Shanghaied

Shanghaied

Suzanne Marsh

Jed Hotchkiss stepped into The Pelican Bar on Sixth Street on the docks of Portland, Oregon, and ordered a beer. He drank half the beer before he began to feel lightheaded. He lost consciousness; he found himself in a tiny cell with eight other men. He could hear women screaming. Jed had broad shoulders, as did most of the men, cramped into this tiny space. Jed, discovered, as he came to, that his boots and socks were missing. He began questioning the other men in the cell. They had all partaken of beer at the Pelican Bar, one man remembered a trap door opening and falling through into the cell. They knew they were shanghaied; that there was no doubt they would be sold to complete crews setting sail for the Orient. One of the men looked outside the bars of the cage:

“Hey, look at all that glass on the floor, wonder what they do with it?”

Jed realized then that if his father, Andrew Jackson Hotchkiss, did not start looking for him, there was no means of escape; the glass shards would cut his feet to ribbons. He thought perhaps he was in one of the many Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon. He had been warned to stay away from Sixth Street, where there were several ships in need of crews; he should have listened to his father. Jed thought of nothing other than escaping this hell he now found himself in.

The sun was setting as Andrew Jackson (“Jack”) Hotchkiss strode into the small apartment the family was renting by the week. Hannah Hotchkiss was in the kitchen humming “Rock of Ages”. Hannah knew it was getting late, and there was no sign of Jed; she was worried. Jack saw the concern in her face, and he asked quietly:

“Where is Jed Hannah? I thought he would be here before I got home.”

Hannah turned to face her father:

“He left early this morning. He was planning to find work on the Portland docks. He has been

gone all day. Who knows, he may have found something and was hired.”

Jack nodded his head in absent-minded agreement. A little voice inside his head said his only son had been shanghaied; he would begin looking immediately. Hannah knew from the expression on her father’s face that he would look until he found Jed. She quickly donned men’s pants, shirt, and boots; she would have to watch out for Jed and Jack; they had to find Jed. They quickly downed the meager dinner Hannah had prepared. Hannah put on an old slouch hat and grabbed a pistol from her dresser drawer. Father and daughter strode toward Sixth Street and the docks. They scanned the horizon to see which ships were in port. The whaler JP Morgan was there; they began asking questions; had anyone seen a broad-shouldered man with brown hair and blue eyes? It was not much of a description, but it would have to do for the moment. The captain of the JP Morgan informed they he did not purchase a crew but to try the Shallow Bird four berths down. Once again,n they inquired of the captain of the Shallow Bird, who also stated he did not buy crew members.

Jack and Hannah thanked both captains, and they noted The Pelican Bar. Jack entered the bar alone, while Hannah stood guard. Time slowed to a crawl. It was now night, and Hannah was concerned about Jack and Jed. She caught an image in her peripheral vision. Was that Jed? Where was Jed? Midnight arrived, Hannah headed home, and remembered what Jack had told her.

“If I can’t find Jed, Hannah, go back to Kansas, find your Uncle, and have him get the boys

together.” Hannah quietly went back to the apartment they shared, hoping that she could give them a reprieve. She strode toward the train station, purchased a ticket then began to think about seeing her Uncle Matt, hoping he would help find Jack and Jed. The train ride from Portland, Oregon, to Kansas City, Kansas,s was over sixty hours; then it was another ten hours to Fort Scott. The train left the station on time as Hannah dozed off to the rocking motion of the train. She missed Fort Scott; she had not been in favor of moving to Oregon. Presently, the train pulled into a station, and they had a forty-five-minute breakfast. Hannah stood up, her dress was full of cinders from the engine. She strode toward the cafe; something smelled wonderful: bacon and eggs, toast and pancakes. She sat down at a wooden table and waited for service. Once she had eaten, she went back to the train; according to her watch, it would be leaving in five minutes. The train rumbled on, and when flat land began to appear, she knew she was getting closer to Kansas City, Kansas, and her destination. She prayed that she would be in time to find Jack and Jed.

She arrived in Kansas City, hired a horse and buggy, and set off for Fort Prescott and her Uncle Matt’s home. Uncle Matt was out in the barn milking cows when Hannah arrived:

“Uncle Matt, Uncle Matt, Father and Jed have been shanghaied in Portland; we need you and the

boys to help me rescue them.” She told Matt the story between sobs and hysteria. Matt yelled for his wife to come take care of Hannah while he rounded up the boys. The following morning, they rode west toward Oregon on horseback. They stopped to eat and sleep, then were back in the saddle. There were ten men and Hannah. Matt knew the rumors about Portland, as did his brother Jack. he also knew that Jack was a stubborn man; the two had argued just before Jack, Jed, and Hannah left Fort Scott to settle in Oregon.

