St. Croix avis. [volume], October 07, 1876, Image 1

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. 32te Aarg,
THE “AVIS"
1S PUBLISHED
BVERY WRDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.
m—-—*—
JOLLY OLD SMUGGLERS.
The following are some extracfs from an
arhiele 19 the N. X, ¥ Sun,” headed
< History of the West India Trade and
Smuggling .
« Ngw Haven, July 21.—*There! Try
that. Kegale your nose with its aroma, delight
vaur palate with its flavor, enrapture your soul
with the beaded joy of it, and then say if you
ever drank ram before in your life.”” So spoke
« Unecle Dave” of New Haven, holding under
his nose o glass of dark straw-tinted liquid,
while 2 smile of intensa satisfaction wreathad
Lis Jips and made liis eyes twinkle, A silence
ensued ;s then two veices utterad together,
vAL and two glasses descended simultane
ously, with a faint click, on the marble table.
The old man contined: * You folks down in
New Yourk don’t get any such Sauta Cruz as
that. New Haven is where you have to come
to getit. You drink ‘nigger rum;’ yes, the
first distillation, such as the planters give in
tubfuis to their negroes when the crop season
is over. lUs not quite as new as when the
darkies get it, but the Lord knows it's raw
enough yet, But New Yorkers think it’s good !
Now this is double canned rum. In other
word», it has been rectified and kept under con
ditions to insura its proper maturing for at
least a year, in the planter’s baods, before it
« was etnt tormArket, and that was a good many
years ago, 'lnat rum which you have just
drank has, to my koowladgs, been in Neow
Haven for tweive years. Sach liquor huris
nohody, taken in moderation, eBI have taken
i+ for more than fifiy years, and I'm a pretty
well preserved speciman, I think,”
“ But how does it happen that New Ilaven
e~joys an exclusive privilege to this nectar ?
« It would cost too much for places which
bad to get it through the Custom House.”
¢ Ah! thon this has been smaggled has it?”
«Pyy another glas3 of it and see whether it
tasies o i7 a gauger's stamp bad ever struok
a chill to its heart, I don’t think there ever
has. DBut miod you, I don’t say it was smug
gled. Tdou't know anything about such things.
It stands to reason, though, that good liquor
would be cheapest and commouest in a town
which had for 120 years enjoyed almost a
mouopoly of the trade of the country whence it
comes, when in-bound vessels have to pass
lonely beaclies like those of Napeague harbor,
in the night, and are 8o liable to lose a few
casks overboard now and then, before getting
ia sight of a Custom House officer. Buat if
you hava any curiosity about if, I'll introduce
you to a couple of jolly old fellows wio do
know, and perhaps you can get them to tell
)'Ou.”
The jully old fellowa were found, after a time
wore induccd to become communicative, and
an intercsiing story they had to tell abont
Connecticut’s West Indies trade and the
smuggling that, in early days, constituted no
unimportant featurs of its excitements and
profits.
In the beginning of the West Indies trade it
was rather of the nature of individual specula
tive venture than of organized commercial
enterprisa, Vessels used to clear for ¢ Santa
Croz, St. Thomas, or a market.” Betwaen
1822 and 1825, however, the old Trowbridge
firm introduced aun improved order of things
by the establishment of branch commarcial
houses in Barbadoes and 'L'rinidad. Since
then their system has been extanded by others
until the trade for years has been perfeotly
organized.
'T'ae leading West Indies houses, sinos 1833,
have been in New Haven, and are remembared
as H. Trowbridga Sons, L. W. & P. Armstrong,
T. Towner & Co., Russell & H. O. dotehkiss,
_Smith Tattle & Barnes, and Campbell & Spen
cer. . The latter were principally in the Dema
rara trade, in the Spanish main. Thers were
two Barneses in the firm with Smith Tauttle,
Horace and Harvey Barnes. From 1353 to
1865, *Peck Bros. alsy did a very larga West
Indies business. Thon they failed. It has
saemed Inevitable that howaver solidly estab
lished ‘and oautious firms in this trads have
3 ‘7-":&'-- .-
REDIGERET TRYKT OG UDGIVET AF CHRISTIAN DAHL.
