The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-06-03
EVADISC THE TARIFF.
The ITiCES Of The Ingenious Diamond
SmuegleT.
A Government Inspector Reoites Some
Queer Experiences Strange Hiding
Places Devised by Those who I'm
port Free Jewels Women the Worst.

a N'NNA AlaltAAN ms AtctQA receives some
Queer Experiences Strange Hiding
Places Devised by Those who I'm
port Free Jewels Women the Worst.
From the New York Recorder.
Successful smuggling is immensely
profitable, especially in the diamond bus
mess There are many hundreds Of men
sud women engaged i'm this line. and they
are the most dangerous and slickest of all
smuggers, while the loss to the govern
ment is something enormous.
These industrious people are mostly of
the hook-nosed class. You would not be
able to distinguish one from any other
of your fellow passengers on the steamer
coming over the ocean; in fact, you would
be more likely TO be impressed with his
modest and retiring demeanQr, to say
nothing of his mild suavity, than by any
other passenger, for they are great stu
dents of human nature and never use a
superfuous word. No clam shuts tighter
than a smUggler on suspicion of danger.
He is not to be interviewed, for there are
dogs at his heels, faithful dogs of the
government.
L
eminent customs inspector on friendly
terms who had paid particular attention
to the diamond smugglers for many years.
This is what he told me;
Diamonds and rubies, being so small,
are easily Smuggled. | don't believe the
government gets the duty on one-quarter
of them that are sold in this country, after
all the expense it goes to in trying to sup
press that business. We have agents all
brokers offices, who give information of
all sales to people they do not know and
those smugglers whom they do know.
Some of the ships officers on every
steamer coming to this port are constantly
on the watch, and all that. But what's
the use if you can't find the goods on them
when they are searched?
"Many's the time Eve been dead sure
of my man, and could swear he had the
sparklers somewhere about him when
searched him, but I've gone through
everything and cursed the rat to his face,
but it was no use. Then other officers
take him up and keep their eyes on him
as long as he stays in port, and they really
have better chance of finding some
thing, but they seldom do.
WOMEN ARE THE WORST.
"Women are generally the worst and
most deXterOuS smugglers of stones, on
account of having so much upholstering,
but there are not many women in the
business now. l don't know why,
but they seem to be leaving it,
Diamonds have been found all over
wOmen-sGwed up in seams, in hens and
tucks and corsets, waists, wraps and
muffs and secreted in their hair, which is
a favOrite place. We have found them in
parasols and on the baby, in hats and
'bOnnets, tied up in the corners of hand
kerchiefs and wells, and even woven in
| their carriers; besides in everything you
can think of in their trunks, some of
which have false bottoms. You may be
| sure that when we once are satisfied we
have caught a smuggler we do not stop at
anything in the way of searching. We
men search the men, and there are women
/ to search the females.
"Why we've found diamonds in UNI
! brella sticks and in the heels of shoes, in
| covers of books and behind coats and
| pants buttons, in hollow rings aud in
| pewter cups with false bottoms. The
! round handle of palm leaf fan was the
| favorite hiding place for precious stones
| for some years, and it was long time be
fore we dropped on the hollow cane trick
| and longer still before we caught one ole
/ smuggler with hollow crutch. O One old
! soldier of the Crimean war hadsan artifi
| cial leg and he couldn't get enough dia
mOnds to fill the interior of it, so he filled
! the remaining empty space with line laces
| to keep the stones from rafting and Civ
/ ing the snap away. One old cOdger used tC
| work the sweat leather of his hat with
| great success, and another always carried
| a revolver of home manufacture loaded
with cartridges full of diamonds Another
| fellow had the biggest hollow tooth yOT
! ever saw and there was always a diamond
! in it, nicely tucked away and covered
with wax, when he got on shore. Toe and
| finger nails grown very aristOcratically
| long have hidden precious stones fastened
/ in with fine silk threads, and sleeve but
/ tons have been brought into requisitioI
| successfully in the smuggling of diamonds
| You wouldn't think it, but terriers have
| been loaded down with diamonds You've
heard of the four and twenty black birds
| baked in pie of course, but you never
! probably heard of diamonds baked in
! cake or made into chewing gum and black
! cough drops. You never heard of cigars
| inlaid with diamonds and other precious
stones, or of match boxes and snuff
and tobacco boxes with false bottoms full
/ of them. | have. I've found precious
! stones secreted in shawls and steamer
rugs, and once in the hollOwed-out legs OF
| q steamer char. Once | found the silk
| cord that goes round the waist of a dress
| ing gown filled with them, and only discov
cred it by mere accident, as nearly al
! our discoveries are made. One fellow had
I removed the works Of his watch and
thrown them overheard after he had filled
the case with valuable rubies, and once a
! lady's bracelet contained $40, 600 worth OF
! sparklers on one voyage, and we didn't
get onto it until too late. One woman
smuggler, who was so disguised we did
not know her, had little girl with her
wheu she landed, and the little girl of 5
years had doll in her arms
SMUGGLING WITH DOLLS.
"The inspector wanted to look at the
doll but the child held to it like grim
death and set up such wall that he
laughed and said he had little girl at
home with prettier doll than that, and
he let the doll pass. But his little girls
doll wasn't filed with $4,000 worth of
brilliants like that little girls pet,
although, of course, the tot didn't know
it. Another dodge was wOoly toy dog
in the arms of little boy, who was with
woman we had spotted as a new hand at
smuggling. We thought we had her dead
to rights. sand it didn't take long to split
open that dog, for we were. eager to get at
the contents 1t contained nothing
at all, and we gave it back