Arizona weekly citizen., 1890-07-05
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GIBRALTAR PASS.
snteresting Features of a Famous North.
 western Highway for SmugSIers.

snteresting Features of a Famous North.
 western Highway for smuggIers.
 In years gone by so many supersti-
 tious and conflicting stories were cir
 culated about Gibraltar pass, formerly
 Deception pass, that 1t was difficult to
 get any truth about 1t. Even the
 width was not known, nor even ap-
 proximated in the calculations, and it
 was commonly reported that 1t was
 but sixty feet wide. To settle this
 question, George Lynch and Arthur
 White took two skiffs and line and
 measured Gibraltar pass at the mar
 rowest part of the throat, and found
 1t to be 300 feet, and it may be widen
 cd forty feet more by a shot of dyna-
 mite III blasting off point of rock.
 The harrow portion of the pass aver
 ages 500 feet in width, and in re-
 moving a small island between the
 pass proper and the narrow channel
 known as Canoe pass, the width of
 Gibraltar pass can with but little ex-
 pense be widened to about 900 feet.
 The narroweSt part of Canoe pass IS
 50 feet, and the widest part is 200
 feet. Fora considerable distance Gib-
 raltar pass Is already half mile to a
 mile and half wide, with a depth of
 water at low tide of 100 to 200 feet,
 and the walls are of solid and nearly
 smooth rock. There arc but few such
 natural passes for shipping in the
 world.
 Twelve years ago one of the largest scow schoOners that has ever navi- gated Puget sound (being the one that took the lumber to build Dungeness
 buoy) was anchored outside of the pass for th"ee days. The captain was very careful man, and wanted to take the tide at its most favorable stage. The third night the tide came while all on board were asleep, and raised the vessel SO high that the an chor could no longer touch bottom. When the captain and crew awoke the next morning they were amazed to find that their huge craft had foated through the pass, and that they were lying Tn the placid waters of Gibral- tar harbor. The passage was so smooth that no one knew the vessel was not at anchor outside.
 The smugglers who infested these waters since the earliest days have all says reported the pass to be dread ful place. They had an object in do ing SO; 1t was to deter the parties in pursuit from entering here. At one time the United States revenue cutter was afraid to undertake to pursue a smuggler's craft through and stopped outside. At that time the head man at the Utsalady mill was the head and chief of gang of smugglers, and on every island in this great archipelago were the haunts of noted smugglers, some of whom were as willy and as crafty as any such characters that were ever portrayed in works of fic- ton. One of the number, who now resides on an island in Gibraltar pass, and has little fleet of sail vessels | snugly ensconsed behind said island, out of sight of the daily passenger steamer. tells us that he never snug gled for the profit, but was prompted | solely by the love of excitement. H. uas long since retired from that busi- hess, and amuses himself nowadays in l hshing. About five miles south of | our office IS Ben Ure's spit, which | forms part of the southern protection | of this harbor. This spit runs out | from claim of 160 acres on Whidby | Island, formerly the home of Ben Ire, who recently sold the ranch for s, COG | to the La Conner bank crowd. The | name of the former smuggler referred to Is Ben Ure. He is a keen, quick witted Scotchman, 60 years of age, eyes wide apart and indicative of bright perception.
 An old acquaintance of Ben Ure !ells us that some years ago, when Ben was i'll the height of his glory, fed eral revenue cutter came on him una wares and captured him. The captain of the cutter ran line from Ben's sail boat to the stern of the cutter, and was towing him toward Port Townsend to confiscate his cargo and imprison the owner. But the captain failed to size up his prisoner when he left him in his own boat. Ben put his wits to work; he decided that he would not go to Port Townsend. The night was very dark. A lantern had been hung on the bow of Ben's boat. This light Ben transferred to the top of a cask that he fastened to the tow line; then ne cut the tow line between the cask and his own boat. When day dawned he captain of the revenue cutter was greatly chagrined to discover that he was towing cask with his lantern on t, and that the contraband cargo and Is crafty owner had escaped amid the nazes of the archipC lago of this Medi- of the New World. Ben had quietly slipped through Gibraltar pass, where the cutter dare not attempt to %, and proceeded to enjoy himself on liS ranch.
 We are informed by people who live It the pass that there is scarcely a night that smugglers do not sail trough Gibraltar pass, taking large quantities of contraband goods both north and south across the British boundary. The government stations avenue officers at Port Townsend and Blaine to intercept smugglers, but it las no one here, where the most of the is done. The smugglers an not go through SwinOmish Slough, because it is almost certain hat they Meuld be caught, so they un regular line through Gibraltar 'ass. Washington Farmer.