Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1874-09-24
the Chicago Inter-Occan, August ~.
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From the Chicago Inter-Occan, August 29.
''wHAT Is BUNKO:'
Is a question more frequently aske,! than
answered. One hears great deal about this
notorious game of bunkO. 1t would seem to
living by it Detectives shake their wise
heads about it; newspaper men wink and say
they know more than they can tell about it,
an, strangers from the country look rueful
and say they know altogether too much about
it.
Stranger from the country, did you ever
observe after reg gistering your name at the
hotel, that IN affable young man comes up
and asks after the health of your wife and
children: Or if you never registered your
name have you not been accOsted as Jones
by some one who saw you wandering aimless
around the streets: And when you told him
your name was not Jones, but Thompson,
and he apolosized and went away, has it not
happened that another man met you block
further down and checrily hailed you rs
Thompson and so took you in? These are
the fellows. stranger. Take particular care
of them. These are what they call rOpers-in
or, if you prefer technical phrases, they are
the
sTEEREEe,
And if you don't keep a sharp look out for
them they will he very sure to fleece you out
of all you possess. Above all, beware of Il
man who breaches the ubjcct of lottery tick
cts, for here is the very key to the whole bun
ko game.
The ''Stcerer makes your acquaintance
and probably throws you off your guard by
inviting You to take smile. lou do so, being
a stranger. and yon feel rcassured So does
he. Then the conversation proceeds in this
way
Il have lottery ticket here, says Stcercr,
land 1t seems have drawn !: pviZc. Would
you mind stepping down to the office with
me for Il minute to see about it,
with pleasure, says the stranger.
Away they go to IL handsomely furnished
business office ON the second floor, where sits
!, man immersed in ledgcrs and busy casting
up accounts. There is nothing suspicious
about it.. Says the ''stcercr'' to the business
man: IL have Il ticket here which has drawn
aprizc.
''les, sir; pray wha, is the number
cit is No. 1856.
Down came five or six ponderous ledgcrs
correctly indcXed, and the gentleman pores
statement.
Correct, sir. says he, 'this ticket entities
you to $3.50. Here's the money (psys money!,
and the balance, from which We deduct q
percentage for the Foundlings Home, enti-
ties you to another throw for 4 prize"
Here IL table comes into view on which are
certain mysterious numbers and stars, and
box of dice is produced.
The rOper-in proceeds to throw, and the re-
suli is u stand-cff, so that hc is presently
called upon to ante again. He keeps ON
throwing, and at every throw there was
double up Finally the stranger is invited
to throw just to
CHANGE TIE TRICK.
a, it were, and the stcerer wins and the money
is paid.
f}y this time our unsrspecting stranger
thinks it would be good thing to shake the
dice a little on his own account, and so he
puts up his money. He continues to put up
his money until there is Il respectable pile of
it, and then the luck changes, and the stranger
goes away looking rather blue. And this is
all there is to the game of bunkO. 1t is as
easy as lying. 'Tis an exceedingly simple
trick. and yet hundreds of honest fellows,
who ought to know better, have been sold by
it, and are sold by it every week. There are
hundreds of ways of playing it. OF which the
above is given merely ss sample. 1t can be
done by three-card monte or black and white
or any of the devices known to the profess
sional gambler.
The outside manipulation who watches the
hotels and lays in wait around the streets is
the principal actor in the little game, and he
receives fair percentage of the receipts.
They call it bunko because it is dead sure
thing" in favor of the operators and against
the dupe.