rum - running
rum - running is a romance, and, like all romances, it grows in the telling .
learn how st - pierre profited from canadian rum running. locals used alcohol barrels as building material .
prohibition, rum running and the real mccoy rum running revisited six books look back at prohibition :
the real mccoy ,
the bootleg queen ,
and the liquor fleet that fueled the roaring twenties .
al capone toured st - pierre' s rum running operations and left his hat with a local shopkeeper .
' rum running' vessels listed by government; score of american and foreign ships engaged in violating prohibition law .
a nova scotia woman recalls her husband' s rum running; most smugglers were upright citizens in need of money .
john demont. 2003. maritime drug smuggling and rum - running. the canadian encyclopedia urltoken (accessed july 9, 2018) .
with the headline:' rum running' vessels listed by government; score of american and foreign ships engaged in violating prohibition law .
demont, john. 2003. maritime drug smuggling and rum - running. the canadian encyclopedia urltoken (accessed july 9, 2018) .
' rum running' vessels listed by government; score of american and foreign ships engaged in violating prohibition law. - the new york times
cape may county met prohibition head - on, with rum - running becoming part of the daily life and still and bootleg operations throughout the county. eight 75 - foot coast guard ships patrolled from their headquarters at the cape may coast guard station in full sight of rum running activities .
[ 227 ] philip p. mason, rum running and the roaring twenties, (wayne state university press: detroit, 1995), 62 .
“he was, without question, the most successful and notorious of the old time rum runners. he was, literally, the father of rum row and the inventor of much rum - running technique. mccoy actually furnished 700, 000 cases to slake america’s thirst. ”
john demont, r. the canadian encyclopedia. (2003). maritime drug smuggling and rum - running. retrieved july 9, 2018, from urltoken
demont, j. . r. the canadian encyclopedia. (2003). maritime drug smuggling and rum - running. retrieved july 9, 2018 from urltoken
demont, j. . r. the canadian encyclopedia. (2003). maritime drug smuggling and rum - running. retrieved july 9, 2018 from urltoken
demont, john .
maritime drug smuggling and rum - running .
in the canadian encyclopedia. historica canada, 1985—. article published march 18, 2003
john demont .
maritime drug smuggling and rum - running
in the canadian encyclopedia. historica canada, 1985–. article published march 17, 2003. urltoken
when private supplies began to run out, the demand for liquor increased, and the age of bootlegging, rum - running and illegal stills began in earnest .
demont, john .
maritime drug smuggling and rum - running
. the canadian encyclopedia. toronto: historica canada, 2003. web. 18 mar 2003 .
demont, john .
maritime drug smuggling and rum - running
. the canadian encyclopedia. toronto: historica canada, 2003. web. 18 mar 2003 .
john demont
maritime drug smuggling and rum - running
the canadian encyclopedia. eds. . toronto: historica canada, 2003. web. 9 jul. 2018 .
phase 1) bill mccoy founds rum row. phase 2)? phase 3) repeal! (and rum smuggling magically ends. )
southern california had its share of violent incidents, but its smaller population and more wide open landscape made rum - running a fairly easy task at first, especially along its miles of undeveloped coastline between ventura and san pedro, southern california’s own “rum row. ”
though rum running continued throughout prohibition, the coast guard made it more difficult to get away with. prior to 1924, the line where ships would line up outside of u. s. jurisdiction was called a rum row, and stood three miles beyond the maritime limit of the u. s. as rum running became a bigger problem, the u. s. extended the rum row to twelve miles. this made it much harder for ships to sneak into shore past the coast guard, though, of course, not impossible .
fun facts so convinced were they that alcohol was the cause of virtually all crime that some towns actually sold their jails nascar speakeasies got its name because one had to whisper a code word or name through a slot in a locked door to gain admittance the human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies what is rum running history of rum running beginning of time major people st. valentines day massacre impact on todays society major effects technology impacts wood creates to plastic bladders encouraged vehicular modifications inspired a sport today, anyone is able to make and distribute alcohol rum running rum running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting (smuggling) alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law evolution of rum running - cargo ships and speed boats speed boats conditions during the exchange enforcements have become more resilient on drug and alcohol smuggling. nascar micro brewing plastic flasks cargo ships social effects new social values criminals / gangs abuse of substance government effects government officials were outgunned surpassed technology wise courts and jails overflowed economic effects alleviate emotional & financial distress elimination of jobs decrease in sales - dry counties - modern day rum runners - rum running in the media
the rum war at sea, by malcolm willoughby, fredonia books, 2001 .
