The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-05-05
Valuable Cargo Opium Washed
From Scow.
ACTION OF CUSTOMS OFFICERS.
Round Up of Seized Opium Destroyed
and Washed into the Sea = No
Bricks or Poi This Tfme-Eight
Hours of Successful Work, Etc.


recently the ways and means of getting
rid of several thousand tins to seized
opium was discussed and the conclusion
arrived at that it was wrong to fur
nish opium to residents or natives Of
Hawaii, it was equally sinful to furnish
the drug, for a consideration, to people
in other localities. Then there was an
other reason. Opium brought here frem
the United States and British Columbia
is of such inferior quality that when
seized and offered for sale at San Fran
cisco or Victoria the price obtained is so
low that it does not pay for the expense
\of shipping.
AS it happened, all the opium sold by
Deputy Collector McStocker, in Victoria,
was brought back on the Henrietta, and
il is believed that the accumulated
stock in the custom house vaults, if 1t
had beene shipped north, would have
eventually returned here.
To avoid this the authorities decided
to destroy all the stock on hand, and to
do it in a way that there could be no
question as to what the tins contained,
because in the days of old opium some
times changed into bricks and poi in a
single night.
The plan proposed by Attorney Cen
eral Smith was to take the opium to
convenient place and have the tins
chopped open and then dumped into the
sea beyond the three-mile limit.
In consequence of this, and under in
structions from Collector General Cas-
tie, Deputy Collector McStocker, Sur
veyor Stratemeyer, Storekeeper Kelley
and force of inspectors from the GUS
toms department and Executive Officer
Reynolds of the health department met
at the custom house yesterday morning
at o'clock.
The arrangement was to check the
opium in the vault, each case being
opened and the tins counted and then
placed on a truck and delivered on
board a scow at the tug wharf. The
plan was faithfully carried out. Deputy
McStocker tailed for the customs de-
partment and Mr.. Reynolds for the
Board of Health. Mr.. Kelley superin-
tended the men working in the vault
and Mr.. Stratemeyer sat on the dray
and saw that none of the tins were lost
in the handling. Representatives from
the Bulletin and Advertiser, who had
been invited, were present to see fair
play.
When the 5,065 tins were dumped
on the scow the five inspectors sat
around the hatch, each with Cuban
matchette in his hand, and Slashed
away at the tins. Sometimes a single
cut was sufficient to cut tin in two,
others required more. One of the in
spectors, a young native, seemed not to
be satisfied unless the entire contents
of a tin was emptied on to the deck of
the scow.
1t required three hours and half for
the men to cut the tins, and when they
were finished the mass protruded
through the hatch. The scow was haul
ed over to the stern of the tug Flu
and lines fastened. When all was ready
Deputy McStocker released all the in
spectors but Frank lines from duty,
and the tug steamed out. Innes was
made captain of the scow and placed in
command of the deck Messrs Nc
Stocker and Reynolds braced them
selves in the stern of the tug and saw
that no plundering sea urchin crawled
up over the side and monkeyed with the
debris.
At 12:45 p. m. Inspector lines opened
the food gates and the blue sea in the
wake of the scow was stained the color
of tobacco juice.
By half past one the wind was blowing
such gale that the seas washed the
deck of the scow, and it was thought
that young lines would go overheard,
but he trod the deck like sailor man
the tug rolled and tossed like a cork,
and with disastrous results to the COM
plexions of the reporters. The rudy
glow so noticeable on the face of the
Bulletin reporter disappeared and was
succeeded by one of ashen hue. The Ad-
vertiser man sought the seclusion of
Captain Rice's cabin, while McStocker
and Stratemeyer stepped to the side
rail of the tug and, gazing into the
azure depths of the ocean, paid their
respects to old Neptune and sang in
good Eastern voices, "St;ll there's more
to follow" A report from Innes that
the opening in the scow was choked up
by the mass of empty tins caused the
tug to heave to. Lines were heightened
and the scow swung around, the tug in
the meantime rolling in the trough of
the sea.
When another start was made the
juicy dope rushed through the opening
in a freshet, and the sea was stained
again with coloring that has cost the
Government good many thousand dol
lars in rewards and expenses.
At one time half of the scow was sub
merged, and in order to finish the job
quickly Captain Rice sent sailor to
help Innes, and together they threw the
empty tins into the sea and the tug
turned her nose shoreward, arriving at
the dock at 3:15 p. N.
Besides the 5,065 five-tael tins, there
were AZ tin and brass containers of va
rious shapes and weights taken from
false bottoms of trunks. the soles Of
Chinese shoes and the interior OF tea