The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-06-28

have padded themselves with tobacco
underneath their clothing have died
from absorption of the nicotine. Spirits
are rarely Struggled by stratagem, ow-
ing to their low value in comparison
with bulk and weight. and the difficulty
of sitting the characteristic bubbling
g clink of a liquid when shaken; and
the coast-guard preventive service has
well nigh demolished the old trade of
landing large quantities from boats.
Certain jars or kegs, labeled "Speci-
mens-with great care-To the Curator
of the British Museum have turned
out to be full of the best French
brandy, in which the enterprising nat
uralist to whom they belonged had inn
mersed a few thin leather effigies of
serpents and fish; but heavy penalties
and reduced tariffs of duty render this
illicit traffic far less profitable than it
used to be. During the civil war in the
troduce spirits into some of the camps,
but preserved fruits" were allowed,
until these delicacies assumed the form
of one small peach in quart bottle of
whisky, when all such luxuries were
prohibited. Looking nearer home, per-
haps cherry brandy does not always
contain so large proportion of garden
produce as the harmless reputation
which that liquor popularity enjoys
would imply.
An artfuI dodge came to the knowl-
edge of the assay authorities a short
time ago, and has caused them to mod
ify to great extent the indulgence
hitherto shown to manufacturing jewel
ers in assaying the quality of and stamp
ing unfinished articles. Chains with
hollow links, and brooches or bracelets
consisting of mere shell of gOld-such
as are often honestly sold for what they
are would be sent in, the purity of the
metal ascertained, and the component
parts of the ornament hall-marked ac-
cordingly. But before exposing them
for sale, the worthy makers hit upon
the plan of filling these golden cases
with lead, thereby increasing their
weight a hundred-fold, and the profit re-
| allied upon them prOpOrtiOnately, max
ing due deduction for the value of the
workmanship, which of course remains
unaltered. Though this is just as in
defensible as any other form of adulter-
alton or imposture, it is attended with
the unusual feature, that in all probable
| itv the victim viii never discover the
fraud or be mentally the worse for it!
Some of the expedients which profess
s;onal thieves adopt compel something
very nearly akin to admiration by the
mixture of cunning, daring and close
/ observance of human nature which they
manifeSt-at all events, they appear alb
solutely respectable beside the brutal
robberies with violence which so fire.
j quently occur. A gentleman with a
valuable watch or well-flled purse Oh
! pOcket-boOk is marked and followed.
I Very likely he has himself bespOken
the attention of the light-fngered fra
ternity to the fact of his possession by
the nervous care with which his hand
protects it as he hurries along. He stops
to look into a shop-windOw; a persist
ent fy-attached to a loop of silk
seems to tickle his ear; he raises his
hand once or twice to brush it away
and watch, purse or pOcket-book is
gone, even though the coat be slit to OBJ
tain it. ''Stop, thiefi'' he shrieks. Sc
does that quiet young man who hap
pened to be gazing into the same shop
giving energetic chase to some wholly
unconscious individual n quarter of {
mile Off-very likely holding him unit
the bereft one arrives, ''tO see if he car
identify him, and perhaps getting {
small reward for his troubled Should
he be collared on suspicion by some
ruthless policeman who chances t.
have enjoyed the honor of his acquaint
ance previously, he stands in but little
danger, unless any bystander has actu
ally seen him do the deed, for no trace
of the stolen property is found upOl
him. What has become of it., then?
was dropped, three seconds after its alb
struction, into the umbrella of n guile
less-lOOking individual with the aspec
and attire of a country person, up il
town for a weeks sightseeing ant
roaming in an unaccustOmed' mamie
through the crowded streets. But thieves
when pursued, have before now escaped
with their booty upon them by the coo
adrOitness with which they themselve
joined in the chase.
That laudanum and other sOporif
drugs should be administered for tn
purposes of robbery, one can understand
readily enough, though, in all probable
ity, the frequency and facility wit
which this is done have been greatly eX
aggerated. The quantity which is nee
essary to produce the complete and i'm
mediate insensibility we read abOu
would render a cup or glass of an
: liquid with the natural flavor of whic
the imbiber was familiar extremel
, which can really represent the whit
tasteless powders which figure s
prominently in these tales, are intensel
powerful alkalCids, used with grea
caution even by physicians, and no
likely to be within the reach of Ordinar
piekpockets. Of course it sounds mucl
better for the man who has had the mis-
L fortune TO lose his watch and chain t
4 say that his liquor was drugged, tina
t to be obliged to recount the fact of b.
2 having casually met two or three jOvis
fellows, who piled him until he lapse
into alcoholic somnO1ence, pure AM
simple Granting, however, that opium
or choral may sometimes be employed
in this way, what are we
a say to those cases where th
victim smells some queer OdOr emanatin
from a pocket-handkerchief an
} rememb ers nothing more? Medics
men do not find the administration O
chloroform, ether, bichlOride of methy
lene, or any other an@sthetic by an,
means so easy, where all the condition
| are favorable and the patient voluntal
2 ily submits to the inhalation; violent d'
, lirium and excitement very frequent
J precede uncOnsciousness, rendering
necessary to restrain the limbs by ply
steal force. Those instances in whic
mesmeric influence is alleged to hav
been brought to bear on unwilling sui
iects by thieves are still less cOmprt
| hensible.