{"id":"01KG8AKTZV3YHN8RHHW2Q4KD42","cid":"bafkreiagbcn2zrp3ngpjiyhi6ngxnynqajhkkwfadlyqdq4lcenmivqmsa","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":7776,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:14.842Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 4","source_file":"01KG89J1GP71YDJ60P8SRH97MF","start_line":7710,"text":"And without more ado, they emptied the chests right and left; tossed\r\nover the bunks and made a thorough search of the premises; but\r\ndiscovered nothing. The sailors were then given to understand, that\r\nwhile the ship lay in dock, the tobacco must remain in the cabin, under\r\ncustody of the chief mate, who every morning would dole out to them one\r\nplug per head, as a security against their carrying it ashore.\r\n\r\n“Very good,” said the men.\r\n\r\nBut several of them had secret places in the ship, from whence they\r\ndaily drew pound after pound of tobacco, which they smuggled ashore in\r\nthe manner following.\r\n\r\nWhen the crew went to meals, each man carried at least one plug in his\r\npocket; _that_ he had a right to; and as many more were hidden about\r\nhis person as he dared. Among the great crowds pouring out of the\r\ndock-gates at such hours, of course these smugglers stood little chance\r\nof detection; although vigilant looking policemen were always standing\r\nby. And though these _“Charlies”_ might suppose there were tobacco\r\nsmugglers passing; yet to hit the right man among such a throng, would\r\nbe as hard, as to harpoon a speckled porpoise, one of ten thousand\r\ndarting under a ship’s bows.\r\n\r\nOur forecastle was often visited by foreign sailors, who knowing we\r\ncame from America, were anxious to purchase tobacco at a cheap rate;\r\nfor in Liverpool it is about an American penny per pipe-full. Along the\r\ndocks they sell an English pennyworth, put up in a little roll like\r\nconfectioners’ mottoes, with poetical lines, or instructive little\r\nmoral precepts printed in red on the back.\r\n\r\nAmong all the sights of the docks, the noble truck-horses are not the\r\nleast striking to a stranger. They are large and powerful brutes, with\r\nsuch sleek and glossy coats, that they look as if brushed and put on by\r\na valet every morning. They march with a slow and stately step, lifting\r\ntheir ponderous hoofs like royal Siam elephants. Thou shalt not lay\r\nstripes upon these Roman citizens; for their docility is such, they are\r\nguided without rein or lash; they go or come, halt or march on, at a\r\nwhisper. So grave, dignified, gentlemanly, and courteous did these fine\r\ntruck-horses look—so full of calm intelligence and sagacity, that often\r\nI endeavored to get into conversation with them, as they stood in\r\ncontemplative attitudes while their loads were preparing. But all I\r\ncould get from them was the mere recognition of a friendly neigh;\r\nthough I would stake much upon it that, could I have spoken in their\r\nlanguage, I would have derived from them a good deal of valuable\r\ninformation touching the docks, where they passed the whole of their\r\ndignified lives.\r\n\r\nThere are unknown worlds of knowledge in brutes; and whenever you mark\r\na horse, or a dog, with a peculiarly mild, calm, deep-seated eye, be\r\nsure he is an Aristotle or a Kant, tranquilly speculating upon the\r\nmysteries in man. No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs\r\nand horses. They see through us at a glance. And after all, what is a\r\nhorse but a species of four-footed dumb man, in a leathern overall, who\r\nhappens to live upon oats, and toils for his masters, half-requited or\r\nabused, like the biped hewers of wood and drawers of water? But there\r\nis a touch of divinity even in brutes, and a special halo about a\r\nhorse, that should forever exempt him from indignities. As for those\r\nmajestic, magisterial truck-horses of the docks, I would as soon think\r\nof striking a judge on the bench, as to lay violent hand upon their\r\nholy hides.\r\n\r\nIt is wonderful what loads their majesties will condescend to draw. The\r\ntruck is a large square platform, on four low wheels; and upon this the\r\nlumpers pile bale after bale of cotton, as if they were filling a large\r\nwarehouse, and yet a procession of three of these horses will\r\ntranquilly walk away with the whole.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 4"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJS9YSMC19A4WTN12TSZ1","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1GP71YDJ60P8SRH97MF","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKTZCSN1B5FEJZWP4N9YV","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AKVQ80HQ4FBPPY001GH2Z","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:17.403Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:31.601Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}