CHRISTIANSTED, LORDAGEN den 7do OCTOBER 1876.
been, and however enormous have been their
profits, their failure was only a question of
time, 'The secret of this i 3 no doubt found in
advarces to planters, and large credits to them,
in material costing tha merchant ready money,
followed by a season of bad erops, which ren
ders the planter unable to pay his debt.
Under the pressura of a single disastrous
season small firms are liable to go down, but
even the largest are forced to feel it keenly
when one erop fiilure follows another. It is
affirmed that if one had a record of Conuecti
cut failures in the West Indies trade, it would
ha at the same time a correct record of the
bad erop years, At present this traffis is in
the hands of H. Trowhridge Sons, L. W. & P,
Armstrong, and . Phipps, who isthe successor
under the old name, however, of the firm of
T. Towner & Co. While New Huavea capital
still controls the trada, vessels are now general
ly eonsigued to New York by the first mention
ed of these three firms, and frequently by tha
other two. Each will probably average the
receipt of one vessel per weelk the year through,
with a eargo of the mean vaiue of about $25,000.
Ram, sugar, and molasses a-e tha principal sta
ples for return eargoes, with Tark’s Island salt
in the off months of summer aud antamn, when
the products of the cane orop are nit in season,
A considerabls amount of cocoa is also brought
from 'rinidad, and captains, as their perqui
gites, with which the owncrs have nothing to do,
often bring from 10,000 to 30.000 Porto Ric)
oranges at a time. I'hese oranges being tha
largest, sweetest, and juiciest, that reach this
country, it wou!d seem that owners might
deem it werth whila to do something with
them, but tipy do not, preferring to stick con
servatively to less perishible classes of mer
¢handise, Tln tamarinds, guava jelly, and many
other delicacies of which ona would naturally
expeet large impertations from tha West Indies
Islands, there is actualiy nothing done, in
what is properly known as this trade, these
things coming only from Cuba.
So much for the legitimata West Indies
trade ; but who shall ever teil in full the story
of the smuzyling which ones furmed so large a
sonre: of revenas to many of the dwellers
along the shores of Connecticut and Long
Island. And that was not so long ago but
that one can get to-day in New Haveu and
Woodbridre, and wvarious other places in the
vicinity, abundanea of liquors which have never
paid duties; not even so long ago but that
qnite young men rem+mber as a recent acquaint
anca the old fisherman who lived down on
Lighthouse Puint, who was supposed to be but
half-witted, and whoss winning a precarious
living from lobsters and olamy, was always
a puzzle to many people; but who was, by
certain persons, known to be one of the deftest
and most cunning * shore men” whoeversaved
a smuggled package, and who strangely dis
appeared suddenly, for the simple reason that
he was rich enough, and chose to go somewnera
else to spend his money.
Going out, the principal smuggling ever
done into the West Indies was in “locofoco”
matches, in 1837. ‘These wera then worth
$2.50 per gross in New Haven, and found
ready sale for $3 per gross to an old negro
who used to eoma off from iha shore, in the
dark, at Santa Cruz. Ouwners issued the
strictest orders against the carrying of matches
by either officers or sailors, but that, said the
forbidden parties, was simply from a design 10
keep all that lacrative branch of smugzling in
their own hands. Orders amounted to nothing
however. Officars and men used to go on board
with matches in their kits, matehes in their hats,
matches in all their pockets aud theirbread bags ;
matshes, in faot, wheraver they coald conceal
them from obsarvation, uatil they almost walk
ed humpbacked with their waight of “locofocu”
matohes. Taen, having mada money by smug
gling one way, they were not slow to talke
chances for doabling thair oapital by keeping
up the practice on their return. Did vessel
owners and West lodia traders themselves
eucourage and practics smagzling? Pbatis a
delicate question to answer,
“ You smaggled oa your own aocount, and
got rich at it, did you not,” askad the reporter
of an old captain, ’
Heo leanad back in his chair and laughed.
Tuen ha swalloved asother ram punch in"an
easy habitaal way, avdveplied : < There are
lots of fakllows ‘about hara, I suppose, Who
could tell you all about smuggling, but I oan’t,
for you sce I never was really into it my
self.”
