The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-03-12
IN THE DAYS OF SMUGGLING
Yarns Spun by the shippers of Ocean Yes
sells Who sailed Long Ago

Yarns Spun by the shippers of Ocean Yes
sells Who Sailed Long Ago
From the New York Herald r.
Sitting in the Office of a ship chand-
lery establishment in South street a
few days ago a quartet of old-time deep
sea shippers were talking over the
good old days of so shilling wheat and
similar conditions. when the CONVERSE
ton turned to the case of a captain who
was recently arrested for smuggling
| The discussion soon led to some inter-
esting confessions
bill" said one grizzled mariner, who
/ for 20 years had sailed the seas on long
voyages in Maine clippers, do you re-
member that big black spar carried
on deck in the =, SO many years?"
"Oh, yes" replied the man addressed
We'll. sir, carried that spar there
for eight years, and in that time sup
pose brought $4,000 worth of stuff in
spar into New York When / first got
II / had my carpenter hollow it out.
with cleverly arranged openings at
either end. For years I brought in
wines and laces in that old spar and
no custom house man ever thought of
looking at It,"
That reminde me of a trick Patten
played for years in the -" said an
other of the group. HE was in the
East Indies trade most of the time.
and every time he came into New York
he brought thousands of Manila cigars,
to say nothing of many nice things for
the ladies in the way OF Jewelry."
How did he do it?" asked one
We'll, he used his carpenter. He had
an upright piano in his after cabin,
and he took the underpinning away
and substituted four glib, hollow legs
These were. of course, quite noticeable
but he had them screwed to the floor
and he always explained to the custom
house men that he had good strong legs
put under the piano in order to hold IL
secure in heavy weather.
An old Cape Cod man now added a
boys" said he, that my wife used to
be good deal of smuggler. For some
time / was running back and forth
across the Atlantic, touching on the
other side at Havre, Antwerp, Liver
pool and such places. My wife had a
stewardess who had been with the ship
for some years. Just before we got into
port my wife would put about three
dresses on her and couple of cloaks.
The woman was clever and she
would keep close around the
foc'sle and slip ashore with
some of the men in a boat before
we would dock. Then my wife would
meet her the next day on shore some
where at some place they had agreed
on and would give her something for
her trouble. 1t worked first rate until
one day when the woman went ashore
and disappeared. My wife went to the
rendezvous as usual, but the woman
didn't appear. We never saw her after
wards. That was my wife's last at
tempt.
II remember seeing a woman do a
rather neat thing a good many years
ago." said the first speaker. TT was
Williams wife, who went in the -
for so many years. The custom house
men found several hundred more cigars
than the law allowed done up in boxes
intended for the owners. The custom
house men were sour fellows and
thought they had the captain in a little
trouble. But Williams wife, little !
woman, who had gone on the voyage
to regain her health, stepped forward |
and said: Those cigars are for my use
gentlemen Well, perhaps those fell |
lows weren't surprised. Finally one OF |
them said: Would you mind smoking |
one?' The little woman took one of the |
cigars and lighted IL. Her husband !
looked on, more surprised than the GUS |
tom house men, but his wife stuck to |
her work and finished the cigar. That |
settled her claim to them. As soon as |
the custom house fellows left the ship |
she ran to her he'd. She stayed there /
for three days"