The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1909-03-16

While residing in the Canadian VII
lage OF Chippewa, l happened one day,
In July, 1864, to be detained very late
at my Office, on the south side of Chip
jewa creek, which discharges into Nj
agara river about two miles above the
falls. The creek has two mouths sep
aruted by Hog Island, which Is some
three hundred yards below the bridge
by which l must cross to reach my
house.
Thirty feet from the south end OF
this bridge stood a large storehouse for
bonded whisley. The building rested
upon piles driven into the bed of the
stream. and its plank floor was about
four and one-half feet above the water.
Walking quietly, l had barely come
upon the bridge when / heard above
the drowsy murmur OF the Falls a pc
culiar grating sound, coming appar-
emily from beneath the warehouse.
What could it be? Leaning over the
railing, l listened iptently.
The grinding noise seemed like that
produced by a hand-turned auger Dor
ing Through soft wood.
l surmised at once that some .one
was about to tap the lower tier of
whfskey consisting of the casks con-
tanning one hundred and twenty gall
Ions each. Who could it be? Probably
smugglers from the American side OF
the Niagara were at work, not buying
their stuff, as usual, but stealing 1t.
AT this time the United States i'm
port duty on spirits was two dollars a
gallon. Common whiskey could be
bought at the Chippewa distillery for
seventy cents per gallon in gold, and
readily sold across the line for five dol
lars in greenbacks; so there was large
profit in the contraband trade, even
when the smugglers paid for the LIQUOR.
Men engaged in this nefarious traffic
used to row down from the distillery
to the mouth of the creek at night;
then tow their boat up the Canadian
side of the Niagara to point opposite
the head Of Navy Island, push across to
Buckhorn Island, and thence drop
down to some previously selected spot
ON the New York Slate shore anywhere
between Schlosser and Port Day. The
smugglers always knew, by a prear-
ranged shore signal, that no officers
were in the way, and that cash GUS
toner was waiting for the cargo.
| had listened scarce a minute to the
mysterious noise, when a chug was
heard, then a renewed and sharper
grating. SO know that the auger had
gone through the three inch pine plank
floor, and was now biting into the hard
oak of a cask
The matter greatly concerned me.
because was the collector of inland
revenue for that county, and in charge
OF the bonded warehouse, the key OF
which was then in my pocket. The raid.
ers intended of course, not only TO
wrong Uncle Sam, but doubly to de
fraud the Canadian owners OF the
whiskey, who would lose the lfauor
ITSELF and also have to pay excise duty
on all stolen from the warehouse.
The slightest alarm would have driv.
en- the robbers off; but in that case
they would escape in the darkness. !
wished to capture them in the act. But
how would this be possible?
If | called for help at that midnight
hour the men would vanish at the first
cry If | went back to my Office for n
revolver and attempted to arrest them
single-handed, they would simply defy
me, or perhaps plant me all the bot.
tom Of the creek.
l resolved, before / did anything. To
ascertain how many there were. Noise
lessly | crept under the bridge railing
slid down brace. and peered into the
inky blackness beneath the building.
Just then a thread of light from a
burglars lantern shot out I'm my direc-
ton; tho boring ceased, and I heard a
surgling of liquid. 1 caught also a
glimpse Of three men kneeling on the
hush deck of n small scow.
One deftly pushed a tin tube into the
anger hole, placed under It ten-gallor
kog, and withdrew the plug from rs
lower end. Eleven other kegs awaited
their turn. The fellows had brought
precisely enough to hold the contents
Of one cask. If successfully run. the
cargo would bring six hundred dollar,
In United States currency-al1 clear
profit
From The efficient way in which the,
worked / concluded that the operators
were Ike" Nose" and pete" schram
notorious smugglers. living on Grand
Island, whom I had often heard OF
but never, to my knowledge. seen.
All that 1 have described occupied
only few minutes IN the doing. but
knew that &c would take at least fort,
or fifty minutes to hll the twelve kegs
the tube being small
While considering my next step 70
collected a pair Of stout. determined
fellows named Bullamoro johnson and
Vert Van Wyck. famous duck hunters
Of whose services I had often aval1ef
myself If ! could get these allies In
time, we should have no difficulty IN
stopping the desperadoes rs the,
passed through the cut. an artificiall,
made channel leading from Chippew,
Creek to che Niagara.
This cut, one Of the two mouths o.
exits from the creek. was always use,
by boatmen going TO or from the bi.
rfrFna IL