The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-05-02
sHREWD TRICKS.
Cunning Chinese Opium smugglers
Defy Every Effort of Watchers.
60 Reeord-Herald.l

deny that if Oriental cunning stands
ON the same plane as Oriental CiViliZa- (
ton he must be right in his belief.
The most acute customs officers of
Great Britain, sehooled BY wears OF
training and always alert to discover /
evidences OF smuggling, are fooled 2t i
the port OF Hongkong every day in
Inc year d the mild hammered, eX-
pressionless people, all of whom are as
ehldHke and bland as Mir. WI him
SELF
That chinese potentate. the opium
farmer OF EIongkong who annually
pays a targe suFs to the government
Tor the exclusive MONOPOLY in the irn-
pCrtation of the drug to the island is
I faithfully served Not only is d fleet
OF revenue cutters kept constantly
patrolling the waters between Hong
Kong and the mainland Of China on
the lookout for smuggling junks and
sampans, but at every dock Where
steamers touch along the -.praya' or
sea wall Of the city are half a dozeRl
customs officers Who have learned 10y
experience to be suspicious of every
thing and everybody.
II might we'll be imagined that
through this Gordon of watchers SNUG
glers could not possibly operate Bfgt
the Chinaman matches vigilance with
guile and generally wins. 1T is esti-
mated that 5000 pounds of the drug
is brought into Hongkong annually by.
sInugSlers This means no loss to the
traffic being absolutely prohibited to
al except the opium farmer, who in
4 lieu OF duty pays a royalty.
I In the building occupied by the COLI
/ lector Of customs at Hongkong- is a.
room filled with contrivances used IN
/ the smuggling of opium The story Of
I some OF the methods employed is inter
I esting.
One. inneeept. looking little affair. the
/ ordinary Chinese teapot in its basket
! over twelve years Twice a day two
( great paddle-wheeIed steamers run be
/ tween Itongkong and Canton, making
4 tie journey from a beautiful modern
I English city TO what is practically the
! heart Of the Chinese empire in a few
! hours These steamers are crowded TO
I the guards on every trip with a miscel-
{ laneous collection of coolies men.
Z Women and children, wealthy nler-
chants, n0Wer girls and gamblers
! There y nothing more picturesque than
I to see a ChinawonaH toddiing down the
I gang-plank of a steamer, clutching in
I one hand her SilkeH Sirdlc and fan, and
7 in the other her teapot and basket. Up.
( to few years ago, before they discov-
cred the trick. the astute revenue men
/ decided not to be fooled by appear
anees, and, approaching The lady, they
! would demand en- examination of their
I chinaware. Lifting the lid, they found
4 1t full of tea, tipping the spout, they
saw the stream Of. tea. flow freely then.
I handing back her basket. they bowed
! and let her pass on, Probably in the
/ crowd OF three or four hundred passen-
I gers everybody, down to the smallest
[ children. knew that the white devils
were being neatly trickeG, but not a
I smile ever betrayed the scheme.
/ Tbs. section Of the pot containing the
/ tea did not occupy QuiIe half the depth.
THE balance was filed with cooked
J opium Of the best Patna quality
I Though the articles discovered by the
+ officers and now decorating the eollee-
tors rooms mean the cutripg Oft OF so
fmany chances OF smuggling the seiz-.
ures cannot keep pace with the native
ingenuity. and as soon as one trick IS
exploded others just as effective take
J It's place. A few months ago there was
a story in the eastern papers about the
discovery of several thousand dollars
Eworth % diamonds by New York GUS
toms officers concealed in the hollow
Z arms of a stret2her on which a,scapin
Z passenger an alleged inValid was be-
ing carried ashore. This was hailed as
a brand new smugglers' trick
on account of the superiority Of the
Hongkorg native hospitals over those
see patients brought down on the
i steamers and carried ashore On ham
boo stretches Probably over.s half
million dollars worth of opium was
i smuggled iato Hongkong in the arms
I of tkese conferences alone
= Bamboo swalkf3g canes false soleS Of
shoes, cap rims, rice cookers pipes,
+ broCms, canned ginger and even jade
stone bracelets and thinbies have been
4 used repeatedly as reeeptaeles for the
tdIug, and~ouce in awhile the trickeFy
lof Incident has been res0rted to very
unnecessarily There was an instance
OF this latteF character some years ago
which was responsible for the biggest
I single case of smuggling ever known
on the island. One morning Just as
the Canton steamer was apProaeidng'
her dock, q little sanpan sailed slow
ly about her starboard side, where two
+ customs officers were stationed on the
+ lookout for stuff that might be thrown
overheard to friends. The watchers
: yelled to tl1e man a the rudder to
sheer OFT from the vessel. and the crew
made a great show OF their desire 10
obey the order At that moment three
passengers. with a crate of chick
Z ems. standing at the port gang-pIat7k
tready to leave the steamer, began to
quarrel about she ownership of the
goods. One drew a revolver and ffPed
a sh0tin the air. the other twu llaHl-
ing knives, out Of their Waistba ncIs,
few at him with shouts and screams
4 of vengeance The customs officers
from both sides of the ship rushed in
to prevent murder, and a fourth Chi
lnaman at once threw overheard 10 the
waiting sampan three big baskets filed
with half-pound packages Of opium.
y Needless to say the disturbance was
rapidly quelied without bloOdshed.
When the trick was discovered. the
three brawlers were arrested, but as
Ethere was. no direct evidence against
them and they persisted in declaring
that they were innocent chicken ven-
doris who had never seen or heard of
such thing as opium in their lives. they
were quiekly released
Miss Elizabeth Harrison'sa Call.
fNansas City Jeurnal1
An IndianapCfiS wDfaan visiting IN
Il Washington recentiy told .. storE about
i the late aess-2resitie1lt Harrison which "
lustrates a side of his character Ret gee-
orally known 10 the public On one ef
/ Mrs, Harriscnss reception days the gen
1 eral came into the 9arior to see his wlfe's
I friends Little E,lizabeth, his bahg
/ daughter. always Thought these recep-
II tions great fun, and this day deeided %
participate. i1t
she mad Der ntsrse write ora card
Miss Elizabeth Harrison. 1sden she
/ went out, Eaglg the dOorbeil and -pr res enfe 8
. / her card to the servant who came to the
door. The card was taken in It'd she
was PllpcuF9eG General ltarriss7it sind
Mrs Harrison rose. ard the general RE-
eeived her gravsiya sllakigg hands with