Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Piggy War
1 Playsin 1 day
In 1859, the Pig War brought the United States and Great Britain to the brink of war on Washington's San Juan Islands after an American farmer shot a British-owned pig that had wandered into his potato patch. What began as a simple dispute quickly escalated into an international standoff, with hundreds of American soldiers and British warships facing each other across the island, yet remarkably, not a single human life was lost. The conflict ended through diplomacy and years of peaceful joint occupation before an international arbitration awarded the San Juan Islands to the United States in 1872. Join us as we uncover the surprisingly tense, often humorous story of how one unfortunate pig nearly changed the map of the Pacific Northwest forever.
⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes references to abuse, trauma, and death. Listener discretion is advised.
🎧 Enjoy the episode? Follow, share, and leave a review ! It helps more curious minds find us!
💌 Got theories or personal cult encounters? Email us at BTevergreens@gmail.com or DM on Instagram @BTEPodcast
Full source list and supplemental materials are available on our website at Beneaththeevergreens.com.
💜If you’re struggling with mental illness, you are not alone
Episodes that touch on fear, mystery, or the unknown can sometimes stir up difficult feelings. If you’re dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, or any other mental health challenge, please know there is support available and people who want to help.
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (United States):
Call or text 988 any time for free, confidential support from trained counselors. - Crisis Text Line:
Text HOME to 741741 to chat with a crisis counselor 24/7. - NAMI HelpLine (National Alliance on Mental Illness):
Call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or text “HelpLine” to 62640 for guidance, information, and emotional support. - The Trevor Project (for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults):
Call 1-866-488-7386, text START to 678678, or use the online chat. - Outside the U.S.:
Visit www.iasp.info/crisis-centres to find mental health crisis lines in your area.
You deserve care, understanding, and support. Reaching out is a sign of strength.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Beneath the Evergreens'
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Beneath the Evergreens, where murder, mysteries, and mayhem lurk in the shadows of the Pacific Northwest. I'm Jess. And I'm Anna. From haunted forests and unsolved disappearances to true crime cases buried deep in the moss and the mist. We're digging into the dark secrets hiding under the evergreens.
00:00:20
Speaker
Each episode will explore real cases, eerie encounters, and the legends that keep the Pacific Northwest up at night. So grab your flashlight. Lock your doors and join us beneath the evergreen.
00:00:34
Speaker
Welcome, everyone. Welcome. It is a wonderful day.
4th of July Stories and Safety Tips
00:00:55
Speaker
but awesome everyone it is a yes day Yes, it is. How are you doing today? i think great is an understatement.
00:01:05
Speaker
Oh. Yeah, I'm just... How the tables have turned. How the tables have turned. From one week of just utter disappointment to beautiful life, everything is gilded-edged.
00:01:21
Speaker
Yep, that was a word that I said. um It's great. How are you? I am also doing quite well. We are on the cusp of a of a longer weekend. So that is fantastic. Yes. Pretty stoked about that, if I'm being honest.
00:01:37
Speaker
Happy 4th of July. Well, by the time this comes out, it's belated 4th of July. but Yes. Yes. Hope everyone has a safe 4th. Can I tell you a really funny 4th of July story before we get started? I would love nothing more.
00:01:50
Speaker
So a couple of years ago, my parents were remodeling their kitchen. Right around the 4th of July. And they had this porta potty in their like driveway that the people that were working on the house would come out and use. um Actually, I think that in the okay i think the the remodel was done. They werere just waiting on someone to come and pick up the porta potty. So it was like no one was really using it.
00:02:12
Speaker
Okay. So it's 4th of July. We had a party. Everything was great. yeah my Everyone goes to bed. And my sister was still living at home at the time. yeah And it's like midnight or so. And she just sees this like poof of light in front of her, like outside of her window. And her window is facing the front of the house. Yeah. She's like, what the heck is that?
00:02:32
Speaker
Opens the blinds. The porta potty is on fire. Yeah. And so she just starts yelling, fire, fire. and it's like running to wake up my parents.
00:02:43
Speaker
And my mom and my dad were like, what the heck? And so my dad's like running outside. my mother, the mother is lovely. the Clumsiest person you will ever meet. She like trips coming out of bed. ah And my sister just keeps yelling, fire, fire.
