Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-06-20
NUMBER 81.


ltwas, too, amusing coming through the
St. Adams Custom House, on our return
/ from Montreal. On the train were good
many ladies and gentlemen who had been
buying gloves and clothing. You buy
/ gloves in Montreal for from 10 cents to 81 10
and very good ones too; and gentlemen 5
suits, which cost here Ss5, are gotten there
for S36. The cloth is good-aiways Eng
llsh, but is made up in a very slop-shop
manner The binding is Sewed on as a lady
would sew braid on her dress. There are
no tailors in the world like our New York
tailors. Well, after buying all these things.
the one thing left was to get them through
the Custom House without paying the 65
per cent duty on them. All sorts ofdodges
were resorted to. Fellows wore their new
clothes, and put their old clothes in their
carpet-bags; put six pairs Of gloves in one
pocket, four in another, three pairs in their
trunks, and two to wear pair or two.
They We're conscious that they were break
ing the laws, and 50 they felt and acted in a
very wicked manner.
W hen the Custom House official came on
at st. Adams, he wasn't particular at all.
W hat are we entitled to carry -
asked.
= Why every gentleman can carry two
or three suits of clothes, broken box of
cigars, broken basket of champagne and
broken dozen of gloves"
Oh can we?' exclaimed every one I:
and then they began sheepishly to feel
around in their pockets to get that broken
dozen Of gloves together again.
What do people smuggle across the
most? :" lasked the officer
Well, butter, sir, troubles Us more than
anything else. You see butter is worth six
cents more in st. Albans market than in
Canada-2i here and Is there. So every
day or two We catch farmer trying to
smuggle it over the line
What Is the result when you catch
him?"
" Why, we conGScate butter and team
take it all in You know"
DO you ever have any funny cases -
we asked.
.. Funny? lIa, ha. guess we do. We
had the best Joke last. LA, ha, its
rich -
What was it?''
Well, one Of our revenue officers had
been watching for butter smuggler for
some time. At last he caught him with a
one horse wagon and four tubs of butter
just a-hyin' across the Vermont line.
tell you there was a scrub race then over
them hills and down them Sideways and
over them pastures, but We caught him
caught the smuggling son of gun, by
thunder ~
- What did you do?''
Twan't me but another officer sir, and
he took that smuggler by the coat collar,
bat him over the butter-tubs in the hind
end of the wagon, took the lines and drove
for St. Adams, as if he owned the horse,
wagon and butter too. But when he had
got out about four miles that thar smuggler
got up off that butter-tub-the scoundrel
and he raised butter-tub in the air right
over my friends head and let it come down
The bottom caved in and the butter tub
went right over his head-and the butter,
why it splashed all over him till he looked
like busted chicken. He knocked
senseless that smuggler did, and then throw
ing him out on the side of the road, the
tricky rascal druv back INTO Canada Ha
ha ."
| told the officer if this was a joke Gus
tom House joke thought rather not like
TO be around when some one made a serious
attack. ! think this officer would have rel
ished the =" Puritani'' hoax GrqphIc.