Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-11-22
WOMEN WHO SMUGGLE.
TRICKS RESORTED TO BY THEM To
AVOID DISCOVERY.
Swindling the Government Considered a
Act of No Special Harm-An Absurd
Thing to Do-Curious Places Of Conceal
ment-Bribes.

Thing to Do-Curious Places of Conceal
ment-Bribes.
1t takes twenty very jealous and care
full women of keen perception, great force
of character and considerable nerve te
keep Uncle Sam from fairly being cheated
out Of his eyes by other women. Snug
Cling is the way the latter do it, and dc
it well. Women like to smuggle, II
would seem. They have an elastic con.
science in the matter that really seems to
tempt them to what is, of course, swim.
ding the government, but to themselves
an act of no special harm and of little con
sequence. OF course there is the genuine
woman smuggler who knows just what
she is doing, just what trouble she is liable
to get into and what the result will be- II
is business with her, and she considers il
an ordinary business risk. But she IL
caught just as certainly as the other lit
tie woman is, who doesn't thir it any
special harm just to save a little by
tucking away a few pairs of gloves which
only make her leg bit plumper, if they
don't slip down and give her queer
shaped ankle, or filling her cors5t with
some rare and dainty lace, that if pur,
chased here would cost a pocketful OF
money on account Of the duty.
Women are far more wary than men in
smuggling, and their devices for bringing
in goods of duitable nature are many.
1t is usually the case that the inspectress
can tell by the face and contour Of the
person. AS a general rule, the woman
who has goods hid away will look the
searcher of her luggage calmly in the face,
seldom turning away, and if the searche1
politely informs her that she thinks that
she has dutiable goods on her person, she
will, of course, be greatly insulted and
invite careful examination. She gets 1t
and a little trouble in the bargain. The
self assurance that a woman smuggler
has is of such great quantity that it will
lead her to do the most absurd and fool.
hardy deeds, whereas, if she had less,
perhaps she would not rely so much upon
therefore, be more careful. The hustle Is
a godsend to the woman who wants tc
smuggle. They are made large and
may be safely carried yards of the most
valuable goods.
The most absurd thing for a woman to
do who has goods hid about her person is
to wear heavy ulster when it is toe
warm for one. She will have to refuse tt
remove it when graciously asked if it il
not bit warm, and such refusal of course
results in necessary investigation OF
the part of the inspectress. The manners
of the woman smuggler are always very
charming, and therefore it is in such
kindly way that they inform the tired in
spectress that she is really tired and needs
a little rest, therefore need not examine
their trunks, as they will tell the inspec-
tress what is In them and save her so
much extra trouble. But she doesn't look
at it in that light, and does inspect the
trunks, much to the regret of the owner.
These smugglers possess quiet and care
less air, but the inspectress can always
tell them by the way they attempt to sit
down. Their bodies then have a stiff.
ness that is hardly in keeping with
the manner in which they carry
the head and arms, and of course they
are Immediately suspected of having
goods concealed somewhere about their
skirts. There are many curious places of
conceaiment, and it can hardly be i'm
probable that many thousand dollars
worth of dutiable goods are brought
through by smart tricks. For instance,
diamonds and other precious Jewels have
been brought over fastened in the front
and in the plumes of the bonnet. They
are generally wrapped In black cotton and
securely fastened in such manner that
it would be necessary to take the hat
apart to find them. The heel of the shoe
is another queer but secure place where
jewels have been carried. The heel is
false, having hollow place in the center,
where, packed in cotton, the gems rest
safely.
Sometimes woman Is found with lace
wrapped around her form. Yard after
yard of it is thus securely carried until
the eye of the inspectress looks with sus-
picion upon the peculiar shape of the
wearer and she examines her. In the
bustles have been found toilet bags filed
with all sorts of odds and ends, such as
silks, gloves, hat frames, yards or rather
hundreds of yards of ribbon, stockings and
everything dear to the eye of the female.
TO lean woman the curvatures in their
corsets offer a snug resting place for
quite a number of dutiable goods that
can be carried safer there than almost
anywhere else. One woman was found |
with lace curtains pinned under her dress,
taking the place of her usual underskirts. |
Silk has been found worn in the same man
ner, and ribbon has been wound around |
the legs and body until yard upon yard was
concealed. When discovery is made the |
woman snuggler of course attempts |
bribe, but the amount is absurd, always |
very much smaller than a man would for |
minute think of offerin-. A woman |
will offer the inspectress 81 and consider |
it big amount. Ten dollars would break |
them all up. A mans bribe is hardly |
ever less than so, and frequently as high |
as 500. The women inspectors will ac-
cept no such favors, however. When q
woman is suspected the inspectress in
forms the suspect of the necessity Of un-
dergoing inspection, and she is requested
to go to her stateroom. Then she is or
dered to remove her outer garments, then
the hustle, and, if the inspectress con-
siders 1t necessary to go further, she re-
moves the remainder of her clothing
1t is said that q good deal of sc id in
formation regarding smugglers is fur
nisheG by many dressmakers. During the
season these dressmakers send their fore
women abroad to purchase goods. They
keep their eyes open, know all the women
who go abroad to buy goods in the hope of
evading duty on them, and send the in
formation straight to New York. Another
source of informatien is the stewards and
stewardesses on the big steamship lines.
TheyN receive a percentage on all goods
seized, and they will most remorselessly
disclose the names of passengers who are
smugglers. They almost always know
New York Star.
W. W. Reads inning Of sss was the best
b English cricket this ysar.