The San Juan Islander

Captain Basford
Escapes Arrest

Capt. Chas. Basford, of the steamer Islander, is still running at large with the full consent and apparently the connivance of the officers of the law, notwithstanding his theft, on the day after election, of two brooms which had been triumphantly hoisted upon conspicuous flagstaffs as emblems of the 'clean sweep' made by the Republican ticket. John Bugge had jubilantly hoisted one of them over the Friday Harbor Creamery and Gene Gould had the other one up over the San Juan county bank.

Cap't. eagle eye caught sight of them when the Islander came into port Wednesday afternoon and tied up at the Bugge wharf. He is a Democrat, or used to be before he virtually disfranchised himself by becoming a steamboat man, and he may have had a little grouch, when he came ashore. However that may have been, he saw a chance for a little fun and when the jubilant John was busy in the warehouse he slipped around to the creamery flagstaff and hauled down the broom and carried it aboard the steamer. Encouraged by his success he then went to the bank building, got the ladder, used it to reach the manhole in the upper hall and climbed up to the roof and feloniously appropriated the broom belonging to the chairman of the Republican County Committee.

When he got back to the manhole, however, he found his triumphant progress checked, the ladder having been removed by Dr. Muscott. The doctor relented after a time, however, and permitted the frisky skipper to "come off the roof." With the broom over his shoulder he coolly walked down the stairs and past Mr. Gould, who stood at the bank entrance, and who didn't miss the broom or heard of the diabolical outrage for several days.