5. fraser miles, slow boat on rum row, p. 237 .
source: detroit free press. the sleds were dragged underwater by cables running across the detroit river from ontario to michigan .
rum - running also saw a revival and became a common trade in the u. s. liquor was smuggled in station wagons, trucks, and boats from mexico, europe, canada, and the caribbean .
run the rum in: south florida during prohibition, sally j. ling – 2007
7. jim stone, my dad, the rum runner, p. 42 .
anything that could conceivably be used to conceal the transport of smaller quantities of alcohol seemingly was. in the book
rum running and the roaring twenties ,
a series of photos actually shows such smuggling devices as :
emily schultz never asked her grandfather, herman, about his rum - running days in detroit. this was an experience that the man, who left school at 14 to support his mother and siblings, had hoped to conceal from relatives .
i chanced upon your article about the rum running sloop “i’m alone” and its demise at the dastardly hands of the uscg cutter dexter. i have a couple of things to add about the dexter aka yp - 63 you may find of interest .
, and similar ships of
rum row
off the pacific coast of the us and mexico .
the term “the real mccoy” came out of this era. it’s attributed to captain william s. mccoy who facilitated a significant portion of the rum - running from ships during prohibition. he would never water down his imports, making his the “real” thing .
, or other ships of rum row. the unnamed cargo is canadian liquor in wooden crates and burlap bags
15. “rum smuggler suspect forfeits $ 100, 000 bond, ” washington post, 7 august 1934 .
miles, fraser. slow boat on rum row. madeira park, bc: harbour publishing, 1992 .
the im alone with her new set of sails. built for the rum running trade, she brought untold tons of alcohol to a thrrsty prohibitionist us, until she was illegally sunk on the high seas by an apparently frustrated us coast guard captain. photo credit: urltoken
stone, jim. my dad, the rum runner. waterloo, on: north waterloo academic press, 2002 .
, editor of flat hammock press, is a former coast guard officer and author of many books, including the dictionary of nautical literacy, and bottoms up! : toasts, tales & traditions of drinking’s long history as a nautical pastime. he teaches the subject of prohibition and the rum war at the u. s. coast guard academy. he is available for lectures, book readings and presentations on rum running .
placid higbee beach was the perfect place to bring in booze. a high sand dune was named signal hill to alert rum runners of a coast guard presence. freighters sat three miles off shore waiting for local boat captains eager to make some extra money. small creeks and hideaways - such as schellengerger’s landing, dennis creek, and hereford inlet – that dotted cape may county made it an excellent location for rum running .
at the very heart of the business of rum running was an invisible but very real line just three miles off the american coast known as the “rum line”. a border which once crossed outside of, the american law no longer held provenance. a border which in many a young, adventurous entrepreneurs eyes, separated the suppliers from the consumers. in the year prior to nationwide prohibition, national imports of scotch totaled a handsome 914 gallons. within the first two years of national temperance those same imports rose to a staggering 386, 000 gallons per annum – an increase which saw scotch sales alone increase over 400 times and yet scotch didn’t come from the americas. rum running was the reason – and business was good .
it is impossible to catalogue the definitive list of vessels involved in the trade. many vessel owners and operators made opportunistic (sometimes one–shot) rum running voyages. this list is the result of ‘best efforts’ and is based on ‘popular knowledge’ and may be amended in the future as more information is discovered .
did any of bill mccoy’s cuban rum end up in cape may county? we assume so, but have no proof .
- - jim stone ,
my dad the rum runner ,
north waterloo academic press, waterloo ontario. 2002 .
vessels formerly in the rum running traffic, which had been laid up for months and in some cases years, are now being outfitted and rushed back into the illicit traffic. recent official reports from canadian sources indicate during the past month a resumption of activity comparable only to the situation which existed several years ago before the coast guard was organized to effectively combat smuggling. international rum syndicates are quite evidently under the impression that law enforcement will be more lax than formerly; that penalties meted out for violations of the customs laws will be much lighter and that in general there will be less risk and more profit in liquor running…
the term
rum–running
is more commonly applied to smuggling alcohol over water ;
bootlegging
is applied to smuggling alcohol over land. rum running is frequently viewed with a sentimentality that overlooks the fact that laws were being broken, and that the activity sometimes involved extreme violence and murder. the fact that prohibition was later repealed does not diminish the serious nature of the smuggling or the efforts to interdict it. in the early days alcohol was illegal in canada as well as in the united states. later as prohibition was lifted in canada it was only the smuggling of alcohol into the united states that was illegal .
montauk—our favorite drinking village with a fishing problem—has had a long love affair with the bottle. so when that romance was threatened during prohibition from 1920 to 1933, long island’s alcohol aficionados took matters into their own hands, spawning one of the most creative black - market rum running operations this side of the atlantic .
rumrunning along the atlantic coast < / p > < p > william mccoy, a florida skipper, pioneered the “rum - running” trade by sailing a schooner loaded with 1500 cases of liquor from nassau in the british colony of the bahamas to savannah and pocketing $ 15, 000 in profits from just one trip .
new jersey has many distinguished titles and honors, but perhaps the best is being named the largest rum row location during prohibition. rum row is defined as a “line of ships loaded with liquor beyond the maritime limit of the united states” according to wikipedia .
