, 1876-10-07
JOLLY OLD sMUGGLERs.

-
The following are some extracts from an
article in the N. X. "Sun," headed
History Of the West India Trade and
Smuggling -.
"NEw HAVEN, July IL" There Try
that. KegaIe your nose with its aroma, delight
yaur palate with its flavor, enrapture your soul
with the beaded JOY Of it, and then say il YOU
ewes drank rum before in your life" So spoke
:" Unclo Dave ui New Haven, holding under
his nose o glass Of dark straw tinted liquid,
while d smile of intense satisfaction wreath9d
bis lips and made lis eyes twinkle. A silence
ensqPd; then two voices uttered together,
"AhT' and two glasses descended simultane-
ousIy, with a faint click, on the marble table.
The old man confined: You folks down in
New York don't get any such Santa Cruz as
that. New Hafeu is where you have to come
to geti it. You drink Niger rum yes, the
first distiliafion, such as the planters give in
tubfuls to their negroes when the crop season
is over. It's not quite as new as when the
darkies get it, but the Lord knows it's raw
enough yet. But New Workers think It's good
Now this is double canned rum. In other
words, it has been rectifed and kept under con
di,ions to Insure its proper maturing for at
least . year, in The planters hands, before 1t
was stint tCmArlet, and that was q good many
years ago. That rum which You have just
drank has, TO my knowledge, been in New
Haven for twelve years. Sach liquor hur.s
nobody, taken in moderation, Gs have taken
Il for more than fifty years, and I'm a pretty
well preserved specimen, think
"But how does it happen that New Haven
enjoys an exclusive privilege to this neotarf
1T would cost too much for places which
had to get it through the Custom House"
Al, +. lL,, 4bf5 h,1 boa, cn1,~rla1 hoe Il ~
"Tiy another glass Of it and see whether it
tastes as II a gauger's stamp had ever struck
a chill 10 its heart. l don't think there ever
has. But mind you, l don't say it was SNUG
gled. don't know anything about such things.
1t stands to reason, though, that good liquor
would be cheapest and o0mmouest in a town
which had for 1870 years enjoyed almost q
monopoly of the trade of the country whence 1t
comes, when in, abound vessels have to pass
lonely beaches like those of Napeague harbor,
in the night, and are 80 liable to lose a few
casks overheard now and then, before getting
in sight Of a Custom House officer. But If
you have any curiosity about it, I'll introduce
you to a couple Of jolly old fellows who do
know, and perhaps you can get them TO tell
you"
The IDLY old fellows were found, after a time
were induced to become communicative and
an interesting story lucy udu W CeIl @oodb
Conneoticut'8 West Indies trade and the
smuggling that, in early days, constituted no
unimportant feature of its excitements and
profits.
In the beginning Of the West Indies trade it
was rather Of the nature of individual %specula-
tive venture than of organized commercial
enterprise. Vessels used to clear for Santa
Cruz, St. Thomas, or a market" Between
1922 and 1925, however, the old Trowbridge
frm introduced au improved order of things
by the establishment Of branch commercial
houses in Barbados and Trinidad. Since
then their system has been extended by others
until the trade for years has been perfectly
organized.
The leading West Indies houses, since 1888:
have been in New Haven, and are
as II. Ttowbridge Sons, L. W. & T. Armstrong
t. Towner & Co, Russell & Fl. O.. dotchkiss'
Smith futile 81 Barnes, and Campbell q Spen-
Ger. The latter were principally in the Dem9'
rara trade, in the Spanish main. There were
two Barneses ia the firm with Smith Tuttle,
Horace aud Harvey Barnes. From 1853 to
1865, Peck Bros. also did a very large West
Indies business. Then they failed. 1t has
seemed Inevitable that however solidly estae-
lished aud cautious firms 10 this trade have