The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1874-10-15
A Sharp Smuggler---How he Fooled A
Custom House Officer.

There is n very important traffic
carried on in diamonds over the va
rious European lines to this country,
and as the duty upon thom is ten
per cent, ad valorem the sliarpost
watch is kept upon those suspected
to be engaged in it. BY means of
agents abroad tho Collectors Office
has often information 10y cable of tho
departure from the various ports of
suspected diamond smugglcrs, and
is prepared to intercept them. In
nine cases ont of ten the stones aro
concealed upon tho persons Of all the
passengers Whom this becomes
u certainty, or what is supposed 10
bc II certainty. the passenger is ar
rested and taken TO the scarchcr's
bureau in the Custom House. Hero
if found necessary, the party is strip
ped To the skin aud tho clothes cx,
amincd inch 10y inch aul scam by
seam. tho hcols are taken from his
boots his hIir aud bclrd are cDmhel,
and every means taken to discover
tine hiding place of the sorrctcl treas.
uIcs Once this mode Of search us.
rl to be tolcrably successful, but now
IL rarely serves any purpose except
ia the case Of raw recruits To- the
smuggling ranks. An old bird is
caught with chpif but once
\ New York JoN, who was rcput-
cd to bc in the business ofsmng cling
diamonds, used to cross the water
ON the Cunard line from three To
four times season Two years ago
in tho early part of tho season, he
WIS seized upon his arrival aud tax
cu to tho scarchcr's room. Nearly q
thousand dollars worth Of precious
stones were found se,retcd in the
lining of mi boots lie returned 10
/ Liverpool by the same steamer, and
. four weeks afterwards again landed
upon the comptnys wharf on North
River He was again seized and
subjected to the same rigorous
search, but with no success. Tho
jew took it smilingly and philosoph-
ically. When he took his leave he
said "Bcttcr luck ncxt time, gen.
tlcmou. shall go back by the same
steamer on business, and when re-
turn you can try it again
Tho officers mcntll'y determined
il he did they would try it again.
Upon inquiry it was foml that he
really had engaged return passage,
having held his stnteroom for that
purpose Two hours before the sail.
ing of tho steamer he WAS driven
down to the picr in his carringo, his
wife and daughter with him to SEQ
him of. When they returned they
carried with them over ten thousand
dollars worth of diamonds which
had lain sccrctcd in his statcrocm
during tho whole time tho steamer
had remained in port. Before his
return 10 New York the Collector
was notified by one of the revenue
agents abroad that Max Fischer
would return by the - which
would leave Liverpool, August 25,
with several thousand dollars of di-
Almonds" In due time the jew ar.
rived. aud for the third time was es-
cortcd before the s,archcr He was
cvidontly not prepared for such per-
'sisteut attention. Ho seemed n,rv-
ous aud ugitated, aud finally at
tempted - compromise. lie WAS
again put through tho searching
process, His pocketo'Jk, which was
first investigated, revealed memor-
andum showing the purchase ofeigh-
teen diamons of various sizes AMI
prices, amounting III all to about
$1,000 When this came to sight
the jew begged with tears to be al
lowed TO compromise. n deaf ear
was turned to his ontroatios. Ills
coat was removed aud the lining OK.
amncd, Nothing there Then the
waistcoat As the scarchcr passed
his practiced fingers along tho lining
/ his heart gave II tremendous thump
as he recognized the feel of some-
thing pcbbly, like little rows of but-
tons, The garment was hastily rip
ped, strip Of chamois skin with
drawn and unrollcd, and thoro lay,
one, two, threo--oightecn All
there.
"Huu can put on your coat and
waistcoat again, Mr. Fischer said
the searchcr, blandly. Good day
Without word tho jew departed,
took "a horse car home, kissed his
family, ate rouslng dinner, repaired
to the bath room, and afternoon and
after soaking rather capaciousplas'
ter across the small Of his back for a
few minutes in warm water, peeled
it off, and with it eighteen dia-
monds, of various costs and prices, y
What the searcher aud collector may
havo said or thought when the found
their seizure to be nothing but clever
glass limitations worth from ten to
thirty cents each, nobody knows;
for although the seizure was loudly
heralded, tho fndiG was never made
public, A lady in Boston, moving
in fashionable circles. wears yalua-
blo diamond which was imported in
the cavity of n double tooth, said
tooth being in the mouth of an Isra-
elitsh gentleman of New York. 1t
} was placed in its rather unromantic