macfarlane, john m. (2013) vessels owned and operated as rum runners on canada’s pacific coast. urltoken 2013. urltoken
of mystic, connecticut, is republishing six books which are first - hand accounts of rum running. the books, most of which were first published in the late 1920s and early 1930s and long out - of - print, have been updated for modern readers with added insight, information and many never seen before photographs .
the case of american prohibition is often deployed in the rancorous debates that surround counter - narcotics policy. unfortunately, it is generally deployed (to my thought, abused) without an adequate understanding of what prohibition actually looked like. this is especially true of rum - running, which is generally retold something along these lines :
investigators found roughly 26 specialized compartments constructed for smuggling, which led to the discovery of a storage site in north fort myers that hiner used to store cuban cigars and rum. there, agents seized about 27, 000 assorted cuban cigars and 42 bottles of rum .
2. fraser miles, slow boat on rum row (madeira park, bc: harbour publishing, 1992) p. 129 .
rum running — the illegal transport of alcoholic beverages ashore across a forbidden border — began before the united states even had a nationwide ban on alcohol. this is because our friends to the north had their own set of prohibition laws throughout the provinces. between 1918 - 1920, rum runners of the united states brought in enough liquor to help undermine prohibition in canada. when the time came, canadian runners returned the favor, bringing canadian beer and whisky into the united states .
n katie kelley ,
episode 28 rum runner ,
a history of central florida, podcast video, october 1, 2014. urltoken
learn how nova scotia fishermen carried alcohol down the coast to mafia boats on rum row—under risk of u. s. coast guard attack .
b kelley, katie .
episode 28 rum runner .
a history of central florida. podcast video, october 1, 2014. urltoken
3. jim stone, my dad, the rum runner (waterloo, on: north waterloo academic press, 2002) p. 19 .
is the autobiography of gertrude lythgoe, a beautiful and enterprising american businesswoman who set up her own wholesale liquor business in nassau, bahamas, and sent shipload after shipload of the finest whiskey to the thirsty america. a woman well before her time, lythgoe earned the respect and admiration of the rum running fraternity and became crowned as the “queen of the bootleggers. ”
mccoy, a non - drinker himself, began running rum from the caribbean to florida shortly after the prohibition began. one encounter with the coast guard shortly thereafter stopped mccoy from completing runs of his own. the innovative mccoy set up a network of smaller ships that would meet his boat just outside u. s. waters and carry his supplies into the country .
this half - hour land and sea documentary reveals how thousands of law abiding citizens of atlantic canada were lured into the alcohol smuggling trade during prohibition in the 1920s and 30s. prohibition was extremely unpopular with many americans and canadians, but for dozens of coastal communities in atlantic canada hard hit by a downturn in the fisheries and still recovering from world war i, it was seen as a golden business opportunity. rum running depicts the larger than life characters and the high stakes role that nova scotia and the french islands of saint pierre and miquelon played during the era. the film explores the social, economic and cultural impact that this illegal activity had on dozens of coastal communities and reveals how the impact of rum running still affects us today .
“prohibition is a time period so unbelievable that most americans today do not understand what, and how, it all happened, ” says robert mckenna, editor of flat hammock press. “it was brought about by a well - organized movement and led to a polarized political and social climate––one not unlike we are experiencing today. the first heroes of this era were the rum - runners, lawbreakers who were viewed as robin hood - like figures. ” mckenna has spent the past five years researching prohibition and rum running, examining period newspaper accounts and u. s. government files, to uncovering the personal journals, photo albums and correspondence of the rum - runners themselves. “for obvious reasons, ” says mckenna, “not much was written about prohibition from the smugglers’ perspective. these six narratives: the real mccoy; the bahama queen, diary of a rum - runner, confessions of a rum - runner; rum row, and smugglers of spirits, are mainly all that exists. they are just as gripping and exciting as any adventure novel written then or since... and every word is true. ”
san diego, san pedro and santa barbara have become the focal point of the rum runners operating on the pacific coast... . it is believed that the bulk of the rum fleet will arrive in southern california waters, literally flooding this part of the state with booze of all descriptions .
the official log book for one of the chief skugaid' s voyages to rum row, on the document photography table at the bc provincial archives .
the actual rum war at sea was a story of two dueling adaptive networks. until 1924, the prohibition bureau ran their own ‘dry navy’ of a handful of sub - chasers – this whole enterprise was entirely a disaster, due to poor personnel polices, wholly inadequate imagination, and total ineptitude at sea. in 1924, the coast guard (somewhat unhappily) took on the task. they managed to field a substantial, aggressive, and most importantly highly adaptive force built of everything from speedboats to destroyers. within a few months, they shuttered rum row. soon after, they chased the rum - running networks down to florida (1925 - 1927) and then across to the great lakes (1928 - 1930 .) the coast guard fought the remnants of the rum - fleet to a stalemate through the early thirties, even after their budgets were cut. the rum trade came back in force one year after repeal, and a recapitalized coast guard fleet ended organized alcohol smuggling in 1936 .
