An 1888 engraving depicts a typical Chinese labor encampment on the U.S. West Coast.

Selected news clips about Chinese being smuggled into Willapa Bay:

The immigration of men from China into the western United States began with the California gold strike of the 1850s. As the region burst into economic growth, certain developing industries needed workers. Ever more Chinese came hoping to do those jobs that Americans avoided as too demanding, too unpleasant, or too poorly paid.

The wealth of salmon and the development of the way to preserve that fish — by canning it — made work for those immigrants. It required standing for hours and hours on a factory floor in a cold building, surrounded by heaps of silver-sided fish — rapidly beheading, gutting, bleeding, cleaning, and chopping them into can-sized portions. By the 1880s there were dozens of salmon canneries on the Columbia River, lots of cannery work, and the men willing to do that work were valuable.

In spite of limitations the Americans put on what jobs the incoming Chinese could do — they were not, for instance, allowed to go out and actually fish for the salmon — there was growing political resistance to the incoming Chinese. In 1882 a national law, the Chinese Exclusion Act, restricted laborers of that ethnic group from immigrating legally.

The action then moved into illegal immigration. A series of items from South Bend, Washington’s, 1890s Journal suggest how things went on Willapa Bay.

The opium trade

“San Francisco, Feb. 23, 1890 — The Examiner prints letters from two of its special correspondents who were recent dispatched to Puget Sound to learn whether or not opium and Chinamen are smuggled into the United States. One reporter writes that he succeeded in smuggling opium across the border, and the other one claims to have smuggled five or six Chinamen from British Columbia into the United States. For conveying a party from Victoria or Vancouver, about $25 per head seems to be considered fair price. …” The Tacoma Daily Ledger, Feb. 24, 1890.

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“Vancouver, B.C., March 7, 1890 — The steamship Abyssinia arrived last night from Yokohama, 15 days and 8 hours out, bringing three saloon, five second class, and 108 steerage passengers, including 96 Chinese. She has 1,000 tons of freight, tea, silk, and general merchandise for Canada and the Pacific coast, and 14 bags of gold.” The News Tribune, [Tacoma], Mar. 7, 1890.

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“Port Townsend, Feb. 10, 1892 — [Special] — Collector Wasson received a telegram today from Lt. Ballinger of the revenue cutter Walcott stating that a steamer acting suspiciously was halted last night near Deception Pass. The steamer had no name, no lights, no papers, and was supposed to be a smuggler. Orders were telegraphed Ballinger to hold the captain and crew for investigation. It is surmised here that this strange vessel is the Minnehaha, the most notorious opium and Chinese smuggler on the coast.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Feb. 11, 1892.

Smuggling trial

“The trial of the parties accused of smuggling Chinese into Willapa Harbor and landing them at Stony Point began Thursday morning at 10 a.m. …

“A large number of witnesses are in attendance including Geo. W. Dillon, U.S. Secret Service Agent; C.J. Mulkey, Special U.S. Treasury Agent; Deputy Collector Dalton; Capt. John Brown of North Cove; Deputy Fish Commissioner A.E. Houchen; Collector E.A. Taylor of Astoria; and N.C. Kofoed of Ilwaco.

“Judge Brinker and John Ditchburn, Esq., are attorneys for two of the six Chinese companies, namely, the Wong Ching Foo and Mok companies, for the defense, and W.B. Stratton for the United States. The first case taken up and the one being tried yesterday, was that of the United States vs. Capt. Erwin Farrer, of the schooner South Bend. …

“James Smith, one of the life-saving crew at North Cove, testified that he was on watch on the morning of July 19. He had been told the night before that an attempt at smuggling Chinamen would be made that morning and he was on the watch. It was foggy and he saw no vessel enter but did see a fish boat within the Bay which must have come over the Bar. He gave the alarm; the surf boat was manned and they gave chase. …

“Those who manned the fish boat were evidently good oarsmen … When the boat neared Stony Point he saw a lot of Chinamen jump out, who had evidently been lying in the bottom of the boat. They took to the woods and some of them carried bundles. He took charge of the boat and found therein a tent, two blankets, Chinese clothing and a white man’s coat and shoes. …

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When the boat neared Stony Point he saw a lot of Chinamen jump out, who had evidently been lying in the bottom of the boat. They took to the woods and some of them carried bundles.

“Capt. Brown, of the life-saving station after corroborating the testimony of Mr. Smith, said that it was high water when the Chinamen landed and that they stepped out of the boat on to the rocks. A memorandum book, some Chinese papers, Chinese combs and a scrap of the Victoria, B.C., news were shown him and recognized by him as having been found in the fish boat; also he found a bottle of kerosene, a demijohn and two sacks containing rocks for ballast. One sack was marked ‘T & Co., Oysterville’, and the other ‘M & Co. Oysterville.’ …

“When the fish boat landed its passengers at Stony Point he couldn’t tell whether they were Chinamen or not as it was too foggy. …

“Capt. A.T. Stream was called and testified that on the evening of July 18th, he was shown a telegram by Collector Dalton, telling the latter that a schooner bearing Chinamen and opium had left Victoria B.C., and to intercept her if possible. He, Capt. Stream, accompanied Collector Dalton to North Cove, and between 8 and 9 a.m. of July 19, he saw the schooner South Bend at sea off the Bar. He saw no other vessel except the steamer Willapa, which he saw enter the Harbor.

