Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-08-26
THE ART OF SMUGGLING.
1T Is EXTENSIVELY CARRIED
ONIN EUROPE.
Tho Ingenious Stratagems of Contra
bandists-Prof. Oswald's Interest
ing suggestions to Law
breakers.


guerrilla campaigns for years if he
had chosen to recruit his troops
among smugglers OF the Calabrian
highlands.
1t might indeed, be doubted If in
practical warfare the strategic erudi-
ton o. our best military academies
would be Il match against the tricks
of border outlaws, whose skill in out
whiting the vigilance OF their adver-
saries has often been perfected by the
constant practice OF many years.
The plan of employing the soldiers
OF the regular army in the service OF
the revenue department was re-
peatedly tried by the French govern
ment in the smuggler districts of the
Pyrenees but had at last TO be aban-
doned as a sheer waste OF time and
trouble.
In the more dangerous localities a
line of picket posts had often been
extended for miles on both sides of
the headquarters camp. the interval
between the sentr!es being so close
that they could communicate with
out an extraordinary vocal effort
and in order to test their vigilance it
had been made a rule that the hours
and half hours OF the night must be
called out by the corporal OF each
detachment and repeated from post
to post all along the line
About POO a. m. in specially
dark night the sentrcs near 81. Sau-
veur. in the Department OF Haute
Pyrenees. shouted out Three
O'CLOCK with distinc;ness that
awakened hundreds OF responses and
brought out half a dozen nOn-com-
missioned o.,icGr5 at double quick to
ascertain the cause Of the untimely
moderation. Angry discussions fol-
lowed and a few minutes after Il gang
OF shadowy forms passed tho line
within a few steps OF poor recruit
who had been reprimanded out OF his
wits and would not have ventured to
run the risk OF another false alarm il
the whole force OF Don Carlos had
passed by with all their field guns
and ammunition wagons
The smugglers themselves had set
the sentries a-shoutng for the double
purpose OF roiting by the ensuing
confusion and OF ascertaining the ex-
act position of each picket post
On another occasion troop OF
mounted strangers challenged SEN
! try in good French and warucd him
10 give the counter5Ign more prompt
| ly in future and after ordering him
10 repeat his instruct ons trotted of.
leaving the bewildered conscrlpt
under the impression that his cross
examiner must have been the COM
mander OF a cavalry patrol from some
neighboring military post.
The French government derives a
large share of its internal revenue
| from the duty on tobacco. and il has
been estimated that an average of
2 300 600 pounds year are smuggled
across the Spanish and Belgian border
| in some way or other Tobacco. cut
| up N narrow strips and rolled up
/ with bundles of straw was for years
carried across the Tourney canal
bridges on hay wagons in broad day
| light before the douamers suspected
the trick. thsugh in pursuance of reg
ulations they had taken the precau.
ton OF prodding each load of hay
with long pronged forks.
A still more ingenious stratagem
was tried in the Ardennes between
Philippeville and Rocroy writes f. L.
| Oswald in the san Francisco Chroni-
Gle. Finding that many of their mata-
! doris were personally known TO the
/ Ernnah h., 80 1 -
smugglers conceived the idea OF ira n F..
ing dogs for the purpose Of crossing
the line in moonlight or even in day
time during the prevalence OF a
mountain fog. With q little practice
q stoIt dog could manage to trot and
! gallop with load OF twenty pounds
distributed evenly in small pack sad :
dle-like bags and fastened in the way
that in stress of circumstances the
four-footed messenger could dash
through the tangled underbrush with
out losing his cargo
Dogs selected for that sort OF work
had accompanied their masters on
many previous expeditions and came
to understand the road so we'll that
they would now and then retrace their
steps and hide in the thickcts till the
evening twilight enabled them 20 re.
sumo their journey with a better
chance OF safety. Frontier guard:
who had accidentally come across these
four-legged eontrabandists reported
that they would avoid the public road:
as much as possible and at sight of q
stranger would stop TO reconnoiter.
and at the first suspicious symptom
would turn aside and disappear like
wolves in the gloom of the forest
/ Brussels laces are struggled in on {
similar plan. A few lean sheep were
wrapped round and round with roll:
OF valuable dry goods and then GOV
cred with an artificial fleece 40 Gun
ningly adjusted that the trick could
not be easily detected il the woollJ
contrabands were driven along with ,
herd of stall-fed wethers
The Greek Albanian border Ia anoth
er classic haunt OF the contrabandist
The Turkish government levies lanC
taxes but manufacturing interests ar,
too Insignificant to repay the troubl,
OF assessment and such home produc,
as shawls and brandy are cheal
anau0h IN ha s0ld IN tnodarn Eraac,