“a huge rum fleet, carrying cargoes valued at several million dollars, is lying off southern california, ” the los angeles times reported in may 1925 .
throughout the prohibition era, there were persistent rumors and newspaper reports that boats—both traditional and the underwater variety—were running rum and other spirits from canada and the caribbean to thirsty american shores. coastal officials investigated these sightings, but also tried to downplay submarine stories, calling them “absurd, ” or reporting that what seemed to be submarine conning towers were, in fact, dorsal fins of dolphin .
rum - running is the inaugural text in a promising series called “stories of our past, ” published by the largest publisher in canada east of toronto, nimbus publishing. it chronicles the period from the early 1920s to the mid - 1930s, when the united states’ rather disastrous experiment with prohibition led to a brisk, profitable (and dangerous) smuggling of alcohol from canada and other locales before the act was repealed in 1933. the atlantic coast stretching from massachusetts down to florida came to be known as rum row. in this geographic area, a line of ships just outside of the twelve - mile jurisdictional limit would off - load cargoes of liquor to faster contact boats in international waters. those contact boats, evading trade within united states jurisdiction, would then bring liquor into america, and criminal organizations would distribute it. an episode in maritime history recently revisited, rum - running is a welcome addition to school library shelves .
repeal, 1933. franklin delano roosevelt was elected on a platform that included the repeal of that act. he delivered on this promise in the early part of 1933 – the 18 th amendment prohibited ‘intoxicating liquors, ’ while the volstead act defined ‘intoxicating liquors’ as anything 0. 5% alcohol by volume. as the 21 st amendment worked its way through the system, the cullen - harrison act reset the volstead definition to 3. 2% abv and thereby legalized light beers. this saw a brief drop in liquor traffic, though the trade rebounded quickly. rum - running had almost returned to 1932 levels, at least off of new york, when the 21 st amendment drove rum - running to an absolute low during the case. this lasted for about six months .
silent film, with title cards, of a rum runner voyage from victoria, bc canada, to rum row off the mexican coast, c. 1932, by richard heurtley reed. courtesy of royal bc museum, bc archives. v1999: 12 / 001. 02 grateful acknowledgement is extended to archive staff .
at the time the international limit for authority of a nation was 12 nautical miles from the coast. but us laws said their officials could stop ships suspected of rum running if they were within one hour’s sailing from the coast. this of course caused some confusion, as different ships could travel at different speeds making the “one hour” rule rather nebulous and anywhere from 12 to about 20 miles .
what little of the trade remained had fizzled out by 1936, with the liquor ships melting back into the nova scotia fishing fleet, or in a few cases, hardening into opium or migrant smugglers. coast guard intelligence ceased tracking suspected rumrunners entirely on account of irrelevance by 1939. operational life returned to traditional lifesaving missions and routine law - enforcement by 1936 with the end of organized rum - running .
“the steamer mogul, once the pride of san diego' s rum row, is now on her way home, to vancouver, b. c. , the loser in her long battle with united states customs officers and coast guard... . thus has california' s rum row gasped its last breath. ”
91 year old fisherman charlie tanner tried to join rum runners as a boy. french - owned islands were a crucial stop on the smuggling route to new york .
vancouver, british columbia has a history riddled with controversial decisions, policies, and opportunities. in the 1920s and 30s, if you played your cards right there was money to be made in an enterprise that blurred the lines of legality. when it came to rum - running, legality was based primarily on which side of the border you were standing on and in which directions your money and booze were flowing .
“rum smuggling and gun fights on the shores of palos verdes, ” by dennis piotrowski and monique sugimoto, palos verdes peninsula news, may 29, 2014, page 1 .
in addition to smuggling, homemade booze also became a growing phenomenon, and the newspapers began to fill with accounts of arrests of moonshiners as well as bootleggers and rum - runners .
prohibition was unpopular with many americans and canadians, but for dozens of coastal communities in atlantic canada hard hit by a fisheries downturn and recovering from world war i, it was seen as a golden business opportunity. the program depicts the high stakes role that nova scotia and the french islands of st - pierre - miquelon played during the era and explores how the social, economic, and cultural impacts of rum running affects us today. (22 minutes )
in the south bay, the palos verdes peninsula became a favorite landing spot for rum running ships who would bring their illicit cargo up from mexico or down from vancouver, canada. (these days, smugglers in the area are more likely to be carrying illegal immigrants or large quantities of marijuana .) that area of the peninsula was much less developed than it is today, and its shoreline had lots of remote nooks and crannies suitable for such covert activities .
