|
In anticipation of the move, Smith, along with four other men, acquired
land in Port Angeles and formed a Townsite Company to develop the new
community. The townsfolk of Port Townsend soon learned of Smith’s
plan, which of course, created feelings of hostility in the burgeoning
community of Port Townsend.
When Smith’s letters to the Treasury Department failed to get immediate
results, Smith traveled to Washington D.C. to promote his plan to fortify
Port Angeles and relocate the Customs House there. Promoting Port
Angeles’ superior location because it was nearer the ocean, he convinced
Congress to move the Customs District of Puget Sound from Port Townsend to
Port Angeles. It was made official in June, 1862.
However, all was not going exactly as Smith had planned. While he
was celebrating his success on his return voyage to the west coast, the
Acting Collector of Customs in Port Townsend, Lieutenant Merryman, was
auditing the books of the Customs House. Finding the accounts short
some $15,000, Merryman immediately reported the discrepancy to the
Treasury Department by letter.
When Smith returned to Port Townsend on August 1, 1862, Lieutenant
Merryman refused him access to the Customs House, accusing him of
embezzlement and insisting that he would await official clearance from the
Treasury Department before allowing Smith to return to his duties.
But Smith was not to be deterred. Returning to the ship on which he
had arrived, he ordered the captain to train his three 12-pound cannons on
the Customs House and the city’s commercial district. With the guns
trained on the city, Merryman finally gave up the records and the ship
sailed for Port Angeles.
Incensed, Port Townsend citizens soon traveled to Olympia to protest
Smith’s actions to the governor. Though a federal grand jury
indicted Smith with 13 counts of embezzlement and misuse of public funds,
the Treasury Department quashed the indictment after their investigation.
In the meantime, Smith
was constructing a large building in Port Angeles which served as both his
family home and the Customs House. But, the Port Townsend citizens
were not done fighting and began to build a case denouncing Smith and the
transfer of the Port of Entry to Port Angeles.
|
|
|
After Smith completed the building in Port Angeles that served as both his
home and the Customs House, a portion of it was rented to the government
for its use. However, the building was to be short lived as in
December, 1863, a landslide in the Olympic Mountains caused the dam to
burst, sending a torrent of water through the town. Leveling most of
the city and sweeping the Customs House into the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
two customs employees were killed in the disaster. Smith was out of town
and his family was spared.
It was this disaster that leads to the first treasure tale. Inside
the Customs House was a strongbox that allegedly held $1,500 in bank notes
and numerous $20 gold coins valued at $7,500 at the time. While some
say this money was funds that Smith had stolen during his tenure as a
Customs Agent, others contend it was money rightfully paid to him by the
government for his home in Ohio. In any event, the strongbox was swept
away in the flood and no trace of it has ever been found.
Finally, President Lincoln removed Smith as a Customs Collector in
January, 1864. However, his “friends” at the Treasury department gave him
a new role as a special agent.
In this new job, Smith was often tasked with transporting large sums of
money. In 1865, he and his family had been on the east coast and
while returning to San Francisco on the Gold Rule, Smith was tasked
with transporting a large amount of payroll funds to San Francisco. However, on the ships passage from New York to San Juan, it wrecked on the Roncador Reef near the Isthmus of Panama. Though no loss of life was
suffered, the ship floundered for 11 days as the 700 passengers survived
on supplies salvaged from the vessel. When they were rescued by two
gunboats, the passengers were taken to Panama. In the mass
confusion following the wreck, the strongbox containing the money
mysteriously disappeared. Smith remained on the reef endeavoring to
salvage the chest containing the money. The tale continues that with
the aid of a diver, the chest was recovered; however the gold was missing.
Though Smith accused the captain of the theft, many thought it was Smith
himself who had absconded with the money.
In the meantime,
Smith’s family had crossed the Panama Canal by railroad and returned to
San Francisco on the sailing ship “America.” Two weeks later, Smith
followed, reaching San Francisco and transferring to the Brother
Jonathan on July 28, 1865 for the trip to Port Angeles. Did the
payroll funds from the east coast wind up at the bottom of the ocean near
the Roncador Reef or did it go with Smith when he finally made his way to
San Francisco?
After transferring
to the Brother Jonathan, Smith was again accompanying a large
amount of money – some $200,000 to pay the troops at Fort Vancouver, Walla
Walla, and other posts in the Northwest. The ship was also thought
to have been carrying crates of $20 gold pieces for transfer to Haskins
and Company as well as
Wells Fargo. A government Indian Agent for the
Northwestern Region may have also brought gold coins on board for annual
treaty payments to the tribes.
As the Brother
Jonathan passed through the Golden Gate and headed north, they faced a
strong headwind and heavy seas, which continually worsened during its
journey. The next day, the ship pulled into the harbor at Crescent
City to offload cargo. On her way again, the storm was building and
the ship headed westward to avoid the rocks of St. George’s Reef. As the
storm continued to rage, Captain DeWolf decided to return to Crescent
City, California to wait out the storm.
However, on July
30, 1865, the ship hit a rock and began to break up. Many of the
passengers loaded into life boats were immediately thrown out as the
smaller boats capsized. In the end, of the 244 people on board, 19
only people survived in a damaged boat that hobbled into the Crescent City
harbor. For weeks, bodies washed ashore, but of the gold and money
on board, it was never found. Victor Smith was one of the
casualties.
In 1866, the Customs Port of entry was returned to Port Townsend, among
great rejoicing by the citizens.
Kathy Weiser © March, 2006
|
Please report
broken links, missing pictures, or other problems online by clicking
