Furtunas, on the coast ot
California, U. s. A., and by the ships
log. 34S miles from the Astoria bar, aud
1877 miles from the San Franc isco bar.
The piraiical looking individual, who
claimed to be direct llnesl dcscand mt OF
the Vikings, the Morse sea Kings who
once roaned the seas at will, and con-
auered all Europe, then proclaimed:
"Hrre on this spot. declare that thu
portion of the carth's surface not held le-
ultimately by any nation, and comprising
thereof so much as is covered by naviga-
ble waters of The salt seas, anc embracing
three>fnurths of the globe, is, from this
hour the property OF provisional gov
ernment, styling itself the "Repnblic of
all the Seas" of which am the president
We shall exact tolls Of all ships and a
royalty on all fish. sea otter, seal, whale,
and other living creatures inhabiting the
oceans and or oil valuable substances
taken from the mighty deep, by any per-
son whomsoever. And we do hereby
tender to the Government of the United
States 90 per cent. of the revenues so de-
rived on the condition that to us and to
myself personally, the remaining 10 per
cent shall be paid free of cost of colec-
ton. And l. do hereby call to witness the
consummation of this act, the following
persons here assembled, to wit:-E. Alex
ander, Captain J. M Fields, First Nate.
rhos Doing, Second Mate. Alfred o.
sen, Third Mate. Ii. Lsmpman, Engineer,
w. Fl. Allison First Asst Engineer. Sam.
f. Geodall, end Asst Engineer A. j.
Shepard, 3rd Asst Engineer. @. W. Ed
wards, Stewart. j. NJ. Js,ssen, Pilot. j
E. Byrnes. Purser.
The above being officers OF this ship.
aud the following being cabin passengers.
]. Strauss, J. A. Wilson, Ed. Schackum,
Z. A. Bro oke, Mrs Y. Kinnear, p. A.
Stokes, A. Noyes, H. II. Berwe, Mrs r. J
Lambert, z. NJ Horton. M. Caples, q. 4.
Gayton, d. Coney, G. Mills, F. s. Felts,
VIM. McBerth and wife, NJ. ]. Anderson
and wife, J. F Soule, 8. Hertser, ]. G.
Lyon, T. Collnson, C. r. Meach, Mrs.
Benitcau and sister, G. Benteau and
wife, W. M. Apgerly. J. Lihnham, r. J.
Campbell, w. g. Brysou, G. A. Smith,
Kate McGee, Miss Turner, Mrs. L. A.
Francois, ]. Diamond, D. Smith, Morris
Isaacs, W. q. Oakes, w. M. Dimmick, W.
G. Dougan, @. w. Leavitt, G. A. Dorr, J.
A Taggert, ]. Countrymau, A. Mcdonald,
y. Shredder, wife and child, A. B. Imas,