“The schooner he did not see cross the Bar but after she was in he boarded her with Collector Dalton and two of the life-saving crew. He examined the schooner thoroughly. Capt. Farrer was at the wheel and Mate Nelson was asleep in a bunk. The hold was empty, containing but a couple of water casks and a sail which had not been used of late. …

“The Court then adjourned until afternoon and the examination was not resumed until too late for this week’s issue of the Journal. …

“W.B. Clark, the Stony Point market gardener, testified that on the day the Chinamen were landed he had anchored his naphtha launch for the night about 300 yards from the rocks where the Chinamen were landed. The following morning it was not there but his son afterwards found it, so he said, at the mouth of Bone River. He himself did not see it in that place.

“Deputy Collector Dalton was called to the stand and told how he had received information that an attempt would be made on July 19, to land some Chinamen and opium in the Bay, and how he and Capt. Stream had watched, at the lighthouse, for the smuggling schooner. Early in the morning of July 19, they sighted the schooner South Bend out at sea but did not see her cross the Bar. Later they saw a fish boat which had evidently just entered the Bay, and Capt. Brown and his crew gave chase.

“At 10 a.m., the South Bend came in and he boarded her with Capt. Stream and two of the life-saving crew. He searched the vessel for contraband goods. …

“N.C. Kofoed of Ilwaco was duly sworn and testified that Capt. Farrer was in his saloon on that morning about 2 o’clock, about the time the Chinamen were smuggled in. The defendant had on gum boots and working clothes. There was no train into Ilwaco at that hour and he asked Farrer where he had come from. Farrer replied, “Oh I’ve just been taking a run.” Farrer was accompanied by Wallace Stuart.

“Ben Armstrong testified that he and his wife were in a boat but 100 yards from where the fish boat landed. He saw 13 persons get out of the boat, all Chinamen but one, who was in the lead and seemed to be a white man. They were in a hurry and struck straight into the timber. The fish boat resembled Beriah Brown’s who lives on the Nemah. That afternoon he met some strange Chinamen and also Joe Ging, a Chinaman he knew. The latter was carrying a bag of provisions. He also saw some Chinamen in the China house scanning the Bay with a pair of opera glasses.

“A.E. Houchen of Ilwaco saw Capt. Farrer and Wallace in Ilwaco on July 21, about 8 a.m. They had mud on their clothing which he was sure was Bear River mud. He had lived on Bear River seven years and could tell Bear River mud. It would neither wash off nor brush off. It must be worn off.

“Mrs. Armstrong corroborated her husband’s testimony in every particular and was positive that the leader of the party was a white man.

“G.W. Dillon testified that he was a special employee of the treasury department and his duty was to detect frauds in the customs and prevent the unlawful landing of Chinese. He arrived at North Cove from Tacoma, July 26, and immediately began a series of investigations. He visited South Bend, Bone River, and Bear River; arrested two Chinamen in Ilwaco who were deported to China.

“He boarded the schooner South Bend at Oysterville. She had no log book but Capt. Farrer said that he had come from a fishing trip off Grays Harbor. Dillon examined the ship and in the hold found a piece of paper with Chinese letters on it. Farrer seemed surprised when it was shown him. Mr. Olds, who was along, also found a piece of Chinese paper. He seized the schooner Aug. 8th and found in a dish locker two Chinese combs and a brush. He, too, noted the similarity between the ballast in the South Bend and in the fish boat. Between July 26th and Aug. 8th, the vessel had been in the possession of Capt. Farrer. …

“G.W. Dillon was cross examined regarding the Chinese paper he found in the South Bend. He admitted that a piece of Chinese paper from a tea box if found in a grocery store elsewhere would not necessarily indicate the presence of Chinamen, nor would the letters on a package of firecrackers indicate the presence in that neighborhood of a crowd of Chinamen. …

“The counsel for the defendant moved that the defendant be discharged on the grounds that there was no reasonable cause to believe him guilty of the offense charged. Commissioner Egbert overruled the motion and bound over Capt. Farrer in the sum of $500 to appear at the February term of the U.S. District court, held in Tacoma …

“A Chinaman named Louie, who was subpoenaed as a witness but disappeared about the time the trial came off, put in an appearance again last Monday at the China house in Bay Center. The fright given him on being subpoenaed, not knowing what it might mean, seems to have turned his mind and the poor fellow is said to be nearly crazy. He imagines that he has been back to China, where he saw his old friends.” South Bend Journal, Aug. 12, 1892.