lawlor goes into considerable detail on how a typical smuggling operation was run, including descriptions of how various vessels were refitted for their new role in smuggling, forms of radio communication, and ingenious diversionary or escape tactics used if boats were caught. she devotes a chapter each to rum running in nova scotia, new brunswick, and prince edward island, identifying the primary movers and shakers in the rum running trade (everyone from royal navy captains to “booze czars” operating out of hotels to enterprising businessmen). she then moves on to detail the ongoing efforts to fight smuggling, such as the canadian preventive service working at cracking down on illicit trade with less effectiveness than the us coast guard. the aftermath of prohibition is also briefly treated, showing how the legal repercussions of millions of dollars of unpaid tariffs by the smugglers are counterbalanced by the government’s not - altogether sterling behaviour in reaping taxes for which refunds are impossible to claim .
perhaps new jersey’s hero was bill mccoy who sailed his schooner up from nassau and cuba loaded with cuban rum that he did not dilute – from this came the term “the real mccoy. “
locally, brothers frank and tony cornero were rumored to be among the organized crime figures involved in the run - running activities. tony cornero would later turn up as the owner of the rex, the notorious gambling ship that operated off the south bay coast during the 1930s. (link )
law - abiding people in the united states know it only by hear - say; but there is a basis to the hearsay and the romance is certain. not only the police records of rum ships captured inside the three - mile limit, not only the evidence of one' s nose and eyes in almost any city of the states, but also the visible and unmistakable evidence of the goodly schooners that hang about just off the three - mile line tell the tale. off atlantic highlands, just south of new york city, or off block island, just east of long island, the rum - running ships from the west indies are as familiar a sight as coastwise freighters .
two fort myers men have been indicted on federal charges that they illegally imported cuban merchandise? including cigars, cigarettes, coffee and rum? into the united states as part of a sailboat smuggling venture .
while this article is slanted on the side of those who were rum runners or liked to drink, the coast guard of cape may was much respected, and certainly did its share of catching rum runners. in 1925, the coast guard caught a cache of liquor valued at $ 100, 000. among this haul were cordials, champagne, and whiskey, all found hidden in a former sub chaser .
before there were red states and blue states, there were dry states and wet states––those that banned the sale and transportation of alcohol, and those where such activities were legal. in 1919, it was the dry states, not the popular vote, which secured approval of the 18 th amendment to the u. s. constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale or importation of alcohol. an act to enforce prohibition was then twice passed by a two - thirds vote of the house and senate in order to override the veto of president woodrow wilson. beginning january 16, 1920, america was officially dry. an early result of prohibition was the development of a new industry known as rum running, the smuggling of liquor from other countries or nearby islands. at the outset, rum running was primarily the pursuit of individuals, chiefly mariners and fishermen. for these men, most of whom were not hardened criminals, there was high adventure, money to be made, a degree of romance, and a strong sense of fraternity .
for the runners themselves however, it was the final 3 mile stretch within the american border known as the “rum row” that would require all their ingenuity and bravado if supply was to get through. consisting predominantly of caribbean rum, english gin and scotch whisky, the british bahamian port of nassau (ironically the historic pirate capital of the old world) quickly became a primary stocking port - of - call where runners could negotiate their purchases in liquor before heading for the rum row. with nassau located just 26 miles due east of miami and a straight shot north to the entire eastern seaboard, it was perfectly located to access anywhere on the american east coast from florida to maine. this busy new trade route established between nassau and the major rum row market off new jersey, became known to all merchants as “the great whiskey way” .
while rum - runners on the pacific coast worked directly from canada, on the atlantic side of the continent they used convenient foreign ports where alcohol could be received for transshipment into the us. the bahamas, cuba, british honduras (belize) and bermuda all served as conduits for booze from britain and canada. nassau, the capital of the bahamas, boomed in the early years of prohibition. daniel okrent points out that in the two years before america went dry, 914 gallons of scotch entered the bahamas; by 1922 that amount had jumped to 386, 000 gallons. another historian estimates that as much as ten million quarts of liquor passed through nassau in a year. of course, so much liquor was not meant for bahamians. as quickly as it could be transferred to the rum - running vessels it was on its way again, up the coast to “rum row, ” the off - shore marketplace between boston and atlantic city .
liquor distilled in british columbia made it to the thirsty in the pacific northwest through puget sound. with its expansive and various beaches, puget sound was the stage of restless races between coast guards and rum runners .
finally, rum row by robert carse provides wonderful descriptions of the fleets that anchored off the population areas of all coasts, the characters that manned them, and the thrilling and dangerous times on ship and shore .
as a teaser, i submit the following account of the post - repeal suppression campaign, excerpted from my forthcoming dissertation. i also include two animated infographics of capture records and intel reports, respectively. i hope that it will challenge standard conceptions of the rum war, and entice the reader to read further. for further reading, i recommend the standard coast guard account, rum war at sea, by cdr malcolm willoughby .
