Fort Erie booze ship eluded US Coast Guard for 40 hours 97 years ago

Back on April 7, 1925 – 97 years ago today – an ale-running ship, the Arcadia, allegedly unloaded 350 cases of ale in Buffalo after eluding the American Coast Guard for 40 hours on the Niagara River.

The Canadian part of this story? The Arcadia set sail from Fort Erie on April 4 and then spent the new few days trying to sneak past the US Coast Guard until it finally unloaded its cargo in Buffalo – keeping in mind this was during the height of American Prohibition. Also, it was never proven.

Now here’s where it gets a little confusing. We were alerted to this on the Fort Erie Museum’s “On This Day” update. However, the museum referred to the boat as “the Acadia.”

A Buffalo story, recounting the cross-lake booze run, called it “the Arcadia.” Further diluting the identity was another ship at the time called the “Arcadian.”

However, we feel certain it was the Arcadia, based on the Buffalo story so that’s what this story of booze-running shell game is based upon.

In a college paper called “Giggle Water on the Mighty Niagara: Rum-Runners, Homebrewers, Redistillers and the Changing Social Fabric of Drinking Culture During Alcohol Prohibition in Buffalo, N.Y., 1920-1933,” a college student named Timothy Olewniczak at the State University of New York at Buffalo recounted the events on the Niagara River from April 4 to 7, 1925.

Olewniczak recounted that the “U.S. Coast Guard observed the boat heading toward U.S. shores from the city of Fort Erie, Ontario, on Saturday, April 4 at 3 p.m. A standstill ensued when the U.S. Coast Guard set up a blockade to force the boat to drop anchor.”

The ship, which allegedly was stocked full of illegal ale, stayed put until a large fog shrouded the Niagara River on the evening of April 6.

“The Arcadia dimmed its lights and escaped to an undisclosed location,” Olewniczak said after the fog descended.

“Two U.S. Coast Guard ships, commanded by Captain John J. Daly, followed the Arcadia downstream. With his own ship among the fastest of the U.S. Coast Guard, Captain Daly assured the Buffalo populace that he would catch the missing ship. Captain Daly continued trailing the rum-runners to prevent them from reaching U.S. soil but he
described his pursuit as an ongoing game of ‘cat and mouse’.”

It is believed that the Arcadia was able to dock in Buffalo on April 7, long enough to unload their cargo but of course, there’s no real proof.

Said Olewnczek, “Despite his best efforts to stop the crew of the Arcadia during a 40-hour search, when Captain Daly caught up with the ship, it had no ale on board.

It seems the U.S. Coast Guard made a huge slip-up during its water-logged vigilance. “The one mistake Daly had made was docking on U.S. shores to sleep on the foggy night of April 6. This was the break the smugglers needed, and when Daly fell asleep, the Arcadia docked and unloaded its ale.”

Of course, the crew of the Arcadia pleaded innocence since they were not caught red-handed. Despite that, Olewniczak added, “Captain Daly and his men continued to search for the missing cargo. They never found it.”

This wasn’t the only cat-and-mouse that went south on the cat, the author concluded. “This is a typical story of Prohibition enforcement gone awry, a regular occurrence in Buffalo.”