[lncredulous chorus of “Oh! oh! oh!"
from two old comrades.|
‘Then the old fellow laughed again, and
wiped his eyes, and called for another rum
punch, and went on,
“Well, I'il tell you any way how I've heard
it was carried on. The vessels used to run in
by Montauk Point, managing to get along there
at night and turn into Napeague habour.
Down by what is known as IFresh Pond, and
perhaps also near Abraham’s Landing, there
used to be people on shora who were pretty well
posted about when to expeat friends along that
way, and who kept a sharp look out for them,
A red light would flash from the shore A
white Light would answer from the schooner.
Then a white light from the shore and a red one
fiom the schooner. Perhaps the colors, or their
order might be varied, but it meant the same
thing, that the coast was clear, and all safe.
If all the siguals and exchanges were not given,
it was beeause there was some reason for sus
pecting all was not right, and thero were other
ways of changing the order of the lights end
moviog them 80 as to convey warning messages.
But supposing all was right, the schooner weould
just ehuck overboard what easks or puocheons of
rum Bhe had to leave there, aud, without ever
stopping, beat out of the harbour and keep right
on her course past Gardner’s Island and up to
New Hivou, S)m:timas, they do sy, things
which could aot ba left at Napeagaus hazbor
hava boon cared frr at Gardner's Island.”
«Aadat Savin’s Roek, and Lighthouse Point,
and Sonth End also—~is it not so?”’
“Well, thoso places are protty near home.
We'd botter tallk about some a little farther off.
Yoa mightsay that there was searcely any place
near the shore, in those days, where there wasn’t
a good show for care being taken of things that
happened to full overboard. Why, everybody
around here loved the Government to death, but
I Jon't believe there was a man in all Connec
ticut from whom you cou!dn’t bave hired his ox
team, if ho had oue, to haul smuggled rum to
Oanada for 83 a day.”
“ After the rum was thrown overboard,
what next became of it '’
« People came out In small boats and found
it «for, you know, a cask of rum ean’t sink—
and put it away ocarefully in the sedge, where
it wouldn't attract notica and atiraet
impertinent curiosity, and perhaps get stolen.
Then somebody else would coms along and
find it in the sedge, and convey it away, and
somehew it would get into somae cellar in
town, or perbaps out in the country until it
was wacted, and that's all there was about it."”
« Was theres any other important ‘smuggling
than that in rum 1"
¢ In later years thera used to be something
done in bay oil, from Porto Rico, .on which
there i 3 a duty of about 810 a gallon, but that
stuff was 8o oostly that it involved a goad deal
of risk, It came in bottles and was worthisl a
bottle. Well, you come to sink ten or a dozen
bottles of that stuff, at a given point, with a
rope attached for the tongs to cateh, and ‘then
have some awkward shoemaker of a fellow
granpling for them smash four or five bottles
before ne gets them up, or have the tide smash
them, which is just as bad, and it knocks the
profit out of your speculation.. Besides, even
supposing you get it safe ashors, it’s a ‘mighty
ticklish stuff to handle, it’s 8o expensive, Only
big houses ot manufacturing druggists and such
want it, and they are liable to fight shy of
smuggled staff. It isn't like rum, you ses,
that every sensible person wants. Why, ‘T
know of one case where a captain got one
hundred botiles of bay oil ashore, and sent a
fallow down to New York with a sample to sell
it. The houses he went to not only wouldn’t
touch it, but they*actuallys gave him away, and
the officers tracked him until they found the
whole lot, thres weeks after, in the captain’s
hen-coop and seized it. - Ah! that was‘a loss
«Is smuggling still ocarried omn«in:.this
vioinity §” o eoa 4 e giSe U
“I don’t see any. I have ijag fi;h_‘.t gfithin
five years a schooner cams into thig port taden
with soma of the most -deleious '‘rum “éver
brought from the West Ind(i]es. She got indn.
the dead of night, and any witl;%xre ey. ,'é
aofig‘t&ght‘hfflg’ében a.lé?x%.yloy.‘ ack ggo
with mufled | osrs,and three men fn Aier, /fun
No, 81.