OCR Text |
Show AN UNSTABLE BOUNDARY LINE. now Some Galletots Tillers or tho Boll Morn It. "You have heard of smuggling, I presume," pre-sume," remarked a ffiicst nt ono of tho hotels (o a Covclnnd Leader man. "Well," ho contlnuod, "I ran against tbe most stupendous nehemo iu that HlJllUiuiLimirliirrrlirnnlnf Yfi aro doubtless nwaro that ordinary everyday smugglers nro content to transport thctr goods over tho lino from one country to another, tho ob-Joot ob-Joot being, of course, to ovado tho payment pay-ment of tho customs duties. Tho people peo-ple with whom I carao in contact were superior to such common methods, which might do for low pirates and outlawed brigands but not for a lire, wlde-nvrako Ynnlteo, nnd especially n Canadian Yankee. They didn't move the goods. They moved tho line. "Up In tbe farthest easterly part of Maine there comes ft placo where Maine stops nnd Now llrunswlck bo-dins. bo-dins. Tht U the boundary lino bo-twben bo-twben tho twq countries. That is nlso whoTO tho Canadian Yankees spokcu of harp their homes. They nro naturally natur-ally glyoD) to farming, boroo of theso people, and oven if McKlnley did put a duty OH (froln, poultry and other things It didn't make nny dlffcronco with aoaio of tho sturdy yocinun who llvo alongside tho lino. Tho publication of tho nows of tho passage of tho tariif bill didn't cause them a momont'B uneasiness. un-easiness. , .... 'They simply went on raising their Canadian wheat and their Canadian onts. At tho tamo time thoy kept their oyes on tho boundary lino what thoy could see of it. Tho visible portion of this remarkable boundary consisted of upright iron posts, sot nt intervals of ono mllo through tho land. Not being ' .clinched on tho other eldo of tho earth, those posts nro responsive to Influence placed on them on tho Cnnudiau sldo. In other words, thoy can bo taken up nnd ratio t.. "About the tlmo tbeso upright and honest formers over tho lino havo their crops In condition to harvestrn, peculiar thing happens. Some dark night a half dozen of thorn go 'coon-hunting, and when they return to tholr Ore-sides Ore-sides they nro on American toil, thoy nnd tlrelr grounds nnd with them tho crops. Tho boundary Uuo has moved nnd is located half-mile or so farther toward tho Arctic ocean. Theso r;uie-lose r;uie-lose tillers of tho boil thon dispose of their produots nt United States prices, nnd sotno tlmo durlnp; tho winter, in tome unknown manner, tho boundary lino takes n backward lonp, lenvlnir tbam again on Canadian soil." |