Jack was two cells down from Jed; he was shocked to hear his voice at first; he hoped he could arrange to get all the men in the cells out before their captors put them up for auction, to be sold to the highest bidder. He fervently prayed Matt and his boys would get here soon. He knew it took several days to get to Fort Scott and more because Matt would come by horseback. Thus far there had been no rumors as to when this group of men would be sold; each day was a challenge to stay alive.

Ten days later, Matt, his boys, and Hannah arrived in Portland, Oregon; Matt glanced around him. He noted brick buildings that were meant to stand the stresses of time. The streets were cobbled, Hannah could hear her horse's hooves on the cobble, it was a sound she would carry with her for the remained of her life. Matt turned in his saddle:

“Hannah, which one of these establishments did Jack go into?” Hannah rode up to Matt:

“The Pelican on Sixth Street. Uncle Matt, how can I help Father and Jed?”

Matt began to formulate a plan as eleven people played a part. They went to a small hotel, not far from The Pelican, and rented two rooms. Hannah changed her clothes from men’s britches and an old shirt into a calico dress. Matt, not exactly sure of how Hannah was going to react to the part she was about to play. Matt began:

“Hannah, do you think you can play the part of a soiled dove, make some inquiries about the

men that are missing. I heard rumors that most of those men are sold to complete crews.

I also heard rumors about The Pelican; it is located over a network of tunnels. The boys

and I are going to attempt to enter a tunnel that runs parallel to the one under the Pelican.”

Hannah thought about what it would be like to be a soiled dove. She was a good girl and still

a virgin. She hoped she would remain so until she married. As Hannah thought this idea through, Matt smiled at his only niece:

“Hannah, I know it is a lot to ask, but we need inside information, we need to know the exact

location. Once we have your father and brother, we are going to have to move quickly.”

Hannah, in a soft voice, said:

“I’ll do it, Uncle Matt, I’ll get a job and the Pelican; I am not sure what sort of soiled dove

I will make.”

The plan Matt devised was simple; Hannah would work at the Pelican as a soiled dove, while he and the boys went into the tunnels. They were going to find Jack and Jed, he had promised. Later that morning, her blond hair streaming down her back, her azure blue eyes smiling, she strode toward the Pelican. The bartender and every male at the Pelican stared at the beauty who strode in. Hannah smiled at the bartender:

“I am looking for work; I just arrived in Portland.” The bartender tripped over his tongue, stuttering:

“Y-y-yes, I think there is a job available for such a lovely creature as yourself.” He smiled

admiringly as she sashayed toward the door he had pointed out to her:

“Enter,” came the response to her knock on the door. A tall, dark, handsome man sat behind a large oak desk:

“What can I do for you, young lady?” Hannah blushed:

“I need a job, I am willing to do anything.” The man smiled:

“You can work upstairs, see Marie, she will help you understand how your job is done.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Marie was a plump woman with long black hair and dark brown eyes. Hannah disliked her the moment she met her:

“Ah, you will have to do; you are thin, that is good. Take off your dress, here is a dressing

gown. I have a sideline that aids me in buying items for girls like you. You no doubt will

have rich patrons, you really are stunning, from those rich patrons, you get as much of the

money as they have. Do I make myself clear?”

Hannah merely nodded.

Matt and the boys descended down the wooden stairs and into a cellar that ran parallel to the Pelican. They heard screams, men yelling, and women crying; what sort of hell had they discovered? Then Matt stopped, put his hand up to halt; he had heard Jack’s scream. They began digging a small opening. Matt went through first, followed by the boys. What Matt saw terrified him. There was Jack, and Jed was in the next cell.

“Jack, what did they do to you?”

“Matt, that is not important. We have to get Jed and these men out of here. We are being sold

to some captain for ten thousand dollars. Can you believe that?” Matt shook his head no. He picked the lock on the cell door, had one of the boys bring him his extra boots. Matt could hear footsteps on the wooden stairs. He prepared to fight when there stood Hannah, a six-shooter jammed in her back. Matt waited; hidden in the shadows, the man with the six- shooter shoved Hannah, as she fell to the sod floor, Matt leaped on the man, knocking him out. “Hannah, are you okay?” Hannah, her voice

trembling, said: “Yes, thanks to you, Uncle Matt.” She noted that her father was opening Jed’s cell door. They were safe, but for how long, Hannah thought. They all quickly went through the small opening in the wall, covering it up after they were in the other cellar. Jack smiled at Matt:

“No more adventure for me, we are going home to Fort Scott, at least there are no trap doors

and bar tenders that fix the drinks.”

The following morning, the family rode out of Portland heading east toward Fort Scott, Kansa,s and home.