Passaic City record., 1893-10-21

stalk and in oranges. One day, about
six years ago, Chinese dressed as
cook walked leisurely down the gang
plank of Pacific Mail steamer with
basket on his arm containing several
loaves of bread He shuffied right by
a 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 violent
shove, sending him sprawling and scat
tering his bread loaves. A policeman
interfered and noticed that one of the
loaves had broken open. He startedto
examine and the Chinese started to
run. Every loaf was filed with opium.
Chinese have been detected with
boxes of the drug deftly bound up in
their queues or tied under their arms
Every bit of baggage and every arti-
Gle they take ashore is a hiding place.
Beams on ship and table legs, have
been followed out as receptacles for
contraband opium. False bottoms are
put In cubby holes and pantry draw
ers. Hiding places are sought in coal
bunkers and under the engines and
boilers. The methods of secretion are
SO varied and ingenious that frequent
ly the officers are unable to find snug
gled opium, even after they have def
mite information that it is aboard a
vessel. Only recently the officers
failed to find a 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.
Several years ago the officials were
informed that a hole had been hol-
lowed out under the stern of one of
the China steamers as q receptacle for
smuggled opium. When the steamer
arrived they made a search and found
hole large enough to contain be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 worth of the
drug, but it was empty. 1t had been
dumped out into the bay off Fort Point
with floats attached. A considerable
portion of it was picked up. A regu-
ular business was for while maiu
tanned by throwing the opium over
board with floats attached to long lines
for confederates to pick up and take
ashore in boats, but the officers became
cognizant of it and broke it up.
Once box containing the bones OF
dead Chinese was placed on a steamer
at Victoria to be brought here for
shipment to China. An accident
caused it to be closely examined, when
large quantity of opium was found
concealed under the bones. Large
quantities of opium have been snug
gled in barrels of salt fish and in lum-
ber.
Cigars come here from Mexico or
Manila in cases of sea biscuit or sacks
of sugar. They creep past the customs
inspectors in many innocent disguises,
but cigar smuggling IS more dangerous
and difficult than opium smuggling,
and is less lucrative. These devices
have no relation to collusion between
customs officials and importers to
undervalue goods or to admit them as
of non-dutiable character when they
are something else. 1t is only re-
Gently that gigantic frauds were prac-
ticed in this way. Nevertheless, the
aggregate amount of smuggling IN
small lots at this port is very large
every year, Notwithstanding the vigil
ance of the officers. Almost every day
some one is caught smuggling, but the
number of escapes exceeds tho number
of captures right along. San Francis
CO Chronicle.