The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-13
CHINESE smUaa1ERs.
How the Artful Mongols Deceive Un-
Gle SANS Customs Officers.

From the San Francisco Examiner.
The customs officers of San Francisco
have to deal with some of the most artful
smugglers in the world. The Chinese are
race Of smugglers, and there is not a
people on earth more fertile in expedients
to evade the revenue laws. Their stolid,
impassive demeanor serves them admira-
bly, in their contraband operations,
for their actions seldom afford, as is
the case frequently with white people,
any ground to suspect that they are try
ing to practice a fraud. They have
taught the sailor men of the white race
the shrewdest tricks practiced on Uncle
Sans tax Ratherers and are never caught
in one device without being ready with
another one equally as hard to detect
Before the influx Of Chinese laborers
was stopped, u Mongol, looking as If all
his years we're acquainted with only pow
erty and toll, would sometimes try to
sneak ashore with a dirty old blouse
stuffed full of fine silk handkerchiefs,
scarfs and Indian neck shawls. The
Chinese garment for cold weather is a
quilted blouse or tunic, with heavy filling
of cotton. Silk handkerchiefs being
light and fine, single blouse would some
times contain a valuable invoice.
Sometime a demure Chinese maiden
.
her shoes stuffed with silk. A whole
coyoy arrived some years ago with their
shoes stuffed in this fashion An inquisi-
| tive inspector had his attention attracted
| to the extraordinary thickness Of the
soles and made an investigation, which
resulted in valuable seizure.
To man the Chinese crews on the
steamers plying between San Francisco
| and Mexico, South America and the ORR
!
traband goods in the oldest places i'm
! aginable and get them ashore past the
| eyes Of the customs officers in ways that
! almost battle detection.
They have brought opium skillfully
| stuffed in bananas still hanging to the
stalk, and in oranges. One day about six
! years ago a Chinese dressed as a cook
| walked leisurely down the gangplank OF
! a Pacific mail steamer with a basket on
! his arm containing several loayes Of bread
He shufiied by n custom house officer and
would have got away all right, but on the
! wharf came into collision with a drunken
! sailor The sailor, who was to blame
/ gave the Chinese a violent shove, sending
/ bin sprawling and scattering his bread
! loaves. A policeman interfered, and
noticed that one of the loaves had broken
open He started to examine, and the
! Chinese started to run. Every loaf was
! filled with opium.
Chinese have been detected with boxes
of the drug deftly bound up in their cues
or tied under their arms. Every bit oil
baggage and every article they take
ashore is a hiding place
Beams on ship and table legs have been
! followed out as receptacles for contra
band opium. False bottoms are put in
! cubby holes and pantry drawers. Hiding
places are sought in coal DunRers and I'm.
! der the engines and boilers. The meth
/ DDS Of secretion are so varied and ingen.
/ ious that frequently the officers are una
/ BILE to find struggled opium, even after
they have definite information that II is
aboard a vessel Only recently the OH.
/ GERS failed to find lot, although they
/ knew positively that it was on board
/ However, keeping the closest watch on
everything that left the ship they finally
intercepted the opium as it was being
| taken ashore.