The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1894-05-29
UNCLE SANS WINE CELLAR.
He Dse-,-'tD Drink, but He Has Lots Of Rare
Wines on Hand.

He Doe-,-'t Drink. but He Has Lots of Rare
Wines on Hand.
4 aasxtN silence pervades the place.
IGio lie the siiguce of the tomb. The
out6AD wo6d seams already centuries
away. I've air is cool and soothing,
and three fiaring gas Jets cast an lntrl-
cate combination of shadows upon the
massive maso ~ of the arches. says a
writer in the Boston Herald, in describ-
ing the wine vaults under the Boston
custom house.
After hundreds of years, when Bos-
ton is only a hole in the ground like the
ancient cities il the Mediterranean,
some archeoIogist will dig down
through the accumulated dust of cen
turtles and find those hewn arches stand
ing as they stand now.
And yet the whole substantial struc-
ture Is like the foolish mans house,
founded upon the sand and mud of Bos.
ton harbor. Three thousand tall pine
trees. stripped of their limbs, We're
driven down close together in the black
ooze to form a foundation for the build
ing. These piles would last but a few
UQOTl NtdIs III luS ~ dIAs bAb u
in the harbor mud they are believed to
be as indestructible as the earth itself.
When it was built, he custom house
was upon the water front, and even now
the cellar is below : Ugh water mark,
yet there is no drier cellar on Beacon
hill. The builders - lmed to have been
the builders of p ramids and cata-
combs reincarnate and the work was
done to stand afte the builders them
selves were long forgotten. Upon the
heads of the piles, in the form Of a
Maltese cross, was laid a Gaping of
granite in hydraulic cement Around
it were built the massive walls of solid
granite 6 feet thick, which were 10 be
a protection against heat and cold, fire
and water and all the elements. With
in these walls rose the pulling scheme
of sturdy pillars and arches which made
the cellar a maze of low rooted cham
bers, inches, crypts and passages.
When the visitor enters the basement
and s~torehouse. which is on the street
level. he feels instinctively conscious of
the huge pile of granite over his head.
This floor, within the surrounding row
of offices, is used for the storage of
champagne and bottled wines. The
cases, which hold two dozen bottles, are
piled in regular tiers as high as the cell.
ing, and under the main entrance they
are packed in solidly. There are usually
between 5000 and 1000 cases, or over
40, 900 bottles, which if popped all at
once would make the granite dome
tremble and might drown tine attend
ants il a fpaming flood.
When Il consignment of rum, which
mean ANYTHING from champagne to
brandy. i landed from a foreign vessel.
the government orders it To be sent re
the custom house cellar. If no owner
appears to aim it, it i kept for a year
aud then : sold at auction 10 pay the
duties and ~warehpu-ing charges.
If the wuer appears. he can pay the
duties and withdraw his liquor for i'm
mediate consumption. or he can give
bonds for the duties and keep his stock
stored in the government vaults until
he wishes to withdraw it. The govern.
ment charges him stOrages according to
the capacity Of packages and allows
him TO take 1t away by degrees as he
needs it, paying duty only On the
amount withdrawn.
Very often an importation of wine
and spirits may change hands several
times while 1t lies in bond deep under
the granite dome. In such cases it is
sold In bond, and the owner, instead Of
the importer, pays the duties and makes
the final entry Of the merchandise.