Joseph "Bunko" Kelly was an English hotelier of the 19th century who kidnapped men and sold them to work on

ships A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

. The terms "

Shanghaiing Shanghaiing or crimping is the practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as ''crimps''. The related term '' press gang' ...

" and "crimping" are used to describe this type of activity. By his own account, he Shanghaied about 2,000 men and women during his 15-year career, beginning in 1879.

History

Kelly, later called "The King of the Crimps", received his "Bunko" nickname in 1885 Spider Johnson says October 189

by providing a crewman that turned out to be a

cigar store Indian The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American, used to represent tobacconists. The figures are often three-dimensional wooden sculptures measuring fr ...

. Kelly made $50 on the deal. In one infamous deal in 1893, he delivered 22Some sources say 20, other say 24. men who had mistakenly consumed

embalming fluid Embalming chemicals are a variety of preservatives, sanitising and disinfectant agents, and additives used in modern embalming to temporarily prevent decomposition and restore a natural appearance for viewing a body after death in funeral homes. ...

from the open cellar of a

mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

. He sold all the men, most of whom were dead, to a captain who sailed before the truth was discovered. He got $52 for each man. Once, he set a record for crimping, by rounding up 50 men in 3 hours. Kelly was never arrested for crimping because it was not illegal at the time. He was however arrested for murder in 1894. He was convicted in March 1895, and sent to the

Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), also known as Oregon State Prison, is a supermax, maximum security prison in the northwestern United States in Salem, Oregon. Originally opened in Portland, Oregon, Portland in 1851, it relocated to Salem f ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

. He was released in 1908. Afterwards, he wrote a book entitled ''Thirteen Years In The Oregon Penitentiary'', about the conditions there. He was identified as an inmate of the Oregon State Penitentiary in the 1900 Federal Census. His entry in the census record indicates he was born in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, not the United Kingdom. After his book was published, he left on a trip to California and never returned.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Joseph 1900s deaths 1900s missing person cases American kidnappers American people convicted of murder History of labor relations in the United States Missing person cases in Oregon Year of birth missing People from Liverpool American hoteliers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers American male criminals 19th-century American criminals Crime in Oregon Male murderers

History

See also

Notes

References