00:03:01
Speaker
And so my dad gets a garden hose and starts hosing down the porta potty. and Oh, my God. Yeah. And my brother was also living at home at the time and he just loved the whole thing, like did not make a peep.
00:03:14
Speaker
That's what does. When they have no bills to pay. Right. And so eventually my dad gets the fire like under control and they're kind of my mom is like, do you want me to call 911? And he's like, no, I think we're good. I think we're good.
00:03:28
Speaker
But there was just melted plastic everywhere. Like, there is still, like, the outline of that port-a-potty in my parents' driveway. What happened?
00:03:39
Speaker
They don't know. They think, like, some kid was like, oh, well, I'll have to put a... ah firework and a porta potty let's try it um I don't know what they thought was going to happen shit on fire yeah like and I'm talking like full-on flames I think so I had had COVID that 4th of July so I wasn't doing anything actually um but I got a text the next morning from my sister saying the porta potty was on fire and I was having like intermittent intermittent intermittent fevers at that time and I was like is that a fever dream like what am I reading right now um
00:04:15
Speaker
Yeah. That's crazy. So PSA to all of our listeners, porta potties, they will go up in flames if you put a firework in them. Please don't put it around someone's house or their car.
00:04:27
Speaker
um Could be pretty bad. Yes. If you're going to set a porta potty on fire, do it in an open field. Or not. yeah Don't. if Who wants to smell? Burning shit. That would be disgusting. Yeah, we got burning shit and burning plastic. not And just the whole thing was so gross. And it was like right next to like my dad's car too. Like my dad's truck. And we were like, oh my God, if that thing catches fire, like the whole neighborhood is going to go up at this point.
00:04:51
Speaker
It's not. Yeah. Please don't ah be our next episode on Beneath the Evergreens. Although this is going to come out after the fact. So, well, you know, still, I hope whatever happens.
00:05:05
Speaker
Next year we will have learned don't light port-a-parties on fire. Oh my God. Yes. Oh, I cannot even imagine how horrible that smells. Yes. Anyways. Okay.
The Pig War: A Comical Historical Dispute
00:05:16
Speaker
So yes. Happy 4th of July to everyone. I hope everyone was safe.
00:05:19
Speaker
Alrighty. Well, are you ready to get into the story for this week? Okay. So have you ever heard of the pig war? Yes, I've heard of it, but I haven't.
00:05:31
Speaker
This is something that I've always wanted to learn more about. So do tell you are in for a treat because I'm actually super interested in the story. um And actually, i know for all of our listeners, that was kind of a weird lead in because Jesse actually told me about the story.
00:05:45
Speaker
And I was going back forth on if I was going to shout it out or not. But yeah she gave me the idea for the story. I did the research. So she's about it for the first time. So let me set the scene a little bit.
00:05:58
Speaker
So we're starting the story in June of 1846. So my birthday. Just kidding. okay I am. I'm sorry.
00:06:10
Speaker
I'm so sorry. I will no longer interrupt. Alrighty, so we're starting our story in June of 1846. So the U.S. s and Great Britain have recently agreed to the Oregon Treaty, which set the border between the the two countries that will soon be known as the Washington Territory.
00:06:29
Speaker
So this treaty essentially designated the border between the U.S. and Great Britain, which is now Washington and Canada, um to be the 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the to the sea, then south to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and then west to the Pacific Ocean.
00:06:47
Speaker
So this seems like it sounds right like a pretty good border. It makes sense. It cra it seems to um kind of cover everything. However, they either didn't have a good map handy when they created these borders or they just didn't look at the map very well. Because what this what this border actually did was, one, it cut off a the tip of like the northwestern part of modern-day Canada. like as modern day canada
00:07:21
Speaker
okay So there is a very small piece of land that is underneath the 49th parallel. So if you haven't heard, you've never heard of Point Roberts, Washington, it is essentially this, it's like an island. It's not, it's not an island, but it's essentially an island. So it's connected by land to Canada, but the population this town is like,
00:07:43
Speaker
Five square miles. It is super small. they They have to go through mean border crossings to get into Canada and then back into the U.S. to go to like to go and to get into Blaine, to go to like a passport agency like to get to do anything in person.
