The Oregon Shanghaiers: Columbia River Crimping from Astoria to Portland

Download or read book The Oregon Shanghaiers: Columbia River Crimping from Astoria to Portland written by Barney Blalock and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the hardscrabble early days of Portland's seaport, "shanghaiing" or "crimping" ran rampant. The proprietors of crooked saloons and sailors' boardinghouses coerced unwitting patrons to work on commercial ships. Shanghaiers like James Turk, Bunko Kelley and Billy Smith unashamedly forced men into service and stole the wages of their victims. By the 1890s, these shanghaiers had become powerful enough to influence the politics of Astoria and Portland, charging sea captains outrageous fees for unskilled laborers and shaping maritime trade around a merciless black market. For nearly a century, the exploits of these notorious crimpers have existed mainly in lore. Now historian Barney Blalock offers a lively and meticulously researched account of these colorful and corrupt men, revealing an authentic account of Oregon's malicious maritime legends.