The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1880-07-27
FAIR WESTERN smuaoLERs.
Custom House Experiences on
| the ferrybosts Between Detroit
| and Windsor, Canada.

Detroit Post.
"How much are your best kid
gloves." asked lady At the counter
Of dry goods store.
Two dollars and twenty-five cents
. pair" was the reply.
That is cheap eocugh," responded
the lady; 1.-THE last bought cost me
$50"
Then she told how she had gone
over tn Windsor and invested in pair
of Dominion kids, which, with other
goods, she had concealed about her
person: how she was watched and
and followed and compelled to forfeit
the entire lot and pay the full value
as appraised by the United States
revenue service. She had made up
her mind that smuggling was crime
when detected.
Smuggling is looked upon by the
feminine part Of the community As
an exciting diversion that is hardly a
"little wicked" bu; is simply the
evasion of an unjust law which some
horrid men have made purpOsely for
their discomfort. 1t lie a mild species
of gambling which they may indulge
in without any injury to the morals ;
it gives scope TO that strategic powe'
which lies dormant in every womans
soul. and gives her the feiicitous
privilege of keeping secret-if che
can. II the woman who smuggles
had only the opposite sex to deceive,
there would be few confscations. A
man might never know. bless his soul
whether a woman had bolt of cot
ton and twenty yards OF lace con
cealed about her divine presence oil
not. One look from her blue or brown
eyes and he would forget such a thing
as smuggling ever existed, and the
arch traitress would vanish before he
recovered bis wits. But there is a
woman 10 the Casa female detec-
tive, who will cajole the sumggle1
into a confidential talk, and tell to a
fraction. what is anatomy and wha,
padding. On the Detroit side a Mrs
HUMPHREY has been for eleven year:
engaged in this business. hut heI
position for seeing and investigating
is not SO good as that of Miss ThomP
son, who has a water lair on tii,
Windsor side, with sort of Xvii
You walk into INV parl"r sai! the
spider to the fly" air 10 II. Ii 4
really q neat little boudoir "n tin
very edge Of the green and yeast.
water as il frits along the dock
There is a rocking chair aud lookin!
glass-Miss Thompson is woman =
and All inner room into which man!
hapless female. weighing 25'
pounds. is inveigled against her vii
and sent out much thinner than whei
she went in. Miss Thompson take
frequent rides on the ierryboats f.
health, aud to take otseI :aiioas.
/ II often happens that lady vi!
leave the Detroit side with numeron
small packages in her hands. all q
which disappear before she reache
the Canada dock. She retires for ,
few moments to the ladies' cabin. an'
takes no notice of the sleepy-lookin.
woman who carelessly follows her am
seems to be oppressed by the moriol
Of the boat. Consequently she
greatly surprised when the s"m
woman touches her Oh the elbow a
the landing and says in an unmis
takably official voice, Come will
me- 1t is q moment of suprem
misery to the woman who has broker
her countrys law. Chagrin at he
own want of success, financial des
pair, and the modification Of bein!
compelled to pull out all those parcel
from their mysterious hiding-places
with the cool gray eyes of that othe
woman fixed upon her paralyze her
A man, under the circumstances
could swear and bluff around. threat
en- vengeance to the whole govern
meut q woman can only cry, which
she proceeds to do copiously.
Ladies of good families who hav
wealth at their command. make tn
most desperate smugglers. and are deal
with the hardest BY the officials. a
they do not deserve as much leniency
or SYM 1athy az the poor woman VIII,
had invested her little all and would
be destitute if stringently dealt with
and to whom the good bargain
duty free is really q great temptation
The class of goods which the Cana
dams purchase IN Detroit and smuggl'
into Canada is white cotton cloth
domestics. and dress goods. TIM
Detroit purchaser steps on the ferry
and goes over to Windsor for gloves
laces, silks, velvets, and cashmeres,
these articles being considered much
cheaper and better, whether they srs
or not. There are hundreds of Detroit
ladies wearing velvet and silk dresse;
who Struggled them over. folded neat
" about their angelic waists or dis
posed of in their sanity b,sOms while
they passed the custom house official.
the lynx-eyed feminine detectives, the
landing walters. and with serene
countenances walked of with their
spoils. One lady boasts of the amount
Of goods she can convey over at q
single trip. The smuggling mania
has taken such possession of her that
she smuggles for her friends. merely
to keep up the excitement. She has
acquired such q knack of arranging
the goods about her person that a
whole bolt of cotton does not give
her the least uneasiness. and she can
carry at one trip halt a dozen silk
dresses vet the lady herself is by
no means of Insignificant bulk. 1t is
a great mistake. the idea that thin
women make the most successful
smugelers The slight additional
fulness betrays them. But a plump
can add fifty pounds to her