00:08:00
Speaker
and they have all the that means less you have to leave custom You have to go through customs, essentially. Go what to Canada and then go back through customs to get into the U.S. Yikes. That is a nightmare. It is crazy. There's also ferries that go in between um the land, but it's just, it's, it's wild. So reason number one, that my hypothesis is that when they were creating the the border, they did not look at the map.
00:08:25
Speaker
Secondly, yeah when the treaty states that the border will go south towards the Strait of, or south to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and then west to the Pacific Ocean, there's actually two ways that you can go south.
00:08:38
Speaker
You can, in this, there's two different straits that are there. In one strait, the San Juan Islands are closest to what's the U.S. You go down the other strait, the San Juan Islands are closer to Great Britain or Canada now.
00:08:55
Speaker
And they did not specify in this treaty on which which channel or strait to take south. So the San Juan Islands were kind of up in the air.
00:09:05
Speaker
And that's essentially what brought us to the pig wars. It was just a whole bunch of people in the room saying, I want land. And this roughly makes sense. ke Exactly. So in 1845, the Hudson Bay Company from Great Britain actually claimed the San Juan Islands and they created salmon curing stations there.
00:09:25
Speaker
So they were essentially like, hey, we we're going to try to like like stake the claim to this land first. So we'll put out we'll put all of our stuff here. We'll start building businesses. um However, by 1853, the Washington Territory claimed the San Juan Islands as their own. And they started sending people to live there and live there, work there, all that good stuff. In retaliation, the Hudson Bay Company established what they call the Bellevue Sheep Farm on the island as a way to continuously stake their claim. So they're basically building this huge sheep farm.
00:09:57
Speaker
They're bringing more industry, more people, more business to the islands. And essentially, i think what they're trying to do is say that, hey, well, we have all this infrastructure. We've built up this island. It really should be ours because they're – Yeah. They forgot who they were messing with though. Like this is unfortunate. yeah Essentially. I think they're there. They know that eventually this is going to come into arbitration and like someone's going to have to decide who who owns these islands. So they're like, well, let's just make it, let's make it easy. And like, there's no way anyone from the U S or the Washington territory is really going to challenge us. Right.
00:10:32
Speaker
Well, well, if we know one thing about Americans is that we're greedy and we want yeah it all. Yes. So by 1859, there were 18 Americans living on the San Juans. And tensions really started to rise between the Americans and the British because the British really viewed viewed them as like squatters or trespassers on their land.
00:10:56
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. So in on June 15th, 1859, an American Lyman Cutler, which like what a name, right?
00:11:08
Speaker
Like – lockman Yeah. Yeah. That's a, that name was meant to be in, in like history books. Like he, he knew what he So yes. In 1859, he shot and killed a pig owned by the sheep farm.
00:11:23
Speaker
It was. yeah So essentially this pig was messing in his garden. So he got mad and he shot it. Well, the British were pissed. They were horribly outraged about that Cutler killed their pig, and they essentially wanted to arrest arrest him and evict all Americans from the island.
00:11:44
Speaker
Okay, there's multiple things happening here that I'm kind shocked by. Imagine just going out in your garden and seeing a pig eating your vegetables, so you just shoot it dead. I feel like, i mean maybe I could see that in the time.
00:11:55
Speaker
like the I like that is so, that is such a... Interesting. It is a bit of like a nuclear option. I'll give you that. It is odd for an entire business to say, yeah, that really made me upset. I'm going to evict everyone. That's.
00:12:13
Speaker
Yeah. Well, part of me wonders, like, was that strategic? Did they like, were they trying to get someone to make a rise and then be like, ah, see, all you Americans are just gun happy. Now we need to kick you all out because we want we actually want this land.
00:12:29
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. Does this, it would be interesting if this Lyman Cutler has a history of violent actions and then it just so happened that a pig wandered into his cabbages. right That I don't know. I couldn't find much about about Lyman Cutler besides the story and his fantastic name. Besides him being the spark that was the powder.
