The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-04-29
BORDER SMUGGLERS
SHOW REAL GENIUS
Getting Contraband from Maine
TO New Brunswick
GIN STRAPPED TO LOG
coasting Boys Bring Chest of Tea
With Every slide-The Granary
Like a Maeician's Hat.
Clever Ruses.

Clever Ruses.
An 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
officers in Maine with the Sturgis depu-
ties thrown in, If they were there, could
not prevent them from getting their gin
from across the river. l was there once
when the good women of Aroostook
backed up by the law, sent band of offi-
GERS to prevent the poor Frenchman from
spending his money for gin, writes a
Parkhurst man in the Lewiston Journal
The water was high; there was no fording
and every boat and ferry for miles was
watched 1t happend that Xavier c.
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 4 barrel of gin from
the Canadian side was hauled through
the woods to the river, dashed to the under
side of a log with hay wire and sent adrift
with a man on the log. Now, log can
be held at a certain angle in the river
and the current will carry 1t across as 1t
does a ferryboat Rivermen often cross
in this manner and it exctes no suspicion
There was plenty of gin ana molasses at
Xaviers that day for dinner.
In one place the line runs several mlles
along side hill. 1 once saw gang oil
boys eoasting on the crust some forty
wards from the road. At the foot of the
hill on the American side was wood lot
land a big pile of sawed wood. The boys
had an old pung, and a 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 be-
hind the fir trees
Loaded the Wood.
And that very morning man with
double team was there loading wood the
blue jays in the trees probably noticed
that he was building funny load III ms
big sled box 1t was hollow in the middle
with wood piles at the sides and ends,
and perhaps they noticed that every time
the pung load of shouting boys came down
the hill they brought a chest of tea. Tine
load was carefully covered with wood
taken to a village merchant, driven in the
back yard and deposited in the cellar
One of my neighbors once suddenly had
call to preach and finally went over into
New Brunswick to spread the gospel. In
three weeks he returned. and when he
came back he hitched his old horse in the
village street. near the custom house, and
had q prayer meeting I'm the street, but
no one mistrusted that he had fifty cost
IL silk dress patterns In the bottom of his
old wagon.
Mr. A had farm that ran to the boun-
Diary line. His buildings were forty rods
from the line but his granary was only
forty feet Mr.. BIS farm buildings We're
close by on the Canadian side; road ran
between the granary and BIS buildings;
the road was on the line. A raised about
900 bushels of oats each summer and put
them in his granary. Each winter he sold
about 5000 bushels OF course things looked
very suspicious. The customs officers hid
behind fences and rock piles and shiyered
many winter night Spoilers and spies
were hired, and a government detective
loafed around the line saloons for month
in plain sight of the magic little granary,
but discovered nothing. 1t was dark ana
deserted nights, but in the morning A
would come and help load his team. The
detective would sometimes saunter over
and ask foolish questions peep into the
bins and look for tracks in the snow, and
then go back more puzzled than ever.
Twill tell how the government was OUT
witted. Between the granary and BIS
buildings was a culvert under the road A
wooden spout was made of boards about
foot square, and some dark. stormy
night at the beginning of winter the snow
was cleared away and the spout laid close
10 IN tbA atIlty nj l1a
road, under fences and into AS granary.
A bell with cups attached ran inside the
spout and crank in b S barn was turned
to carry the grain. As it was down hill
very little effort would carry a stream of
oats into AS granary a foot square. A
blustery night would obliterate all tracks.
pile OF brush cut from apple trees
was piled between the granary and the
road fence; this, covered with drift of
snow, hid the place where the spout en-
tered the granary ON the outside. and on
the inside it was covered by sliding back
a wooden window. This was always
pushed over the hole in the wall when
they were loading oats, to admit light
there being no other window. When it
was closed the bin was In darkness and
| the hole could not be seen. OF course the
oats were delivered in BIS barn In New
Brunswick When the snow began to
melt in the spring the spout was removed
and packed away until the next winter
Celebration Planned.
AT one time a certain village planned to
have a great Fourth of July celebration
and 1t was planned to have it dry.
The local officers warned the saloon
keepers that any. attempt to sell liquor in
any form on that day would be punished
to the full extent of the law, and the Gus
toms officers gave notice to all that an
extra force would guard the roads leading
from New Brunswick, and all persons
caught with liquor on that day would
have their teams taken and he sent to
Portland to settle with a United States
commissioner.
The day dawned bright and clear and
by 0 o clock the trotting park at the lower
end OF the town was swarfiiing with peo-
Die to see tile races. Half a mile away
across the fields was a saloon on the
boundary line. The thirsty looked at it
with wistful eyes, but to walk there for
a drink through the grass and grain was
too much, and to go round by the road
by team where officers were thick as
fiies was not to be thought Of.
Behind the park fence. close to little
brook shaded by thick alders, was a dance
floor and a little booth, where lemonade
and soft beer were sold. There was soon
a noisy crowd at this place, and by noon
the town and lookup were full of DRINKS.