The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-06-07

opening and distributing process results
in articles becoming buried, overlaid,
hidden, lost, and utterly and seemingly
inextrcably mixed. When thirty or
forty Cinnamon have been crowded into
the end of the pen nearest the gate, the
corps of twenty custom house inspectors
begin the process of "going through"
the outspread baggage. What was con-
fusion now becomes chaos. The officers
walk over the baggage, open bags and
trunks, dive their arms into the interior
of packages and scatter their contents in
bewildering drifts. While this is going
on more of the allotted two hundred and
fifty are being packed in the pen. Every
Chinaman gesticulates and talks; every
officer explores, sweats and comments.
Hustled on the wharf, into this scene of
wild confusion, the Chinaman, without
the remotest idea of what it is all about,
is jerked to the edge of the mass of
squirming fellow. countrymen, unlashes
his baggage, opens it, sees it scattered,
collects what he can of it, stands upright
to be searched from his outer garments
to the skin; is chalked on his back and
told to 'git."
The search of their person and bag
gage is very thorough, yet few articles
are confiscated. Two officers move about
with large bags, into which some of the
confiscated articles-some of them-are
thrust. An occasional piece of silk,
bundle of fans, few packages of tobac-
co, or q few silk handkerchiefs constitute
the general run of discovered contraband
articles. The search for opium is unusu-
ally strict, even the shoes on the China
mems feet being examined. A Chronicle
reporter on Sunday noticed an inspector
take off one Chinaman's shoe, look into
it, and was about to give it back to its
owner when something about it attract
ed his attention. He weighed it in his
hand moment and then took out his
knife and tried to dig into the sole of
the shoe, which appeared to be an un-
usually fine one. The owner saw this
with dismay, but suddenly seemed to
comprehend the meaning of it, explained
to the officer in pantomime how the
shoes interior could be investigated
without its utter annihilation, but the
officer, taking both shoes, went to the
edge of the wharf and proceeded with
gimlets, corkscrews and knife to care
fully dissect the shoes. Finding moth
ing in them, he tossed them into the
bay, to the astonishment of the bare
footed owner. Some of the Cinnamon
had boxes containing expensive and
beautifully prepared confectionery. One
inspector, happening upon box of this
character, took handful and passed
them over fence to lady friend. An
other inspector did the same with some
handkerchiefs. Another donated to
himself box of toilet powder, while
third, happening to find three silk
handkerchiefs in Chinaman's bundle,
handed them to another inspector, who
pocketed them instead of putting them
in the bag. A moment afterwards the
reporter asked the inspector who had
found the handkerchief: "What is
done with the articles taken from the
Cinnamon ?"
I'VE put them in the bags those men
hold there, and they are afterwards sold
at auction" replied the inspector, defin-
itely and promptly.
AS the Cinnamon gather up and re-
pack such Of their goods as they can
find, they are hustled out of the gate
into scene equally confusing, but more
friendly. Friends and relatives meet
them and put them and their baggage
into the waiting express wagons; they
are driven to Chinatown and absorbed
into the dingy sponge. After one batch
of 250 have been examined the wharf
inside the pen limits is strewn with odd
tin utensils, tobacco, dried vegetables,
fans, torn mating, caps and bamboo
poles. These are kicked off into the
bay, for the inspectors are too pressed
for time to allow the Cinnamon to clainf
them and gather them up. Then
another batch is poured out of the port
hole, go stumbling down the gangplank
and are spread out and inspected. !"
The fact that the inspector cannot un-
derstand the comments of the China
men, nor they the remarks of the
inspector, doubtless accounts, in large
measure, for the absence of any rebel
lion on the one side, or ill.nature on the
other. About one in ten OF the China.
men have their thin, bony legs covered
with stockings, but this scarcity of