Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-11-07
SMUGGLERS' YARNS.
A Few of the Methods by Which Uncle
Sam is Swindled.
From the Lewiston (Me. Journal.

W lHc OluCO va ChippAhS SOhuiooiOACA
Smith, on Commercial Street, in Bath
and found as choice collection of old
salts and master marines as could we'll
be gotten together. The sea dogs were
making pleasant exchange of remin-
iscences touching upon the means that
they had resorted to in eluding the
vigilance of Uncle Sans custom
house officers in bringing home
cigars and other articles from foreign
ports without paying the prescribed
duties. "About the neatest way that [
ever saw" remarked the captain of a
large schooner now being repaired in
Bath, twas one used by Capt. Blank, of
the bark So-and-So. Have any of YOU
ever been aboard that bark ?'' he asked.
One man replied that he had, and the
narrator asked him if he had noticed
that large upright piano in the after
cabin, The other said that he had no.
ticed the piano, and the narrator pro-
ceeded to tell a bit of its history.
"Wel," he resumed, when Capt.
Blank bought that piano a number of
years ago, he had four large legs con-
structed by his carpenter for it, as the
legs on the piano were rather frail and
weren't stout enough to stand much of
for the piano he had them followed
out, and he used to come in to Boston
and New York with 1900 Havanas in
each leg of that piano. 1t was good
dodge, and he came into port many a
time and landed his 5000 cigars safely
after the departure of the custom house
officers. But he finally paid for his fun.
On one voyage the bark experienced a
gale, and among other things damaged
was two of the pianos legs. They were
split from top to bottom. The captain
saw, of course. that the piano racket
was up, and he had 5000 cigars to hide
somewhere else. He hid them in the
forecastle, but they were found by the
inspectors, and the captain was arrest
ed, tried, and fined 1000. I haven't
heard of his doing any smuggling
since.o
After few puffs from his cigar,
Bath man who Is interested in ship
ping, began an anecdote. Captain,
said he, THAT story of yours reminds
me of something in about the same line
in which | was interested. A friend Of
mine, who was master Of large ship,
promised he would bring me home
some excellent liquor on the next voy-
age he made, and he accompanied the
promise by the boast that there would
not be any duty paid on it either. Well,
I had not thought much about the mat
ter until one day [ noticed in Boston
paper that the ship had arrived in port.
But the next days issue of the same
paper contained an interesting story of
the manner in which the custom house
officials discovered that about half of
one of the spare spars which the vessel
carried was hollow, and that the hole
contained fifteen gallons of liquors. /
never got my five gallons and my friend
got four months in Jail, while the ship
made the next voyage under the charge
of the mate"
A little, short man now took up the
conversation and said: ~ remember a
pretty neat thing once which was done
in this very port not only a few years
ago by the captain of one of the ship
of the Houghton feet. He came across
from Liverpool, and on the voyage he
treated the sailors unusually well-so
well, in fact, that when the captain
asked twelve of them, shortly before
going into port, to do him little favor,
they readily consented. The result
was that when the ship was moored to
the wharf those twelve sailors walked
ashore, each with an imported leather
shooting coat on, under his own rough
pea JdCh0l. 1Ac Cd pCdlu lOlIO WGO Lu01u
to rendezvous, where the sailors di-
vested themselves of the English coats.
The captain set 'em up all around sew
eral times, and parted from his sailors
like an old friend
No sooner had this anecdote been
concluded than another old sea captain,
rich and retired now, broke in quietly
with: ':.Yes, that's good scheme, but
it don't ALWAYS work. It didn't when
tried it, anyhow. You see, l was in
England and [ bought a handsome
shawl for my wife, who was not with
me, paying e20 (Sl00) for it. When I
got into New York / asked the stew
ardess of the ship if she would wear
the shawl ashore fer me. She said she
would, and, putting it on, wore
it over the side, and out
of the reach of the inspector. 1
followed her ashore, but when | over
took her, well up town, the hussy re-
threatened to call a policeman if I
attempted to take the shawl from her.
What could | do? I couldn't prove
that the shawl was mine, and so l was
obliged to stand there and see that
woman walk off with 500 shawl that I
had written to my wi about. You
may believe that [ never tried anything
in that line again."
A hearty laugh went round at the
captains expense, and as soon as it had
died away the mate of a large four
masted schooner, now discharging in
port, spoke up Two years ago." said
ne, g was mate of large ship. with
Captain s., of this city, as master. In
Birmingham, England, one day, we both
purchased silk umbrellas. They were
very good ones, and we paid ST. apiece
for them. We came across to New
York, and after we had been in port a
few moments. the captain and myself
started to 60 ashore. The day before I
had removed the covering from my UNI
brella and had wiped up all the dirt I
could find in room in order to make it
look old The captain had thought this
precaution unnecessary and we started
ashore. / having mine all waving in the
wind and the captain having his with a
silk wrapper round it aud done up in its
ORIGINAL package as well. An inspector
stood ON the wharf, and as soon as we
had passed him he turned and followed
us. He stepped up to the captain and
took the umbrella away from him, and
later in the day the captain was fne1