New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-05-12
SMUGGLERS.
Devices Resorted to by the Pro-
essionals-Byilliants in Boot-Heels-
Gems in Bread


Dealers in precious stones, custom
house officials and detectives are all
mysterious beings. They dislike to
talk, but the word smuggle often sets
their tongues wagging
81 will relate an experience myself
and three assistants once had with an
expert diamond smuggler some time
SINCE" said a gray-haired customs
man, "and then you'll see both how
easy and difficult it is to smugge'
The story was told in graphic
manner, as follows: Three large dia-
mond dealers in Chicago employed
young Frenchman. who was consider
ed an expert at Smuggling to procurefor
them $40, 900 of the finest water gems.
In some way the heavy purchase be-
came known to detective in Paris who
cabled to the officers here to watch
for the smugglers. The purchase con-
sisted OF LOT fine stones, and the de-
tective in Paris had a 'sstraignt tip
from shoemaker that the French
mans high heels contained the gems
He arrived and was politely conduct
ed to a private examination room.
OF came the boots and the French
man grew pale as a pearl. The heels
were sounded, and in a moment later
one thickness Of leather was taken off.
Out rolled piece OF tissue paper and
fifty eight fine white stones The
Frenchman appeared crazy. He
fumed, swore and almost wept. In
the other heel the remaining gems,
forty-ninei in number, were found. The
Frenchman put on his boots, and
seemingly dazed, walked away.
He was a "cute un" The gems"
were the finest "Parisian," worth $40
a peck, and the real article was snugy
encased in his big box toes. He paid
his shoemaker ahandsomer price than
the sharp detective Those gems are
in Chicago now, and the bogus ones
adorn a hundred shirt fronts in the
custom house.
Women! Yes, they are the best
smugglers Of all; any custom house Of
ticer will confirm this fact. They have
more ingenuity than men and more in
nocence wherewith to look the exam
liner calmly in the eye. How many
ladies who 60 regularly abroad and
pay their expenses by smuggling is not
and never will be known They are
many nevertheless.
SOME OF THE CUTE DODGES PLAYED.
One of the cutest lodges ever played
on the tariff enforcers is related of
young and pretty lady who lived, and
probably still lives in Boston. She had
gone to Berlin on visit during her
f,r1,, L. G.,
beautiful diamonds. Her means
would just allow her to purchase them
and pay her way home. In her dilem-
ma she conceived a plan. -Four large
cavities were bored into her four
largest teeth, the gems covered over
and she departed. The duties would
have cost her 1910, but she smiled on
the officer who made the examina-
ton and passed innocently from the
wharf
Large quantities ofdiamonds, pearls
and rubies are frequently baked in
bread, sold with an understanding to
the steward, who sees that they are
SO dry and hard at the end of the
voyage that he must give it to along
shoreman who has a large and hungry
family. AS 'longshoremep don't feed
their families on precious stones, the
bread is broken and It's contents
placed in a little chamois skin bag
and carried to the honest dealer in
gems.
When the gems are hidden in trunks
false bottoms are never resorted to-
The dodge is too old and transparent,
A regular line OF small augur-cells is
made in the sides and bottom. These
are filled with the gems and new
paper inside cover pasted neatly over.
Woe to the smuggler who happens to
have one Of those cells cracked open.
The eagle eye OF the law is always look
ing.
"Only one professional smuggler in
a hundred is ever caught. They make
it a study, science and business. They
pass right under our noses and in front
of our eyes with hidden fortunes. Ac-
ciGent or information from the other
side is our only means of hauling 'em
in" So said an officer who considers
himself one of the sharpest in the SER
vice. Lady examiners in the employ
Of the custom house are equally as
cute as the snugglers sometimes, and
are frequently the captors of
big government hauls. She knows
where in a woman's apparel is the
most likely place to find struggled
goods. They are sometimes mistaken
however, as well as the men. Not
very long ago Alderman woman was
reported to arrive on acertain steam
81 with a fortune in jewels on her per-
son. She came and was duly exam
ined. The scrutiny she underwent
was SO severe that the lady custom
house officials apologized over and
over again.
The foreigner smiled and said that
she did not blame them fordoing their
duty, and supposed some malicious
person had sent the dispatch to annoy
her. She entered cab and the hat
she wore was decked with fortune in
gems. They We're covered with wax
and represented a bunch of grapes.
These the official ladies' admired when
they examined the hat lining and
cover.