Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-05-07


HAWAIIAN OPIUM SMUGGLEts.
When sugar growing first brought
Hawaii's name before the world the
white planters, finding that no de-
pendence could be placed upon natlVe
labor, began to import Chinese coolles:
With him John brought over many OF
his native customs, among them the
use of opium. Thus was born the
Honolulu opium trade. AS shipload al
ter shipload Of coolies arrived at
olulu the demand for the poppy juice
increased proportionately.
In those early days a native sover-
eign ruled H~awaii-ruled to all out
ward appearances; but sharp Yankee
merchants pulled the strings behind
the throne. The king was well aware
of it, but as each pull poured a shower
Of gold into his lap ne raised no Cd
iections. Besides, he had a live inter-
est in some of the business deals him-
self.
With thu increase of the chinese
population the Yankee merchants saw
a new field for enterprise-the impor-
tation Of opium.
But at first 1t did not pay. The DUH
of opium was small in comparison TO
its value, and all the sailors on incom-
ing ships brought chestfuls OF 1t. Inle
competition made profits comparative
ly small. So the strings were pulled,
and the king declared opium contra
band-to be strictly excluded from the
country, except as medicine. Then
the trade became profitable. Opium
could be bought in San Francisco for
from 50 to $12 a pound, could be SNUG
gled into Honolulu, and there sold for
$50, a profit of 500 per cent. A fairly
good revenue service killed off too
much competition. and smuggling be-
came a safe and profitable business to
the members Of "the ring"-profitable
to outsiders also, but not safe.
The establishment of the steamship
lines between the Orient and San
francisco via Honolulu was a great
blow to the business. The men In the
crews bought their dope" in Hong
Kong for 50 a pound, and smuggled
great quantities into Hawaii. Prices
fell a half, and there remained steady.
In regard to the smuggling OF opium
into Hawaii a former quartermaster
on a, Pacific steamer gives the follow
ling account from his personal expert
ences:
Some years ago, before h acqu1si-
ton Of the islands by the United States,
l. was quartermaster on a steamer
that made regular trips between Hon
olulu and San Francisco. We had as
part of our crew a number of men
known to the revenue officers as prac-
tised hands at importing the stuff
but so cunningly had they operated
that none of them had actually been
captured, altho the revenue officers
had made several desperate efforts to
do so. There was not a soul aboard
the ship that did not have secret deal
Iings with the Chinese ashore, but 1t
was these half dozen men in particular
that bothered "the ring" on shore es-
pecially. for they were wholesale deal
ers, and, moreover, made no secret Of
1T.
One of these men, a Quartermaster
and my watch mate, was reputed to
be the most daring of the lot. He was
a quiet little fellow, with a mild voice
and quiet manner Billy" as I will
call him, had belonged to the ring
in former days, but some quarrel or
disagreement over a division Of spells
had caused him to withdraw and start
out independently. From that moment
he became a marked But that
was as far toward his capture as they
ever got. BILLY" marked some Of the
shore gang, too, on several later oc-
casions, or their tools. rather. for they
never did their own fighting.
Often On our night watches, when
the decks were deserted, save by us,
BILLY" and I would pace up and down
the bridge. he entertaining me with
tales Of his past life and escapades.
Some of the means that he employed
in passing his illicit merchandise
ashore were unique. The stuff was
packed In small five tael (half pound)
tins, resembling large matchboxes. On
one occasion Billy" concealed a dozen
of these tins in a bundle of magazines.
The customs officer searched him thor
oughly, but never for a sus-
pected the bundle Of reading matter.
This trick he played successfully every
trip for years.
One night BILLY" was not so lucky.
It was u watch on deck until mid
night. BY 10 o'clock the decks were
practically deserted. The vessel was
anchored out some distance from the
wharves. Shortly after 10 o'clock a
boat crept out under our stern. Billy"
with three of the crew, dropped down
into her from the t~affrail, and the boat
slipping off into the gloom that en-
veloped the shore. In case Of inquiry
from any superior officer I was to ex-
plain my watch mates absence with
some plausible story.
It was pase IL o'clock when I heard
the report Of a gun, followed by tho
doleful wall Of a bullet over the bay.
Looking up toward the Waikiki beach
above the town I saw the flash of guns
and several more shots followed. This
continued for several minutes, then all
was quiet again.
Midnight was approaching and my
u~neasiness vas increasing. I could
think of no possible story to excuse
"Billy's" absence to the relieving Of
ficer who would come on deck then.
So quiet was the night that I could
plainly lear the warehouse Waterman
cough OF the steamship wharf. But
no signs of Billy"
Ten minutes before IL a %phosphor-
escent glow in the water at the foot
of the gangway attracted my atten-
ton. A moment later BILLY" crawled
up the steps. wet and b~edraggled.
The nights adventure had cost him