The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1879-10-29

} posed TO fresh peril from the
handsome gentleman at his side.
The parsonage will remark, after
; some conversation, about business
prospects at Oshkosh "By the
way, | just remember that I've
got circular from firm there
informing me that I've drawn a
prize in lottery. Now, | don't
believe in such things, but as I've
got the ticket and the notice with
me, suppose we go around and
just see how much l have drawn"
The country merchant accom-
panies his new made acquaintance
to a dingy room, and the money
-generally bogus, by the way
is paid over. A suggestion is
made that a further investment
| be made. The two are then con-
Quoted into back room, and the
first thing the countryman knows
his avarice gets the best Of his
produce, and he finds himself bet-
ting at tskin faro" or losing his
$50 or 500 at "bunko." BE has
simply been duped through the
assistance of his new friend, who
is one of those side-shoots from
the confidence tree-"a bunko
sharper"
The lower order Of confidence
sharpers arc to be found around
some Of the railroad depots where
they victimize newly-arriVed rus
tics by the freigbt-bill dodge. Hav-
ing seized upon a countryman,
sharper No. takes him up the
street to show him a purchase he
has made. A confederate appears
and demands his money for haul
ing the goods to the freight de-
pot, No. protests that he hasn't
it, and produces a handful of what
looks to the inexperienced coun-
tryman like gold coin. The" e"freight-
man" viii! not take that, and the
countryman is appealed to and
hands over his cash and receives
the coin-which is bogus, by the
way-and known to the initiated
as spiel marks. The sharper dis
appears on the promise to be back
in a few moments to redeem the
coin, and the countryman is left
tc discover that be is sWindled.
When he complains at the depot
he is taken to the central station,
looks over the album Of rogues
there, finds the likeness Of the
man who has duped him, and, af-
ter several weeks, has the pleas
ure of appearing against him,
amid the grins of the central audi
ence, detectives, reporters, etc.,
none approaching the joke better
apparently than the prisoner him
self-illustrating the truism that
"the pleasure is as great in being
cheated as to cheat |"
In April, 1876, a woman named
Mrs. Elizabeth Dash, an ill-favor-
ed creature, conducted successful
ly q short, but very remuneratlve
career as a confidence operator
among people uptown. She re-
presented to some of her victims
that she was a German baroness
and had drawn the capital prize
in the Havana lottery. TO some
she put the amount at $4,000,
and to one gudgcon she expanded
it into sS5,OO0! She said it was
necessary to engage q lawyer to
secure her prize, and she offered
her dupes a heavy share in her
good fortune if they would advance
her the necessary funds. One la
dy she promised $1,000 as bo-
nus for a loan of $500. The cum
nlng adventures appeared to have
selected the race of small shop
keepers, for her victims, and ap-
pealed to their cupidity by the ex-
pectatlOhs OF usurlous returns lor
their loans. There were five COM
plants against her out Of a host
who we're too ashamed of being
overreached to appear against her'
AS it was, it appears that Mrs.
Dash had realized nearly $1,000
from her shrewd scheme. She
passed some time in prison.
Several years ago an uneducated
woman, of offorbidding countenance,
CLEANED quite pile of money by
the story that her uncle had died
in Germany leaving her large
| fortune. She confined her bland
ishments to the male sex and bor-
| ,ouad the money on the DretenSe