, 1890-02-14
GIBRALTAR PASS.
Interesting Features Of n Famous North
western Highway Cor SmuggIers.

thNuFt Wv y 1O NOFIn-
western Highway Tor SmuggIers.
In years gone by so many supersti-
tious and conflicting stories were cir
culated about Gibraltar pass, formerly
Deception pass, that it was difficult to
get any truth about it. Even the
width was not known, o even ap-
proximated in the calculations, and it
was commonly reported that it was
but sixty feet wide. To settle this
question, George Lynch and Arthur
White took w skitSs and a line and
measured Gibraltar pass at the mar
rowest part of the throat, and found
it to be 300 feet, and it may be widen
ed forty feet more by a shot of dyna-
mite in blasting off a point Of rock.
The narrow 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
50 feet, and the widest part is 200
feet. Fora considerable distance Glib
raltar pass is already half a mile to a
mile and a 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 are but few such
natural passes for shipping in the
world.
Twelve years ago one Of the largest
zcow 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
4 very careful man, and wanted to
tax 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
Choir could no longer touch bottom.
When the captain and crew awoke
b next morning they were amazed to
lind that their huge craft had hoated
through the pass, and that they were
lying in the placid waters of Gibral-
tar harbor. The passage was SO smooth
that no 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 a dread
full place. They had an object in do
ing so; it was u deter the parties in
NhbSiihS hcIS. a. Ouc
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 a gang of smugglers, and on
every island in this great archipelago
were he haunts of noted smugglers,
some OF whom were as willy and as
crafty as any such characters that
were ever portrayed in works of fc.
ton; One of the number, who now
resides on an island in Gibraltar pass.
and has a little feet 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
has long since retired from that bust
ness, and amuses himself NOWADAYS in
fishing. About five miles south OF
u office is Ben Ure's spit, which
forms a part of the southern protection
Of this harbor. This spit runs out
from a claim of 160 acres on WILDLY
Island, formerly the home of Ben Ure,
who rfcentlV sold the ranch for So. 600