00:12:54
Speaker
the U.S. military quickly came to Cutler's aid after the British made all these, like, kind of accusations the whole the whole not the whole military part of the military okay oh my gosh no no well no mean like the military in general general like the military there was a military response yes yes and that pissed the british off even more because it just they're they're just like escalating the situation left and right So the British then bring in their own military to support. So we now have these, the basically like the two biggest militaries in the world, right? Like at this point.
00:13:33
Speaker
And they're fighting over these islands because a pig died. So the troops and realistically, what value does this one island truly hold? Right. So the troops never actually became violent with each other, but they did do some like training exercises on the island to like kind of like what I'm imagining is like, you know, like peacocks, like they like show their feathers.
00:13:54
Speaker
That's kind of what each of these militaries are doing. They're like, we could, we could really mess you up or not. But like, just know that we could like, don't, don't kill any more pigs.
00:14:05
Speaker
Don't kill any more pigs or this. What happened to you? It's like those people that try to like train dogs by like beating up a pillow that looks like a dog and then they do something. Have seen those videos? I not. What the heck? Okay. Then my algorithm is all messed up. So there's like people like training people or I don't know. I've seen it like babies and all this other kind of stuff. But there's like- What?
00:14:27
Speaker
A baby or an animal. And then there's like a stuffed animal version. And then the mom or dad or whoever is there will like slap the, like do try to do an action, like feed the stuffed animal. And if it doesn't take it, they'll like slap whatever. And then they'll like try to feed the baby and the baby will just take it because they're scared that they're going to get hit.
00:14:47
Speaker
What a traumatic way to be raised. Oh my God. That's what I was thinking too. I was like, I feel like, am I the only one that thinks this is crazy? But it keeps coming up on my... I am super concerned with what you're watching. That.
00:15:01
Speaker
It's a lot of UFO stuff and that kind of stuff. What? so Okay. Oh, yeah. We're just going to leave that be. But let's go back to and so word eventually got back to to D.C. that there was a skirmish over a dead pig. Now, President James Buchanan, like, straighters could not believe it.
00:15:23
Speaker
um i'm I'm just also imagining a logical person would say, wait, we're at potential war over a pig. It was like, imagine the timing too, right? Like the East coast is so much more like kind of together. They've been around longer. The West is like the wild West. And like, I'm just like, what the hell is going on out there? Like, what are what are these people doing? Like, are they like just completely crazy? Yeah.
00:15:48
Speaker
So he ends up sending General Winfield Scott to the San Juans to negotiate some peace because he's like, this is this is bad shit. Like, we're not going to war over a pig. That's just dumb. yeah So it took ah General Scott six weeks to get to the to the San Juans. But on the way, he negotiated via letters to have both sides withdraw a majority of their troops.
00:16:12
Speaker
So he was able to sweet talk some people and be like, hey maybe we don't need both militaries here. Like, maybe we can draw back a little bit. Ease it up a little bit. I would love to see his creative writing Right.
00:16:26
Speaker
Or his persuasive writing scores. It sounds like he had helped negotiate some other things in the past. He was kind of a skilled negotiator. Yeah, it but I'm also like imagining how I feel that'd be a relatively easy thing to negotiate. Like, I feel like both sides are after a couple weeks be like, do we really need to be here?
00:16:44
Speaker
I feel like we could be doing better things with our time. So anyways, he once he got to the island, he negotiated a peaceful joint military occupation of the San Juans until a formal peace negotiation could be agreed upon.
00:16:59
Speaker
so okay go So the San Juans were under this joint occupation for the next 12 years. 12 years under a joint military occupation because no one could figure out or decide who owns the islands, nor could they live in peace together after the after a pig died.
00:17:17
Speaker
That is wild. Right? What a waste of money. So then in 1871, Great Britain and the U.S. signed the Treaty of Washington and the matter of the San Juans was referred to Kaiser Wilhelm I from Germany for decision. So like a German... We need to call on dad, actually. Dad? So the head of state in Germany is the one that actually decided cit of the ownership of the San Juans.
00:17:48
Speaker
and What a wild history that is. So anyways, he referred the matter to an arbitration committee who spent the next year debating this issue in Geneva, Switzerland. They spent a year trying to determine who should have the San Juan Islands.
