Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1902-07-26
A SMUGGLING STORY

to Tampico in a little trading
schooner called the Ella, command
ed by jolly skipper from Florida,
one Nat Martin, dark skinned
Spanish creole, who, '|for short, D
was always called by his friends
Mig.
We were only nine days on our
run from New York out to the
mouth Of Tampico river, and about
noon on the tenth day we stretched
in over the bar with a leading wind
that would easily have carried us
with flowing sheet up to the town,
which was nearly twelve miles
above; but, for reasons best known
to himself, the captain anchored as
soon as we passed the fort and
rounded Point Tampico, just above
and out Of the teeth of its guns.
The revenue boat from the guar
da costa came on board before our
eails were furled, and the custom
house officers overhauled our papers
and manifest. They seemed little
suspicious, and one Of the officers
was left on board to watch us while
the rest went on board their own
craft, which lay nearly half a mile
farther down the river, under the
guns of the fort.
AS soon as dinner was ready the
captain invited the revenue officer
down in the cabin to dine with him,
and as they went below the former
winked his large, laughing blue eyes
at the mate, and | knew well there
was fun in the wind.
As soon as the captain and Mex
ican had got below the mate slipped
into the small boat and sculled
ashore. In the meantime could
tell by the lively voices in the cabin
that the officer and captain we're
getting along very we'll together,
and once in awhile the tinkle of
meeting glasses and jolly song
spoke of a Esprit potential that
was playing upon the hearts and
senses of both parties.
At last, little after dark, with
real Havanas in their mouths,
they came on deck, the skipper
and the watcher. Both were de-
cidedly and equivocally drunk, if
one might judge from their walk
and conversation, but I could see
at single glance that the captain
was shamming, although the ''spir-
itual reality" was visible in the Mex
lean. He seemed, however, to re-
tain some notions of his duty and
to know that, as night was over us,
if we intended to smuggle it was
necessary for him to keep his eyes
open. So he seated himself on the
taffrail with an air of drunken dig
nifty and as he hummcd a Spanish |
barcarolle kept watch over the
movements of the crew about the |
deck, glancing now and then up and |
down the still river.
As the night advanced l saw that |
aptain Martin began to look I'M
easy and anxious, although he pre-
tended to be even more drunk than
bis guest and spy. At last, when it
was near midnight, the Mexican be-
came less frequent in his snatches
Of song, and the ''liquor browse"
seemed to be coming over him.
Captain Martin now lay down be-
side the Mexican and pretended to
fall into sound sleep, attesting the
same by a long, loud and regular
snoring. This threw the Mexican
completely off his guard, and, wrap
ping his watch coat closer around
him, he followed suit, and then the
twain seemed to be trying which
could snore the loudest
:. When the Senior Mexicana had
got fairly under Roadway, the cap
tain arose lightly from the deck
and, passing forward, took the Ian
tern from the pinnacle and held it
for a minute over the bows. Pres
emily | saw several dark objects
coming out from under the shadow
of the land, and in a few moments
more six large native canoes were
alongside of us.
Z In the first one that boarded US
were the mate and a merchant whom
we'll knew to belong to one Of the
first houses in Tampico. The boats
came noiselessly alongside, and their
crews crept stea]thily on board
Without a sound the matches were
raised, and package after package of
rich dry goods was passed up from
the hold and over the side into the
boats by the tawny, half naked ras-
Gals.
The boats we're nearly all loaded
when |, who had been placed to
keep watch over the sleeping reVe-
nue. officer, saw him open his eyes,
ovid hnforn I con1d nova or cDpak