The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-12-19
- LOST ART FOUND AGAIN

The recent capture of dealers in the
poppy product brings to mind days long
gone, days when the sun shone on both
sides of the street, for the lucky boys,
and clouds for the fellow who failed
TO get through the Gordon of sleuths
who watched and waited for a tip from
the mainland or the Orient and who.
followed the information until it land
ed them against five tael tins of dope
or that weight of molasses.
1t must have been in 1880 that an
important capture of opium was made,
and the goods landed in the station
house where it was locked in the strong
room. When the legislature convened
there was the usual attack on the cabi-
net and among the complaints was this
one relating to the landing of opium
1t was ordered that the containers,
which happened to be fve-g@ llon kero-
sene oil tins, be brought to committee
room and there exhibited. It was done,
but the package marked "Exhibit A -
had passed through the hands of a
magician en- route and the contents had
turned to a poor quality of red bricks.
That was one of the eases for legisla-
tive investigation that was undevelop-
ed up to the close of that session, and
forgotten at the beginning of the next.
1t was merely the cause of many a
hearty laugh on the part of the pop
ulaee
There was a ring in San Francisco
in those days with connecting links in
the Sound cities and Victoria. The old
Driard House was headquarters for the
party in Victoria and VIII Whaley was
the acknowledged head of that branch.
1t was only forty miles across the water
TO the United States and sixty miles
would bring the men who did the rough
work to safe harbor on the Yankee
side Chinese constituted the most
profitable contraband because the price,
IN those days, warranted the risk. Fiji
ty dollars head to land them on the
beach during the night, and the money
in hand before leaving hospitable Bri-
fish soil, and it was an easy matter to
run twenty or even thirty across in a
night and get back safely.
The same men who engaged in hand
ling the Chinese were in the business
of shipping opium. Whaley had his
own schooner, the Haleyon, "long
low rakish craft" built to sail with
the wind or beat against it, and she
could make steamer time if the wind
was at all fair. She came to these
waters on several occasions and was
suspected Of having opium as her cargo
Whaley managed to keep out of harm s
way but was continuously under suspi
cion. Originally, I believe, he held a
position in the customhouse in San
Francisco.
Whaley in Hawaii.
Whaley spent months here at one
time and handled, with the aid of as
sistants, all of the dope that came tc
the stuff at various times on Molokai
on the lee side of the Maui and on this
island in the vicinity of Waianae. II
was in chasing the festive poppy smell
that put the government to the ex
pense of sending out the rLehua,
dozen or fifteen years ago, and kept hel
swinging about Lanai in wait for the
ship that never came. That was pecu
liarity of Whaley. He knew the au
thorities in Victoria had notified the
Republic of Hawaii that the schooner
had sailed and was carrying opium but
Whaley never left word where he was
going. If he was up Sound he cleared
foreign. If he cleared from VictoriS
he was bound for the Japan sea II
search of seals. And that was the
destination of several schooners sailing
ont of Victoria between 1880 and 1898
And the fortunes that those schooner
made for the bunch of renegades en-
gagged in the traffic were large.
But few of the alleged .sealers wer'
ever captured An occasional instance
might be mentioned, but they were tn
exceptions which proved the rule. TIL
fact that the stuff came from bot
directions, the United States and Can
ada. on one side, and the Chinese port
on the other. and the demand was sue
that it had to come often, and Otter
came. was source of enjoyment o.
the part of men who handled the stul
here and~the general public, The Gus
toms officers did not laugh. beeaus
thew had the laugh on themselves an
.disIiked To he ridiculed.
Playing Both Ends.
Getting the stuff into port was
good deal Ike the true sportsma
shooting domestic chickens when he ha
been brought mp to 90 after game Tn
Spnr+ yvss 1af- for the men who han