Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-07-09
TRlcxzD An OFFICER.

Auc DOuHuary line between tnt
United States and Canada has been
the scene of no end Of exciting ad.
ventures, because the desire to cheat
our Uncle Samuel ont OF his law
fnl tariff dues il something that
seems to be deeply rooted in the
human breast. There are profes-
sional ssnugglers, but the larger
per cent. l imagine, are those who,
being on the Canadian side OF the
line and finding goods very cheap,
cannot resist the temptation to try
to get them across.
Between Maine and the British
possessions i - snorneuz)y ) lopc
stretch Of boundary line, and pat
rolling it is entirely ont of the
question, but still, with all their
slips the customs officers do occa-
sionally get hold of a clew and run
1t to the ground-sometimes with
results that are not so pleasant.
This was the case with the officer
whose story am about to tell. At
just what part of Uncle Sans farm
line it occurred need not be told.
The story starts on the Canadian
side at a secluded spot in the woods,
where a man, horse sled with an
enormously big box upon it, q good
horse and trunk filled with valu-
able articles make a break for the
American side of the line. In
some way an officer has got wind
of the attempted smuggling, and
with still better horse he starts at
fall speed after the mysterious
trunk and the driver of the horse
sled.
1t was not until some distance
across the line upon the American
side that the driver of the horse
sled discovered that he was pur-
sued.
Far back on q distant hill he saw
a team coming at full speed, and
knew its meaning. He got up
steam on his own craft ediately
and the old sled slid into and out
Of ''thank ye marms'' in a way to
make ones hair rise, but the driver
knew very we'll that he could not
escape being overtaken. He only
desired to get over the next hilltop
and out of sight for q moment.
When over the brow of the hill he
suddenly pulled up, took the trunk
up1n his arms climbed on top of
the enormous box on the sled, and
holding the trunk as high as he
could over the side dropped it into
big snow drift where it sank COM
pletely out of sight. Then the
race began again.
Back at the summit of the last
hill appeared the customs officer in
hot pursuit, and now he yelled to
the man ahead to stop, but that in
dividual appeared singularly deaf
and in a great hurry as well. He
kept his horse at top speed, and
looked neither to the right nor the
left.
A half mile more and the officer
had drawn up close behind. When
pretense of not hearing his pro-
fame calls could no longer be made,
the driver of the sled gazed back
ward over his shoulder, and then,
in apparently great surprise, he
pulled up-so suddenly that the Of
ficer's foaming horse nearly plung-
ed head foremost into the big box.
'Wha-wha- wha-what d'y want p
drawled the man ahead.
Th, reply of the officer is totally
unsuitable for publication. 4 sw'ar
to ye hain't got q thing here said
the driver of the horse shed.
Then l should like to know what
in hades you were trying to get
away from me for said the off,
Ger.
Cit away from yep said the 9TH
er. wy. gosh mighty! l got
to git home n milk eight caows
afore dark, SO 1 hain't got no time
ter be a-loafin on the road
We'll, you just haul up replied
the collector Of Uncle Sans duties,
'and I'll have look. know well
enough just what you have got
there
Tell ye l haint got a thing here
but this old sled N box protested
the other but the more he pro-
tested the more certain became his
pursuer that he had contraband
goods concealed in the big box, the