Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-26
CLEVER TRICKS OF SMUGGLERS
Border Folks of Maine Outwit
Revenue omeers when They
Need the Goods.

Any person that lives on the border be-
tween Maine and New Brunswick and
doesn't know anything about smuggling
must be deaf and dumb and blind. There
are many ways to evade the officers.
In the Madawaska country. between Van
Buren, and Fort Kent. the settlers are the
French Acadians, and all the customs off,
GERS of Maine, with the SturKis deputies
thrown in II they were there. could not
prevent them from getting their gin from
across the river. ty
was there once when the good women
of Aroostook, backed by the law. sent a
band of officers to prevent the poor
Frenchman from spending his money for
gin.
The water was high; there was no ford.
ing and every boat and ferry for miles
was watched. 1t happened that Xavier
G. was out of gin. He kept a public
house and nothing for his guests to drink
did not suit him at all.
But he had something up his sleeve to
fool the officers. barrel OF gin from
the Canadian side was hauled through
the woods to the river, lashed to the un-
derside of log with hay wire and sent
adrift with a man on the log.
Now, a log can be held at a certain
angle In the river and the current will
carry II across as II does q ferry boat
river men often cross in this manner
and IL excites no suspicion. There was
plenty of gin and molasses at Xavier )
that day for dinner.
In one place the line runs several miles
along q side hill. I once saw a gang of
boys coasHng on the crust some forty
rods from the road. At the foot Of the
hill on the American side was a wood
lot and a big pile of sawed wood.
The boys had an old punE ana q close
observer would have noticed that they
always went in behind an old barn on the
Canadian side to start; then they would
go like the wind clear down to the wood
pile in behind the Or trees.
| And that very morning q man with q
double team was there loading wood: the
blue Jays in the trees probably noticed
that he was building funny load In his
big sled box; It was hollow In the middle
with wood piles at the sides and ends
and perhaps they noticed that every tims
the puns load OF shooting boys came down
the hill they brought a chest Of tea.
The load was carefully covered with
| wood. taken to q village merchant, drivaT
in the back yard and deposited In III.
cellar.
One OF my neighbors once suddenly had
call 20 preach apd nnaIly went over int,
New Brunswick and spread the gospel.
In three weeks he returned and wher
he came back he hitchsd his old horss
in the village street, near the custom
house, and had . prayer meeting In tbs
street, but no one mistrusted that he had
atty costly silk dress patterns In tn,
bottom Of his old wagon.
MT. \ had q farm that ran to the bouaA
airy line. His buildings were forty roll
from the line, but his Eranary was on1,
forty feet. Mr.. BIS farm buildings wer,
close by on the Canadian side; a road RAJ
between the Eranary and BIS buildings
the road was on the line
A raised about 600 bushels OF oats eacl
summer and put them IN his srsnsry. Eael
winter he sold about 5000 bushels. o
course. things looked very suspicious. Tn
customs oficers hid behind fences and rocl
piles end shivered many a winter night
Spoilers and spies were hired and a gov
ernment detsctive ioafed around the lin
saloons for a month In plain sight Of tn
magic little sranary, but discovered moth
ing. II was dark ana deserted nights, bu
In the morning A would come and help loa.
his team.
The detective would sometimes saunte
ovcr and ask foolish questions. peek int
the bins and look for tracks in the snow
and then so back more puzzled than ever
i will tell you how the government wa
outwitted. Between the grAnary and b
buildings was . eulvsrt under the road 4
wooden spout was made of boards about
foot square and some dark. stormy nigh
a. the beginning OF winter the snow wa
cleared away and the spout laid close on tn
ground in the eulvert. under the road, unde
fences and In AS sranary.
A belt with eups attached ran inside III