Smuggling widespread

“South Bend, Wash., Aug. 10 — Wallace Stewart [sic], of Ocean Park, and Charles Shippey, of this city, young men well known in the county, were brought before U.S. Commissioner Egbert Saturday evening on information filed by George W. Dillon, a special agent of the United States treasury department, charging implication in the smuggling of Chinamen into the United States.” Albany [Oregon] Democrat, Aug. 19, 1892.

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“The ramifications of the smuggling operations on Willapa Harbor are becoming wider and more numerous than was suspected by many …. New evidence is being brought to light daily by Geo. W. Dillon, a U.S. Secret Service detective, Deputy Collector Dalton, and Special Treasury Agent Mulkey.

“A week ago yesterday the above-named party visited Seaborg’s cannery at Ilwaco and ordered that all the Chinamen employed there be brought out. The Chinese contractor obeyed the order and two of the Chinamen were arrested on suspicion, named respectively Ah Sing and Wong Foo. They were tried on the following day by U.S. Commissioner Egbert in South Bend. … The former could speak a little English but the latter couldn’t understand a word.

“In the examination Ah Sing contradicted himself frequently. He claimed to have lived in Portland for twelve years, where he had worked in a laundry, yet he had never heard of Seattle, Tacoma, or San Francisco. In describing his trip from Portland to Ilwaco, he anticipated the advent of the iron horse into Astoria about two years in stating that he went from Portland to the latter city by rail. He claimed that he had never been in Victoria, B.C., but a piece of a Victoria paper was found on him.

“Wong Foo, according to Ah Sing, had been in the United States for 15 years and that he had been working in the Sunshine mill [on Willapa Bay].

“The commissioner decided that the evidence was strong enough to convict and issued the following order for Ah Sing’s imprisonment and deportment back to China, and which order was duplicated in the case of Wong Foo.” South Bend Journal. [day and month unknown], Issue No. 23, 1892.

Aiding and abetting Chinese

“On Friday last Wallace Stuart and Chas. Shippey, of this place, were arrested for aiding and abetting Chinese to land on American soil. Joe Ging, a Chinaman who works for W.B. Clark, was the next person taken into custody on the same charge, and later Capt. Irvin Farrar and Mate Henry Nelson, of the schooner South Bend, were also added to the list, and all were bound over in the sum of $500 each to appear before U.S. Commissioner Marion D. Egbert for their hearing on the 17th at 10 a.m.” South Bend Journal. [day and month unknown], Issue No. 23, 1892.

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“Smuggling on North River. Brooklyn, [Wash.] A pleasure party camped on North River reports a party of eleven Chinamen in charge of two white men as passing their camps day before yesterday. One of the white men was armed with a Winchester carbine, [had] two front teeth missing, [a] dark complexion, [was] about five feet four, and [was] dressed in gray pants with black coat and vest. It is a well-known fact that opium as well as Chinamen are coming in by this route every week.” South Bend Journal. Aug. 18, 1893.

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“Ah Sing, the Chinaman who was gathered in a week ago Monday by Deputy City Marshal Dever on account of his suspicious actions and in whose possession some smuggled opium was found, was examined before District Court Commissioner M. D. Egbert Friday last. In his testimony he admitted that the opium was his, that he got it out of a trunk which a friend, now dead, had willed to him. This story, however, did not correspond with a previous story told by him to the effect he had paid $7.50 for it in Astoria. He expressed ignorance of the law making it a penal offense to have unstamped opium in his possession. The man was an opium ‘fiend’ of the worst type. He said that when he was out of work and had nothing to do, he smoked a can of the stuff every week. He came to South Bend, he said, to get work as a cook.

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Joe Shing testified to knowing Ah Sing in Astoria and that he was a cook there. Joe Ging, to prove that the stuff was smoking opium, produced a smoking outfit and gave an exhibition in opium smoking before the court, smoking some of the opium in question.

“The contraband opium consists of three cans and a half of prepared opium and one can of ‘medicine’ opium which is used for chewing … Some South Bend Chinamen were called in to testify. Dick Gong said that it was opium prepared for smoking. He said that a can would last some weeks, ten days or even only five days; it all depended on how bad a ‘fiend’ the smoker was.

“Joe Shing testified to knowing Ah Sing in Astoria and that he was a cook there. Joe Ging, to prove that the stuff was smoking opium, produced a smoking outfit and gave an exhibition in opium smoking before the court, smoking some of the opium in question. [!!]

“R.K. Boney ably defended the prisoner. Ah Sing was bound over to the district court and on Monday Deputy U.S. Marshall Minch of Tacoma took him to McNeill’s island. This is the second Ah Sing who has been up before M.D. Egbert in the last year. The other one was deported to China, having been smuggled in.” South Bend Journal, Aug. 25, 1893.