The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1893-09-02
QUEER PASSENGERS.

QUEGh IAOOGlNUGhO.
Many passengers returning from
England or the, continent, to the /
United States appear, to imagine they
have done: a.. brilliant thing when
they succeed in. smuggling dutiable
goods through the. custom house. If
they escape detection, they, congratu-
late themselves on the cir c1everness
in " outwitting% the government
officials; but when they are not sue !
cessful and are exposed, the case as
sumes a different aspect: lesf33s. -
The position Of the smuggling
traveller is indeed one Of the most
awkward imaginable. = "a. <.-.s.
have been "a witness of many
amusing scenes that. have occurred
on the White Star ships and at@their
landing. place. One of these left
lasting impression on my memory,
owing, perhaps, to the extraordinary
conduct; Of all the mem bers of an en-
tire family during sthezEvoyage, from
Liverpool to New York: : ~, = - :-s;} ]. !,
In the early part of September.
187-, stood at the $gangWay on the
main deck of the1Baltic, of which I
was then in command, at Liverpool,
watching the passengers : come
on board from the tender. The ship
was anchored in the river. about
three-quarters of a. mile from the
landing stage. -. Z. &&&=rs zs,..::s : -.
Among the last, to leave, the ten
der was a family which consisted of
father, mother and four daughters.
The father was an old man-short
stout and thick set. His wife was
round, plump, very red in the, face,
and painted with the sexertion she
was making" > - ~ ~...,.% 81. =.
The daughters, on the contrary,
were long. lank, and thin, both in.
face and figure. ~, -7'S.' -"
The whole appearance OF the group
was so poor, and their. dress SO
shabby and worn, that as they. went
. aft 1.sna among the saloon passengers
seemed as If a mistake had been
made, and that their proper place.
was in the steerage,v Many of the
immigrants were clad j far more
neatly. - 80 =, ~s-,tr
On the passage: two or. three days
later, happening to 60 aft one
morning, again remarked this Gu
rious family. They were Sitting en-
tirely apart from the other passen-
gers, on the long wooden seat that
ran along the side of the railing.
Steamer chairs, were "a LUXURY in
which, evidently, they had. not, in
dulged. -~t.
The father, mother and four.
daughters-the daughters resembling
flight of steps of even gradations-
sat solemnly side. by side, without
uttering a word. and appearing as If
they We're assem- bled at a funeral , :,
The ship was, full Of passengers.
who were mostly Americans return
ing from their summer outing. They
had not much to occupy their ~atten-
tion, and soon. all who were Well
enough to enjoy any LITTLE e novelty or
excitement were attracted toward
this strange and very eccentric fami-
ly group. :n 4. .rs-E =. 80 - s.. :.
They responded so briefly and
coldly to kind inquiries made Of them
by several of the ladies that even the
most inquisitive were obliged to give
up trying to solve the problem which
they seemed to suggest: They were
soon left entirely to themselves. -...,
Not one member of the family was
ever seen alone. H5one Of the party
rose up to walk, all formed in solemn
procession. Silently and sadly they
promenaded up and down the: deck,
until: at a signal from the father or
mother, all stopped and resumed
their seats ss3,.r~s 2z$ .. g4 sssssz s,ss
One of the ladies' who sal; af nv
table asked me what thou gtti4s of.
these people. had had no. time UP
to that moment to think about them
lat all, and told her so; but F. added
that, if the weather continued fine, I
should cast an eye on them OCCASION
ally, and tell her what conclusion I
arrived at a44 : E3ses1 :s.$ :s& % E.-. II
The weather proved favorable, and
/ began to be somewhat.interesteds in
the family. Certainly their move
ments were very peculiar. Whether
they were caused by timidity, eccen-
tricity or q desire to be let severely
alone, I could not quite decide.
e AS the end of the passage ap-
preached, unmis takabl 6 signs of anx-
iety and nervousness were visible
in the faces Of all the members Of
the family One afternoon just be-
fore dinner, near the Wheelh ouse, the
old man suddenly began a cony ersa-