[ 12 ] lawlor, rum - running. 93. ‘the customs revenue went down between $ 70 and $ 90m in two years’ – it is unclear whether this is per year or total, but i assumed the former. since the 1930 us dollar was 2. 07 canadian dollars, dividing by two accounts for the currency conversion. depending on the estimate, this could be cut in half once more if the $ 75 - 90m was an aggregate number. either way, there was some non - trivial sum of smuggling losses .
agents discovered the austrian - flagged boat had numerous hidden compartments constructed for smuggling. they concealed 364 boxes of cuban cigars, 45 bottles of cuban rum, 30 pounds of cuban coffee and 100 cartons of cuban cigarettes .
the rum trade arrived at the perfect time for the small villages of atlantic canada, which were suffering through a cyclical downturn in the fishery. clement hiltz, like so many other young, adventurous men from lunenburg, found it easy to choose between an act that was illegal, but very lucrative, and another season of harvesting cod off the frigid banks of newfoundland. recalls the 90 - year - old, who still lives in lunenburg :
i could make more money running one load of booze than i could in a year on the fishing boats .
the combination of a recapitalized patrol fleet, robust intelligence capabilities, and a burgeoning air fleet formed the final model of the rum war. the commandant explained this fusion of sea, air and intelligence in a 1934 tactics bulletin :
but rumrunners persisted. sightings of liquor - laden ships off southern california continued into the late 1920s. only the repeal of prohibition in 1933 brought an end to the lucrative trade and the 13 - year war against rum row .
in 2013, a couple years after moving from ontario to new york, schultz resumed writing and imagined a greater role for elsie moss, alfred’s widow, who turns to rum - running herself in a bid for financial security. the characters on these pages are hustlers, and deception emerges as a dominant theme because of how common it was then to break the law. crossing the line is literally and figuratively emphasized by border crossings and the building of the ambassador bridge, which occurred from 1927 until 1929, a time when civilians and officials alike were disillusioned with prohibition .
in this episode of a history of central florida we spoke with dr. leonard lempel, dr. mark long, and john beale about a rum runner which can be seen along with many other artifacts at the halifax historical museum .
the smugglers risked not only arrest but their very lives. on march 21, 1929, a u. s. coast guard cutter sparked a cross - border dispute by firing upon and sinking the lunenburg - registered i' m alone, which was carrying 2, 800 cases of liquor while in international waters. one of the smugglers drowned. two years later, american authorities shot a lunenburg skipper, william cluett, who later died, while capturing the nova scotia rum - runner josephine k. at the entrance to new york harbour. and, in 1933, a canadian agent named john
machine gun
kelly killed a lunenburg man when he opened fire on a small boat unloading booze outside that town' s harbour .
it was scary out there ,
says hiltz, who took part in six different rum - running voyages before quitting to return to the fishing boats .
i don' t know who we were more worried about: the coast guard cutters or the gangsters on rum row who wanted to hijack our load .
is the first - hand account of james barbican, a scotsman, who, like many of his countrymen, was out of work following his service fighting the great war. barbican, the pen name of eric sherbrooke walker, found a job, and made a great deal of money, smuggling liquor to the united states. walker later used his rum - running profits to open the treetops hotel in kenya, africa, best - known for being the place where princess elizabeth spent the night of february 5th, 1952. during the night her father george vi, died and she became queen elizabeth ii .
the fact was, in the midst of the roaring twenties, americans wanted alcohol - - strong alcohol, and lots of it. and no matter how illegal or dangerous it was, bootleggers and rum runners were determined to satisfy the demand .
sandwich town would become a major hub for the illegal alcohol trade. this was all done in spite of the fact that ontario had its own prohibition law entitled the temperance act. by 1928 in the windsor and detroit area there would be as many as 25, 000 speakeasies, blind pigs, and clubs. while windsor was home to the shadier elements associated with rum running it would also become popular destination for many americans that wished to cross the border simply looking for a good time. windsor was perfectly situated to take full advantage of the criminal and civilian enterprises that would spring up during the prohibition era .
the chief skugaid, riding low in the water with a full load of liquor cases in her two holds. her actual length is 86 feet. no date, from
slow boat on rum row
by fraser miles, harbour publishing, 1992
what started as a small display on prohibition in new jersey at the new jersey maritime museum on dock road, beach haven, has grown and grown. a video is constantly running, bottles are filled with a caramel colored liquid – real or not, we aren’t telling – and photos show that people from cape may to north jersey were not impressed or impeded by prohibition .
starting on a winter night in 1927, when rum - runner alfred moss appears to have sunk in the detroit river with a carload of scotch and cash, men walking on water tracks the fallout of this loss on a diverse cast that includes a deviant lutheran reverend, an american - born daughter of a chinese gangster, and an earnest teenage rum - runner. but the novel rewrites history with alfred faking his death and assuming new identities to seduce and swindle his way around prohibition - era america .
in 1920 british columbia ended its policy of wartime prohibition, at the same time that the united states enacted the 18 th amendment to the american constitution. this constitutional amendment “completely bann [ ed ] the manufacture, sale, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages” in the united states. 1 thus arose an opportunity for canadians to lend a hand to their thirsty neighbours to the south, while making some money at the same time. this opportunity was seized in cities throughout canada, including vancouver, in the form of rum - running. henry reifel, and later his two sons, emerged as a major player in this enterprise .
