Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-10-31
SMUGGLING As AN ART.
Ingenious schemes Which Have Deceived
Old Customs Officers.

Old Customs Officers.
Standing on a pier near the gangway of
one of the great Atlantic liners, q c~yclonic
laugh was playing havoc within me while
watching the nervous antics of a fair pas
senger. Her face, neck, wrists and amply
displayed ankles gave her the suspicion of
registering 125 pounds net weight, while
her body, with it's bulk of appendages,
would insure a clean bill of lading to the
tune of 210 pounds. 1t is needless to say
that when she had passed through Uncle
Sans inquisitorial alembic she had fallen
to her normal condition.
1t may be incidentally stated here that
any attempt to introduce to these shores
in a single jump, duty free, a silk mill, a
glove factory and a complete emporium of
gold and precious stones is slightly over
doing things.
One of the smartest bits of smuggling l
know Of occurred when II of the largest
and handsomest diamonds in this country
owned at present by one Of our leading
families-was brought in duty free. Here
is the scheme: Among the steerage passen-
gers was a respectable looking workman
with a large Dutch pipe. Just as he ap-
preached Castle Garden he wrapped the
diamond in a thin piece of paper, put it in
oAc ooNNA VI AAo PApSs lax ~ IL UP "1cA
tobacco.
When he landed, and while the inspect
ors were sitting his few worldly posses
sions, the immigrant was making various
futile attempts to light his pipe, but just
when about to do so he would make some
remark to the inspectors and the match
would 60 out. In a short time he was in
an east side hotel, luggage and all, whence
he was soon transferred to one Of the city's
aristocratic abodes.
Another equally clever scheme is worked
this way: A European gentleman deals
heavily in fine jewelry Of all kinds. His
private partner presumably exports a well
known makers fancy toilet soaps to his
brother, a simple grocer over here. The
exporter" has a fine fac-simile single cake
mold with the name, etc., of the maker,
minus one letter in the name. One or
more Of the cakes of soap is split and hol-
lowed out and filled with jewels. The
cakes are then put into the mold and soon
have the appearance of new cakes. When
the box of soap arrives at its destination
in America the simple grocer knows by the
absence of the letter in the makers name
which cakes are for him. AS soon as pos
sible he hands the contents over to his rel
atfve, a dealer over here who finds a ready
market.
An importing friend of mine once told
me hat it is invariably the repeaters Of
old tricks who are caught smuggling. An
ingenious person can carry on the game as
his mental fertility brings forth a new
scheme.
The purser on n of the steamers plying
between San Francisco and China used to
be the butt of his fellow officers on account
of his old fashioned, big saddled, clumsy
bicycle. He had ridden his old machine, he
said, until it had become u second wife to
him. Every opportunity he got he sailed
forth on his bicycle, both in China and
over here. He retired wealthy a short
time ago., and then the cat got out of the
bag. His big, clumsy saddle was hollow,
and every time he rode forth in China he
returned with the hollow part filled with
opium, which he carefully hid in the YES
sci, and every time he rode forth in San
Francisco he in like manner carried part
of his cargo into the city. finding a ready
customer.
The latest diamond trick is this: Cut the
buttons off your overcoat, place unset
stones inside the top of the button, cover
with cloth and sew them on afresh. The
scheme pays for the trouble and goes tri.
umphantly.
Ihave known a case where a pair of hol-
low heels on a lady's shoe contained more
wealth than a modern shoe store. The
shoes were worn simply to come ashore
with.
1t is a notorious fact that if you desire a
nice cigar or a bottle of bay oil, acquire the
acquaintance of some lady of color who
manipulates the sailors washing.
Uncle Sans inspectors are expert Judges
of humanity, and hence it is only the reck-
less, unrufled, though simple looking gen.
fuses who succeed in smuggling.-New
York World.