Arizona weekly citizen., 1890-06-14
Gl6RAlTAh PASS.
Interesting Features of Famous North.
 western Highway for smuggIera


 In years gone by so many supersti.
 tlous and conflicting stories were cir.
 culated about Gibraltar pass, formerly
 Deception pass, that it 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 it was
 but sixty feet wide. To settle tais
 question, George Lynch and Arthur
 measured Gibraltar pass at the mar
 rowest part of the throat, and found
 1t to be 300 feet, and it may be widen
 ed forty feet more by shot of dyna-
 mite in blasting of a point of rock.
 The harrow portion of the pass aver
 ages 800 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
 so feet, and the widest part is 200
 feet Fora considerable distance Gib-
 raltar pass Is already half mile to a
 mile and a half wide, with a depth of
 water at low tide of 100 to POO feet. and the walls arc of solid and nearly smooth rock. There are 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 three days. The captain was a very careful man, and wanted to take the tide at it's 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 fioated through the pass, and that they were lying in 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 al ways reported the pass to be dread ful place. They had an object ill do ing SO; it 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. He lIas long since retired from that busi- Less, and amuses himself nowadays in 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, OOO 70 the La Conner bank crowd. The name of the former Smuggler referred 70 IS Ben Ure. He is a keen, quick witted Scotchman, 60 years of age, ,yes wide apart, and indicative of bright perception.
 An old acquaintance of Ben Ire els us that some years ago, when Ben vas in the height of his glory, a fed .ral revenue cutter came on him una wares and captured him. The captain 'f the cutter ran a line from Bens sail ,oat to the stern of the cutter, and was owing him toward Port Townsend to his cargo and imprison the owner. But the captain failed to size lp his prisoner when he left him in lis own boat. Ben put his wits to york; he decided that he would not 70 to Port Townsend. The night was cry dark. A lantern had been hung n the bow of Ben's boat. This light Ben transferred to the top of a cask hat he fastened to the tow line; then e cut the tow line between the cask nd his own boat When day dawned he captain of the revenue cutter was really chagrined to discover that he Tas towing cask with his lantern on :, and that the contraband cargo and $ crafty owner had escaped amid the lazes of the archipelago of this Medi- erranean of the New World. Ben had uietly slipped through Gibraltar pass, Ihere the cutter dare not attempt to o, and proceeded to enjoy himself on is ranch.
 We are informed by people who live the pass that there is scarcely a fight that smugglers do not sail trough Gibraltar pass, taking large uantitieS of contraband goods both orth and south across the British . The government stations avenue officers at Port Townsend and lalne to intercept smugglers, but it as no one here, where the most of the is done. The smugglers an not go through SwinOmish tough, because 1t is almost certain lat they would be caught, so they In a regular line through Gibraltar Farmer.