another place we were searching the water tap was where the rum came out. you turn the hot water tap and rum would come out of a big tank in the wall. they had some good caches; they were ingenious really. then lots of times you’d come along at night and you’d stop a car and there’d be a keg in the trunk or in the backseat. there was a bootlegger in every community. sold it out of his house, out of his barn, out of his field. everywhere. just as soon as we found one hide they made a better one. and there was no stigma to being a bootlegger and handling contraband rum. everybody did it. there was nothing morally wrong... they weren’t criminals, eh ?
the innovation of americans to get what they want is evident in the resourcefulness used to obtain alcohol during prohibition. this era saw the rise of the speakeasy, home distiller, bootlegger, rum - runner, and many of the gangster myths associated with it .
the liquor smuggling business included a complicated system of transport, communication, and legal manoeuvring. the primary rum - running operations out of vancouver did not take place over land borders, but instead used marine transport. this maritime smuggling operation took place primarily on the coast of the western united states, with a lot of action taking place on the coast of california, on what became known as “rum row. ” 2 since exporting liquor from canada was not illegal, yet importing it into the united states was, ships would leave vancouver with stated destinations that were not actually the intended destinations of their loads. 3 one option of transport ships was to “short circuit” in which a destination was never reached, but instead the ship would unload somewhere and wait the appropriate amount of time before returning to port. 4 another option was reaching a port other than in the united states, receiving documentation, but not unloading the ship’s cargo there. this would allow the cargo to reach its american destination, but appear to have been delivered elsewhere. 5 when united states pressure caused canada to formally change law to more strictly ensure that cargo was actually unloaded at the ships’ destinations, rum - runners began choosing ports such as tahiti, where they knew officials would continue to sign off on the cargo without actually receiving any, after which the liquor would be delivered to the united states as originally intended. 6 ‘mother ships, ’ as they were referred to by rum - runners, carrying large loads of alcohol would leave port and dock far off the coast. smaller ships would then come and offload the liquor. in addition to moving faster than the heavy ‘mother ships, ’ the small transport ships reduced the risk of losing large loads of alcohol should anything happen to the transport ship on route to shore. 7 the malahat was a ‘mother ship’ for a vancouver based rum - running corporation, and is indicative of the type of ship used in such operations. 8 the smugglers used coded transmissions and communications to prevent being intercepted, and had to constantly adapt their methods to keep ahead of attempts from authorities to break their codes. 9
the one man who could be trusted was captain william mccoy, who is credited for establishing rum row. his schooner “arethusa” was open for business 24 hours a day for anyone with the balls to paddle out to her. while other rum runners would water down their goods, mccoy was known for his fair prices, selling real, quality goods like johnny walker red and bacardi brought from two small french - owned islands off the coast of newfoundland. his product, so the legend goes, became known as “the real mccoy. ”
the books describe, in various forms, how rum - runners employed vessels of all descriptions, from fishing schooners, rust - streaked tramp steamers, luxury yachts, even retired navy ships, and set out from ports in europe, the bahamas, bermuda, cuba, jamaica, even the french islands of st. pierre and miquelon, loaded with scotch, rye, gin, bourbon, champagne and brandy, and headed for the major cities of the united states. this flotilla, known as “rum row, ” rode at anchor outside the limits of u. s. law enforcement, their holds wide open, ready, willing and able to do business with anyone who would come out to buy their liquor. intrepid individuals in small craft would come out from the beaches, inlets and bays to these floating liquor stores and offload case after case. “the profits were enormous, and cash was thick, ” says mckenna. “business went on around the clock; with times being so busy that the deck of a rum - runner could look like the floor of the new york stock exchange. ” and as to risks, there simply weren’t any. the limit of u. s. jurisdiction was three miles. the coast guard was powerless to do anything and the crews of the rum running vessels would taunt the enforcement officials by offering them bottles of liquor, and serenading them with songs like “how dry i am” and “what do you do with a drunken sailor. ”
there were many rum rows along the american seaboard, all of them hovering in close proximity to the great ports with their big populations. the heaviest concentration of ships anchored off new jersey and long island, handy to the approaches to the great port of new york .
the booze ban officially went into effect on january 16, 1920, and literally the following day montauk’s waters were populated with trafficking ships from nova scotia, england, and cuba, smuggling everything from canadian whiskey to jamaican rum. the boats would lurk 12 miles offshore, just past us territorial waters, in a line - up that became known as rum row. because of its harbors, bays, and inlets, along with its proximity to new york city, the east end was the perfect location for this kind of illegal activity .
