Evening star., 1924-05-06
BY BEN McKELwAY.


All night and part Of the next day,
riding snug and sitting pretty inside
Sandy Hook, while the wind howls
and the rain beats down and the
weather man keeps sending out dis
oourasfng reports concerning the
chances for rum-running. The
weather is a better patrol than the
coast guard Tho rummies can't get
alongside vessels in Rum Row. when
the sea is running high, 50 they stay
ashore. Toward evening the wind
lul1s and the sky clears, and our re-
lief, the coast guard tug Manhattan,
comes putting up alongside She will
stick around Sandy Hook and guard
the harbor entrance while we are
gone rs.. '.- IS.
The Old Man gets the weather fore
cast and sends word to the engine
room to have steam up in half an
hour. Steam comes up as ordered,
business Of weighing the anchor and
we leave Sandy Hook, pass old Scot
land Light and head up the Long Is
land shore. The sea has calmed, a
full moon beams benignly from
star1eSs sky and the engines settle
speed for the Seminole. We are nine
miles or so off shore. The lights
along Long Beach stretch a gaudy,
sparkling necklace to show the land
lubber affoat where he is. The Old
Man comes upon the bridge. He uses
his glasses to search moon1it waters
Off to seaward and presently he
points out two faint lights, blinking
in the distance. He changes our
course slightly to bring US close by
the lights Five minutes more and
we pick up four other pairs of twin
king stars. They are riding lights
of division of Rum Row-three
schoopers and a couple of steamers
which stayed to ride out at anchor
the gale OF the night before. The
rest OF Rum Row is scattered at
points nearly over the Atlantic Ocean,
probably beating back, now It is
calm, to their anchoring places.
Steam by Ships.
This is our first sight of Rum Row
We slip silently by within hailing
distance of one of the vessels and
get her in the beam Of the moon. All
quiet aboard, but wooden boxes piled
high and made fast on deck tell
their own story. One OF the schoon-
ers, dark but for her riding lights.
Nobody knows certainly whether she
carries dope or not. for there is no
way of boarding her to find out.
She's foreign territory. But dark
tales, whispered among the boot
iieggers, say she carries dope with
What is easier If you are in the busi-
ness than to ship dope with rum?
Dope brings greater profits even than
bootleg whisky, and it's much easier
n haT Il F-N
there are many possibilities in Rum
Row.
Beautiful night for rum-running, one
might think, with the water smooth
and the moon full. But there's little
rum-running at night The helmsman
delivers the explanation: "No, we don't
get no bootleggers tonight. They're
dumb. No brains, see? They don't
know nothin' bout navigation. All
they know is. run a boat out to the
home. Try ii at night. sons o. guns
ID get lost and head out to sea, like
as not. They're low intelligence,
them guys. No brains, see?"
Many Ex-Fishermcn.
But the scornful helmsman is not
altogether right. There is rum-run-
ming at night, when the waters
smooth. Many rum runners, they say,
are erstwhille fishermen, for whom
navigation holds no mysteries and
the darkness no terrors.
Through the night we steam along,
changing our course at Fire Island
Light. Morning brings US off Montauk
Point. Twelve miles or so off the
point lies another section of the rum
fleet. But we keep close in shore.
More of the Old Mans "ra bbit foot"
working. Sail through Rum Row
now and we might scare off a rummy
heading for the fleet. But if we keep
between them and the shore we can
head them off.
Far off to sea, approaching the rum
fleet from the north, there's a speck
on the horizon which glasses make
out to be a Sr1all two-rnasted schooa-
er. She's toq little to be a. foreign
vessel carrying rum, so she's proba-
bly, American. Worth investigating
and forty-hfive minutes steamirg
brings US closer. The officer of the
deck yanksz down on the whistle.
The cutter Amits a series of short,
shriIl yelps, loud enough and sudden
enough to STARE Davy Jones out of
his locker. But the schooner keeos
on her course, her auxiliary engines
kicking along with a steady put-put-