Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-03-30
MEXICAN SMUGGLERS.
fHEIR WORK ALONG THE BORDER
OF ARIZONA TERRITORY.

OF ARIZONA TERRITORY.
In Companies of Fifteen or Twenfy-A
| Portable Treasury-A Variety Of Illicit
| Observation-Disclosures Fruits and Fresh
observation-disclosures.
Among the first sights TO attract the at
| tention of stranger in one of the little towns
near the border lines are the trains Of Snug
glers. which may be met almost any day on
the outskirts Of town. The Mexican Snug
glers usually come in companies OF fifteen or
twenty, riding on mules and driving the
requisite number Of pack animals ahead Of
| them, as they must rely on themselves for
protection from attacks Of Apaches. who are
always liable to be lurking in the wild, mount
| ainous country over which they must pass
in order to avoid the custom-house officials.
Traffic with the smugglers is what the mer-
chant most abhors, for while their purchases
| amount to quite little sum, they must mean-
/ while be kept under the most careful surveii-
lance. no article is too insignificant to
tempt their thievish natures, and nothing so
valuable that they dare not make the at
| tempt to purloin it, If detected in
a theft they give up the stolen
nooence and await an opportunity to re-
place it with something more valuable.
When, after great deal Of elaboration, they
decide on the purchase TO he made, they drive
the mules up to the store and make up their
packs for the homeward trip.
Their money, which consists chiefly of
| Mexican dollars, or a,adobesr as they are COM
monty called, is invariably carried with the
pack. tied up in little buckskin sack, and
this the smuggler unties from the saddle in
the leisurely manner of his nation and brings
it in and throws it on the floor of the store
with the utmost Indifference, apparently pay
ing no further attention 10 it until he is ready
to count out the coin to pay for his purchases.
The sights of a little town like Tombstone
seem TO fill the smugglers with wonder, and
they go about the streets and in the stores
ike children staring at everything with the
greatest curiosity.
AFTER THE WAYS OF THE GRINGos.
Little by little they begin TO discover the
uses of all these novel articles and are tempted
20 pattern after the ways Of the Gringos
themselves, and thus the contents of a snug
gler's pack have materially changed during
the past four or five years. At first the pur-
chases consisted chiefly of guns, pistols, am
munition, cartridge belts, etc, with an ad-
dition of few minor articles, such as calicoes,
overalls, etc. After a while they began to
see the possible advantages which American
boots and shoes might have over moccasins,
and so would take . fey pairs &c Q venture.
Then came a demand Il. cooking stoTz5 and
utensils of all sorts. and soon the sewing ma
chine began to figure as an evidence of prog
ress in civilization. Every new train takes
back some novelty, and if it meets with Mexi 4
can approval the next train brings the de
mand for larger supply, and so our exports
are yearly increasing to quite an extent.
The smuggled imports consist chiefly of
mescal a beverage which looks as innocent
as water, and which has all the properties OF
very bad whisky. This is made from the
mescal plant-a species Of agave-in some
way best known to the Mexicans. although 4
the process is variously described by tourists. /
But whatever the process may be, the pro
duct seems 10 be received with perfect faith I
and finds ready sale. They also bring crates .
of the luscious Sonora oranges: also little 7
cakes of panoche, which is an exclusive pro
duction of Mexico, made in some mysterious .
way from the sugar cane, we are told. This (
statement, however, must be received on
faith, if not cum grano sails, at least with a
great deal of grit and dark mystery. (
Along toward spring we are flooded with
imports of a more novel nature The town
IS then thronged with Mexican women and
children of the lower classes-the poems Of .
Mexico-who come grotesquely loaded with
bird cages containing various kinds of the
singing birds of that region. The cages are
very ingenious in construction, and often
quite elaborate in design and finish. They
are made of slender twigs Of some very white
wood, and this is often gaudily painted or
stained in all the hues of the rainbow. They
bring chiefly knocking birds, but occasionally
beautiful cardinal birds and golden orioles
are offered for sale. The women and chill
dren, like the men, are most inveterate
thieves and shameless beggars, but such pa
thetic looking creatures would melt hearts Of
stone, and thus the cast-of wearing apparel,
100 ragged to give to the aristocratic poor,
who are always with us, comes to he laid
aside in anticipation of bird time" for moth
ing is too humble to be most gratefully re-
ceived by the Mexican beggar
The articles mentioned above constitute the
chief imports that are smuggied across the
inc, but every train from Sonora brings US
most delicious fruits and fresh vegetables,
md from the gulf at Guaymas are sent fresh
ish and oysters in the shell, breathing the
delightful odors of the ocean to men long ex-
led from the sea shore As a matter of fact,
lowsyer. the fish and oysters did not meet
sery enthusiastic reception after the novelty
rad worn away, and our chief supplies are de-
lived from California. We appreciate, how
,yer. the bananas, the oranges and dates, as
we'll as the pomegranateS, pine apples, and
ruit OF the cocoa palm, which is shipped by
rain from some mysterious region of the in
erior-Tombstone tAri. Cor. san Francisco
chronicle