Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1890-11-27
CRAFTY CHINAMEN.
HOW THEY ARE sMUGGLED IN
TO THE UNITED STATES.

Clever Devices Adopted by tho
Smag-scrs to EIude Detection
and Revenue OfIicers-Smug-
Cling Opium Across the Border.
There are two routes which smugglers
use to get Cinnamon and opium into the
| United States One of them is over
land and the other is by water, on Puget
| Sound The routes are used as the ex-
| igencies of the occasion demand--the
destination of the cargo or as the prescncs
of officers necessitates, such presence
always being made known to the SNUG
glers by their principals in town. The
start in either case is from the same
point--Vancouver or Victoria. Van.
couver is on Puget Sound, British Colum
bia, and is the western terminus Of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, which runs
eastward to the Dominion Of Canada.
About three times a month steamships
arrive at Vancouver from China with
cargocs of Cinnamon. The average. car.
go of opium is rs, 600 pounds, and some
times larger. A portion Of the opium
is retained for the use OF the Chinese
! population of the district and the re-
mainder, nine-tenths OF the whole import.
alton, is struggled into the United States,
50 the British custom officers say. OF
| the Cinnamon who land ninety-tive out
or every hundred are bound for the
United States and get there
Upon arrivingat Vancouver the China
men are taken in charge by their resident
countrymen in the Chinese portion OF
the city. In few days they take pass
age for Victoria, just across the Sound,
on Vancouver Island. Here they re-
main, quietly biding their time for an
| opportunity to get across to the Ameri-
! can shore. They are divided into little
squads of dozen or fifteen and are in
charge of some crafty old Celestial who
''knows che ropes" Each man has put
up from $50 to $50 passage money.
The guido keeps his countrymen well
| out Of sight. Their craft are at anchor
in the harbor--trim, clipper built little
sloops, with a great spread of canvas,
but looking innocent enough with the
bundle of fish nets drying on the roof OF
| the cabin, and a lazy waterman stretched
on the deck smoking his pipe. The
master and his men arc up town looking
out for bargains. II all is propitious and
the wind fair the Chinese padrone makes
bargain for the transportation of so
many men across the Sound that night.
| Shortly after dark the Cinnamon steal
| quietly out of town. and. striking off to
| the southwest, BEGIN an all night tramp
across the rugged country following In
| sinple file narrow trails through the
/ woods. heading for some landlocked
bay or inlet in the Straits of San Juan
de Fuca. which connects PUGET Sound
with the Pacific Ocean. About the time
when all is quiet in the harbor and there
is no sound but the brawlinr and revelry
from the dance houses along the shore
the sloop silently steals out of the har-
Dor. Before day breaks the smuceler
has dropped anchor III some Quiet cove.
the sloop resumes her annearance of n
fishing smack. while the captain poes
ashore to consult with his Chinese friend.
after posting man with a class on tho
headland at the mouth of the cove to
watch for the possible coming of tho
only revenue cutter in those waters. the
Walcott, wheezv old craft that can be
outrun by any smuggling sloop in the
| DuSln6SS.
| About sundown the Cinnamon come
aboard and settle themselves in the sloop
for the nights run. All hands keep on
the lookout, while the poor Cinnamon
crouch together in the bottom of the vos-
sci. If the wind fails or if there are in
dications of revenue officers around the
sloop puts into one of the numerous ISL
ands dotting the Sound, where there are
huts and hiding places, and waits for
another opportunity. Then they watch
their chance to make landing on the
American shore, where the Chiramen
are tumbled out, turned over to another
guide and hurried back up the country
on their way to the numerous towns in
Washington.
Other consignments of Cinnamon land
at Westminster, in British Columbia,
Just north of the border From this
place to within sixty miles east there are
twenty trails, good for eight months in
the year, by which the men can get into
the United States. There are huts and