The San Juans, with its many islands and hidden, sheltered bays, located between Canada and the United States, have long attracted smugglers. And for almost as long, federal authorities have sought to enforce the law on these waters. Congress…

In 1859 the British survey ship HMS Plumper was scouting the San Juan Islands during the joint occupation of the Islands by the British and the United States. Oarsmen from the HMS Plumper took a skiff into what they would later call "Friday…