00:18:04
Speaker
Why don't we just flip a coin at this point? i Dude, it this is crazy. um So ultimately, the committee and the Kaiser determined that the San juds san Juans should belong to the United States. And in November 1872, the British troops left the island. And by 1874, the U.S. troops declared that the the island was peaceful and safe for inhabitants. So they went back to the mainland as well.
00:18:31
Speaker
So if you're keeping track of dates here, the San Juans were occupied by the U.S. military for about 15 years. 15
00:18:45
Speaker
And what is it used for now? Like ah what strategic purpose does this actually Well, beautiful vacation place, of course. Oh, okay. Yeah, I mean, that's worth 15 years of relocating troops.
00:18:59
Speaker
relocating troops
00:19:02
Speaker
I mean, it's beautiful up there. It's a great time. I'm happy it's a part of the US. I mean, me too. I mean, i will not. I'm knocking it. But it's just interesting that we had to defer to Germany and then go to Geneva just to get this small, small piece of land.
00:19:19
Speaker
I mean, it is beautiful, but like.
00:19:23
Speaker
Interesting. oh Yeah. hi I feel like it's just a really interesting demonstration of how poor relationships were between between the U.S. and ah Britain at that time. Yeah. Like they can't even have a peaceful conversation about who owns some islands or like split up the islands even. Right. Like there's quite a few in the cluster of the San Juans. Yeah.
00:19:42
Speaker
It's not like – Let's just like divide them half and then we'll be good. Absolutely not. yeah But like then – So the funniest part to me is like – So they they could they have that. But then Point Roberts, which is truly a ridiculous like just like cutoff point. That – No issues.
00:20:01
Speaker
It's like, okay. okay well we'll We'll take that. Which is – Why didn't we just do a little switcheroo? You guys take my Roberts. We'll take all of the San Juans. I guess we we came out on top in the end because we got both. But again, what is the significance of that tiny slip of land?
00:20:17
Speaker
I guess maybe at some point there was like a military like reason. But it's like it's so it's so inland. like it's I don't even know. i feel like there's – I do not understand the strategy behind it besides just having it for the sake of more land.
00:20:34
Speaker
before it's a bargaining chick chip in the Interesting. I mean, i always knew the pig war was crazy, but I didn't really know the like the details. I thought it was more significant than a singular pig. No, and that's even the craziest part, that the only casualty in this war was a single pig. No one else died.
00:20:53
Speaker
We had a military occupation, a joint military occupation for 12 years and a conflict at the beginning of that. No one died.
00:21:04
Speaker
I wonder what Cutler was doing that whole time. i I have no idea.
Reflections and Farewell
00:21:09
Speaker
Just chilling, eating pork, having some bacon. crazy that was wild actually i could see some stuff like that happening today right like with all the stuff that the u.s s is doing with like iraq and stuff it would just take one thing to really set and it would be something silly like yeah i fear it wouldn't be as like peaceful though like because this was really like this was a conflict but a relatively peaceful conflict i feel like something small would just lead to this horribly huge and overblown reaction
00:21:41
Speaker
like some nuclear reactor, nuclear reaction. That was a good story. Well, actually good history. Thank you for the history. Absolutely. that's the history of the San Juans. And I'm sure there's much more information out there. um I would actually, i feel like the San Juans would be a really cool trip to take. um Yeah.
00:22:00
Speaker
Have you been there?
00:22:03
Speaker
A long time ago. Like, I was like, gotcha I've been to, i think I've been to Friday Harbor once and then family friend has like a house on Orcas Island that we used to go to.
00:22:15
Speaker
I want to go to Orcas Island. It's so much fun. It's so much fun. Yeah. i want to go incredible I'm going to put that on my bucket list. I'm going to have to do that. this We'll add that. our Our road trips is is turning into like a week-long vacation. And like, I'm here for you.
00:22:31
Speaker
I'm a week-end man. I love it. Well, that's it for today's dive into the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest. If you love the stories or shivered a little, be sure to subscribe and follow so you don't miss what's lurking beneath the evergreens next time.
00:22:48
Speaker
Thanks for joining us on Beneath the Evergreens. We appreciate you diving into the mysteries with us. Until next time, keep your eyes And your door is locked. And watch out for your pigs, please.
00:22:58
Speaker
we can't We can't stand another war here.