then on march 20, the coast guard ship walcott lucked into spotting the notorious vessel which had so long eluded them. several miles off the louisiana coast, (the distance disputed but apparently just inside us waters) the american cutter uss walcott hailed the im alone. the american ordered randell to stop, which was refused, and the schooner headed further into the gulf with the wolcott in pursuit two hours later and very safely in international waters, the us captain was allowed aboard the schooner where he and randelll talked. randell advising the american that the schooner was now outside us jurisdiction and had also not broken the rum running treaty between the us and britain and would not surrender .
in the 1920’s a nova scotia registered schooner, the i’m alone became very well - known to us authorities as a rum runner. the ship, captained by an experienced newfoundland captain was able to escape and frustrate the us coast guard chasers time and time again for six years
within a year the saint - pierre waterfront was transformed into a bustling metropolis with cargoes of scotch arriving from scotland, irish whiskey from ireland, champagne from france, rum from demerara, and rye and bourbon from canada. while vessels waited to take on a load their crews took advantage of the several bars on shore to drink and gamble. the demand for warehouse space soon outstripped the supply and every available building on the island was commandeered for storage. so many jobs were available loading and unloading the crates of liquor and working on the launches that carried the booze down to rum row that the locals abandoned the fishery altogether. eventually the fish - packing plant had to close; it became a liquor storehouse instead. in 1923 more than a thousand vessels left saint - pierre for rum row carrying six million bottles of hooch .
leading the list of books is the real mccoy, the story of rum - runner bill mccoy, the florida boatbuilder turned national hero whose quality liquor and fair dealing perpetuated the phrase, “it’s the real mccoy. ” for nearly four years mccoy slaked the thirst of the nation while leading authorities on a merry chase. he pioneered new smuggling methods, founded the notorious rum row, and built a bootlegging empire that made millions of dollars. in all his dealings mccoy remained personable and trustworthy and true to his standard that the liquor he carried be the best .
in the end the reifels escaped their legal issues with the united states short $ 700 000, but without criminal charges. the reifel’s may have lost some money, a large amount especially in the 1930s, however it did not prevent them from funding or operating many prominent and well - known establishments throughout vancouver and the lower mainland. these include such places as the commodore ballroom, the vogue and studio theatres, the multi - million dollar mansion casa mia, and the george c. reifel migratory bird sanctuary. the legacy of the reifel’s and their ventures in rum - running, provide insight into vancouver’s diverse past as well as an era of hazy legality, fast flowing booze, and great opportunity.
rum-running , or bootlegging , is the illegal business of transporting ( smuggling ) alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law . smuggling is usually done to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction . the term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water ; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land . it is believed that the term " boot-legging " originated during the american civil war , when soldiers would sneak liquor into army camps by concealing pint bottles within their boots or beneath their trouser legs . also , according to the pbs documentary prohibition , the term " bootlegging " was popularized when thousands of city dwellers would sell liquor from flasks they kept in their boot leg all across major cities and rural areas . the term " rum-running " most likely originated at the start of prohibition in the united states ( 1920 – 1933 ) , when ships from bimini in the western bahamas transported cheap caribbean rum to florida speakeasies . but rum 's cheapness made it a low-profit item for the rum-runners , and they soon moved on to smuggling canadian whisky , french champagne , and english gin to major cities like new york city , boston , and chicago , where prices ran high . it was said that some ships carried $ 200,000 in contraband in a single run . 
rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting (smuggling) alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. smuggling is usually done to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. the term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land. it is believed that the term " boot-legging " originated during the american civil war, when soldiers would sneak liquor into army camps by concealing pint bottles within their boots or beneath their trouser legs. also, according to the pbs documentary prohibition, the term " bootlegging " was popularized when thousands of city dwellers would sell liquor from flasks they kept in their boot leg all across major cities and rural areas. the term " rum-running " most likely originated at the start of prohibition in the united states (1920 – 1933), when ships from bimini in the western bahamas transported cheap caribbean rum to florida speakeasies. but rum's cheapness made it a low-profit item for the rum-runners, and they soon moved on to smuggling canadian whisky, french champagne, and english gin to major cities like new york city, boston, and chicago, where prices ran high. it was said that some ships carried $ 200,000 in contraband in a single run.
rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting (smuggling) alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. smuggling is usually done to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. the term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land. it is believed that the term " boot-legging " originated during the american civil war, when soldiers would sneak liquor into army camps by concealing pint bottles within their boots or beneath their trouser legs. also, according to the pbs documentary prohibition, the term " bootlegging " was popularized when thousands of city dwellers would sell liquor from flasks they kept in their boot leg all across major cities and rural areas. the term " rum-running " most likely originated at the start of prohibition in the united states (1920 – 1933), when ships from bimini in the western bahamas transported cheap caribbean rum to florida speakeasies. but rum's cheapness made it a low-profit item for the rum-runners, and they soon moved on to smuggling canadian whisky, french champagne, and english gin to major cities like new york city, boston, and chicago, where prices ran high. it was said that some ships carried $ 200,000 in contraband in a single run.