Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1880 — Cigar Smuggling. [ARTICLE]

Cigar Smuggling.

The New York Tribune says: "For many years the smuggling'of cigars into this port by the crews of the Havanna steamers was a regular business. Millions were brought In each year. Generally they were concealed behind the skin of tne steamer, being fastened by means of a cross-piece of wood. If there waa any danger of detection, the fastening was cut and the package allowed to drop down to the bottom of the bilge. These smuggled cigars done up in packages pf or more, were oovered with oil skin. Tiq-se packages are dropped overboard in the lower bay or at quarantine, and are picked up by confederates in small boats, brought up to the city and disposed of. In other cases they are kepi or ship board, concealed in places where no one would be apt to look for them, and carried ashore in small quantities as opportunity affords. Experience has taught the custom inspectors where to look for contraband articles of this kind, and not a week passes that seizures of smuggled cigdfs are not made. A short time ago 15 000 oigarn were found in one of the bred-tubs of a Hav&una steamer, where they had been Silaeed by the cook and covered with lough. They had l»een fouhd under the boilers, hidden away under masses of coal In the coal-bunkers, and covered with a bulky cargo. A small shed or wooden bin, was found in a coal-bunker not long ago, and in this was 10,000 cigars, packed in a small compass. If too closely watched by the inspectors, the crew will take back the cigars and take their chances of smuggling them ashore on a subseauejjt voyage. Bay oil, whieh pays a tuy of $0 cents per ounce, is also a favorite article for sipypplbig. The dtuy is almost prohibitory, and pyeq

if a small amount cn lie brought in undetected, it pays handsomely. It is put up Jn 22 ounce bottles, and those can be iutiulify stowed away and taken ashore at any tjpje. ftmqggiipg is not confined to this end of the of the route, however. The Spanish authorities impose a duty of $8 per pound on opium, and the means adopted to evade tile custom officer* at Havauna are very ingenious. Hmall quantities in tin boxes are packed in tubs and barrels of butter. JL'ans of opium are packed in large rolls of wall paper, which is duty free. They are hiflffch j?» barrels of potatoes, and in other artipb* p’l)ere they are likely to escape detection. * w . . >• I)ayi,d 8, Mauch attempted tp murder his wife at Washington, Ind. Stealing upon hejr in thp night with an axe, ha mangled her in •$ Terrible manner, and then fied, supposing ha had killed her. Sin; lay for weeks her twixt life and death, but finally re* covered, t though in a frightful dU-r figured condition. The husband was not found by the apathetic officials. A few days ago Mrs. Mauch quietly set out to Join nim somewhere in the far West. “Dave was always fond of me."’she said, “£nd I dou r t believe he really meant ’to lake my life. Anyhow, I can’t live away TWm'him.f,’