Page:Senate Reports 1892–’93.djvu/798

{| whether, in his opinion, the sanitary condition of the port, and vessel particularly, is good, fair, a little suspicions, or suspicious and infected, and thus a hint is given to the authorities at the port of arrival, notwithstanding the principal sources of danger to legitimate shipping, and therefore to ports to which they are bound, are sufficiently indicated for all practical purposes. Standing as I do as a kind of sanitary lookout, I can not close this paper, already perhaps tiresome in detail, without referring to a constant source of peril from the introduction of yellow fever into the States of the South, and particularly Florida, infinitely greater than all others put together. I refer to that kind of illicit intercourse which is carried on between the ports of Cuba, principally Havana and Florida, by a class of light-draft, fast-sailing vessels which sail from there in quite large numbers. These have for their ostensible and legitimate business fishing, and they are called viveros or fishing smacks, and while they do quite a fair business in that way, they often do a more paying one in an illegitimate manner by smuggling different articles into the country on whose coasts they hover for both of the above purposes.
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No dirtier or worse smelling vessels probably leave the port of Havana; their inside condition and atmosphere being eminently favorable for the reception and growth of such disease germs as thrive under the influence of heat, moisture, and filth. Laying, as many of them do while here (and that for a long time frequently), at wharves notoriously dangerous, with an under deposit of sewage and fœcal pollutions, and doubtless infection, every opportunity is given the cause of yellow fever to get aboard and render the little craft a vile storehouse of infectious disease. Moreover, there is reason to believe that young men recently arrived from Spain, and totally unacclimated, are at times shipped as some of the crew.

The articles which this class of vessels can smuggle into Floriad and Mexico to the greatest advantage are cigars, aguardiente, or rum, gin, wine, fruit, etc. The inducement to smuggle aguardiente, or rum is very great, as the spirit which costs only 25 or 30 cents a gallon in Havana pays a duty of $2 a gallon in the United States.

The method of doing these two branches of business, viz, fishing and smuggling, is an open secret at Havana, and the fishing fraternity, when they have a little confidence in the person to whom they are talking, say very frankly that it is not a difficult thing at all to smuggle their stuffs into Florida or Mexico, and there is but little danger in it.

These vessels clear, or rather leave port, with a simple permit to go out and fish on the high seas or along the coast. Being small of size and resembling coasters they go out at any time (usually at night), but no one knows when or where bound.

Once outside of the Moro Castle some of them may go and fish in the waters up about Cardenas and Sagna, others to the banks of Yucatan, while a large number, will try to better their fortunes in the waters and inlets of Florida. Some of those for Florida may transfer their goods to confederates among that line of keys which terminates at the Tortugas, while others will go farther up and hover around the coast of the mainland, all the way from Punta Rassa, Charlotte Harbor, up past Tampa, and even on beyond Cedar Keys.

Here they are on the alert, waiting a favorable opportunity to dispose of what they have, either to confederates or make an unlawful incursion into some of the many inlets, bayous, and passes on that coast. Once inside they communicate with the people or settlements they may know, interchange visits and commodities; friends sleep aboard,