restrictions on liquor. Liquor could be taken out of St. Pierre and Miquelon and transferred anywhere in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait as long as they stayed outside the twelve-mile limit. (54) Business began with the arrival of spring in late May when the rum- runners became a fixed mark on the horizon. The Nellie J. Banks was a frequent and expected visitor on the north shore. All vessels with liquor on board intended to be sold illegally hovered in the waters at least three miles from the shore. This was because the twelve-mile limit had been reduced to a three-mile limit, put in place to attempt to further curtail the rum running business. Beyond those three miles was out of the government's jurisdiction. Most business, therefore, took place on the high seas. (55) In the game of wits between the authorities and the rumrunners, the latter usually won. Bottles were placed in burlap sacks padded with straw and then hidden in the hold. Anchored outside the three-mile limit, the rumrunners lured government patrols away through various schemes and landed their illegal cargo in one of the many deserted bays. Hilda Lewis , when living at her father's residence in Cable Head East , remembers seeing boats sailing up and down the coast and everybody sensing that "the boat was about to arrive." Hilda recalled one evening in particular, on a very calm evening, her family being able to hear the kegs of rum being unloaded from a boat unto a truck in Maclntyre 's , which was approximately one mile from their home. (56) Lexie MacLean of St. Peters also recalled: The number of police at that time was limited, there were not nearly as many as there are today. There were a lot of local people at it. Some people were caught and some weren't. They used to hide it in the woods until they could haul it away and store it. Many local people stored the liquor, the rum, in their basements, even in the basements of some barns. It was then sold, of course. It was one hundred proof- they diluted it and made a bit of profit. They were dealing with powerful stuff. (57) The hiding places were unique. Theresa Wilson recalled a story of a man who stumbled upon some hidden rum in a most unexpected place: A fellow from Naufrage was walking home from a supper at St. Margaret 's and he dropped into this place to get a drink of water. In those days people had open wells with a box over it, and the bucket would always be hanging on the well. He went to get a drink and discovered a cream can hanging on the well instead of a bucket. He opened the cover thinking he would have a drink of cream, but here it was full of moonshine. They were people you would never expect They must have been selling it to a hotel. (58) 78