The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-09-28
A SMUGGLER'S STORY.

at the end OF one of the two long piers,
which form the entrance to an important
packet port on the south coast While
I was peering intently into the darkness,
a man came up and stood beside me and
looked out to sea. At the same instant
one of those sudden squalls which are SO
common at that time OF the year came
rushing up past us, and the binding rain
beat upon our faces.
''You had better come into our watch
house for bit, sir, said my friend, cit
is close by. Tn custom house officer -
And walking rapidly on he brought ne
to neat-loolling small house, built just
where the pier began to branch off from
the harbor into the sea. Opening the
/ door he showed me into a good sized
| room lighted with gas, and with n CAPT
tai fire blazing in the CRATE. On benches
round the fire were three or four men
dressed in uniform like my friend, and
IN bed-berth hard by another man
was snoring away in happy blissfulness,
recruiting himself for his turn of night
duty.
''A fine night for smuggling, [ should
fancy y suggested.
"Well, sir, in old times it would have
| been, said one, ssbut there's no SNUG
Cling nova days TO speak of-just lit
tie trumpery bit OF baccy now and then,
hardly worth takins-is there, Frank %
addressing. the man opposite.
Frank, with infinite disgust, agreed
to this. ''You see, sir" he went on to
tell me, ''these Liberals go on cutting
down the tariff SO there's nothing left
now-just cigars and spirits, and SO on.
Not but what the ladies do their little
bits of smuggling still, and dearly they
love it too. Why, sir, to this day they're
wonderful clever in concealing lace and
French gloves, although there's been no
duty on them for years. We often, when
we examine the ladies' trunks, find two
or three pairs of gloves in an old boot,
or some lane, perhaps sewed up inside q
petticoat. We never says nothing, and
they go home and tell their friends how
clever they've been and done the Gus
tom-house."
''Stll,' said another man, who had
been silent until now, eve do a bit of
business now and then. Last year, sir,
twelve casks of pitch came over in one of
our steamers, with a heap of other goods.
They pour the pitch hot into the casks,
and when it cools it's as hard as stone
| almost. Well, there was no examining
this pitch except you took pickaxe and
broke the whole cask up. But our col
lector invented q kind of auger that,
with little oil, went right through the
pitch in no time. We tried these same
casks with this, and in the center of ev-
cry one of them was tin case with thir-
ty pounds OF good cigars in it-three
hundred weight altogether-a very pret-
ty haul for u.s.
''Ihat was better than your drawing
room furniture, Jack, said young off
Ger to one much older, who sat on a
bench near me.
"Never mind that" growled the old
man.
stWhat is that 2" said I.
"Well, sir, it's rather hard upon Jack
there to tell it but you see, sir, he was
at a large port in the North, and a gen
tleman comes down to the Office and says
that he was expecting what he called a
''sweet of drawing room furniture
beautiful walnut wood, he said-'and
all for wedding present for his Sis
ter, who was going to get married.
Would they take care of it? he'd be
much obliged, and any expenses
They told him they'd take anything. The
next steamer, sure enough, the furniture
came, and lovely set 1t was-such cou
ches, easy chairs and sofas Well, sir,
our men took the greatest care OF it, and
saw it all packed safely in the railway
truck and sent away. and We should not
have heard anything more about it, only
at one of them large railway stations
where luggaSe trains often have to wait
for long time, there was a policeman
who served his time as cabinet maker,
and be got wind of this furniture, and
must get look at it and see what sort
| of work them foreigners turned out. So
| he got to the truck and took up bit OF
tarpaulin and examined tho couch, which
happened to be at the top. Pretty
work. said he to himself but my word,
what seat they do stuff well over yon-
der there. It's queer feel, though ;
| wonder what they stuffed it with. Well,
sir, his curiosity got over him, and he
looked out to see if any one was coming,
whips out his knife, and cuts little slit
where it wouldn't be seen, and pulls out
to his great wonder. bacey Every bit
of it was brirnful OF excellent baecy. So
they seized the whole lot but lor', what
q wipe it was for our men-Jach there
aud his mates -
''Ive told you over and over again
that had nothing to do with it," said
tue man, angrily.
s.Well. you were there" retorted the
other.
They're clever fellows sometimes,
SIR" said another man, ''and it isn't a
disgrace to be taken in by them. Do
you mind,'' said he to the other man,
''that affair at Brinemouth some years
ago? ?''
'sAh, that was start" said one of