The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-13
MAINE
Cinnamon. Opium. Liquor. wool, and Fish
Brought Into This Country Illegally.

Cinnamon. Opium. Liquor. Wool, and Fish
Brought Into This Country Illegally.
yANcEBoRo. Me-. Feb. 1I.-If you ask q man
who lives near the border between Maine and
New Brunswick IL there is any smuggling going
on In his neightorhood he will smile and look
wise. But ask him a similar question concern
ing a locality fifty miles north or south and he
will tell you Smuggling stories enough to fill
a book. The natural conclusion is that there
is moro or less evasion of Uncle Sans laws
going on along the line. although in tho far
north it assumes probably the character Of
merely n neighborly traffic in good Scotch wills.
key on the ono hand and Virginia or Connecticut
tobacco on the other.
Occasionally an arrest Is made. Last fall
there were several seizures Of produce in Aroos-
took county. On one occasion the customs off,
GERS took possession of q whole storehouse full
of contraband potatoes, and another time a big
lot Of Thanksgiving turkeys which had been
consigned to a Bangor marketman was seized
and confscatcd.
The limo store Is an institution that has be-
come famous as a supposed aid TO smugglors,
although the proprietor generally manages to
MAINTAIN an appearance of innocence, which
stands him in good stead when the officers are
around. Generally there are two buildings, one
on each side of the line. Tho American store
has q largo stock of kerosene oil and tobacco,
tho latter made up into queer little plugs to cor
respond with the variety usually kept for sale
in the provincial stores. The Canadian store
has a great variety in its stock, ranging from
opium to dress goods and hack again to whiskey,
with sugar to go with 1t. These stores arc some
times connected by u walk or passageway, but,
OF course, the business transactions in each are
perfectly regular. and 1t is none of the pro-
prictor's business II the customers sometimes
get mixed In their patriotism. do their trading
on the wrong side OF tho line, and carry their
purchases back with them.
The most profitable, smuggling is without
doubt the bringing of Cinnamon across the Dor
dcr, and landing them in Boston ut 800 or more
each. Probably there is not very much of it;
ont hearing strange stories OF determined
Chinnmen who have completed their journeys
from the Fiowery Kingdom to the United States
boxed up and piled in n freight car. or fattened
out in tho bottom of a hayrack with a ton Of
hay on TOP of them.
ington county coast say that n Pembroke sea
Captain. who has been suspected Of dealing
landed n cargo of Cinnamon in his native town
q Few months ago, and when the Collector of tho
to see about II, passed them off for Boston China
men, who had come down to tho Maine coast on
a fishing trip. It is said that these Chinemcn
were taken to PASSPORT n few days later and put
aboard a steamboat going to Boston.
Since the plngley tariff went into effect. wool
smuggling has become profitable again. and
stories are told OF landings by night in unfrc-
glented eoyGs along the coast between Quoddy
LIZA iiGad ~ and nd MaGhias Bay. More or less opium is
is q standard article in the smuggler's stock.
Ono OF the most daring attempts at smuggling
IN recent years was the landing OF a cargo Of
Holland gin in Bangor one night a little more
thnn a year ago. The stuff was seized while
being moved across the city on n truck team, but
u was only by accident that suspicion fell upon
the innoccntlooking load of boxes. and there is
their destination in safety. No action was ever
taken in This case except to conflscatet tho goods.
a man who had been on tho wagon seat beside
the driver of the truck team put up n good fight
and made his escape from tho officer who seized
the liquor.