The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-10-20
Sharpers on Railway Trains.

- r. +.
while now" said an old Erie Railway
conductor, 'but we've got en- down so
fine that they CAN'T work our trains with
much profit. Ten years ago were the
flush times with our monte men and
confidence operators.
ats funny thing, but it's fact,
e that these swindlers are not experts
from New York and other big cities. as
any one would naturally suppose them
to be, but are natives of the towns
along the road. Waverley, Owego,
Elmira, and Binghamton are the
places from which they usually come,
and think these country sharpers can
discount anything that comes from the
big cities. They presume on their
knowledge of the country and acquaint-
ance with railroad men. They are gen.
orally what we call the best fellows in
the world They don't care for
money, and will go further to do any
one favor than the best Sunday
school superintendent you ever saw.
Once we started a subscription for a
brakeman's family. He was killed at
Susquehanna. and left wife and four
children without cent. had the pa
per at Binghamton, where quite a
number of the boys were, and was talk
ing about it so any one in the room
could hear. A preacher-lookings sort of
afellow was on the platform waiting
for train. He came up to me and
says: i guess I'll help this brake
man'sswife o little.as He wrote down,
Cash, $50. land gave me the money.
Who do you s'pose he was? John Bal
1ox- ho 10, 4
worked train. He's dead now. He
got an even hundred out of a Granger
from Allegheny County on the busted
stock raiser business. The Granger
got on to the swindle at Addison. He
just necked the fellow, showed him
down the aisle of the car to the plat
form. and in the struggle Bailey fell
off. His father was County Judge in
one of the northern counties of Penn
sylvania, and they sent his remains
home.
migrants ten years ago were big
ganef0r the three-card monte men and
Otiier swindlers. 1t was impossible to
watch them because trains were so long.
They could get through with their bust
ness and off the train before we knew
anything was wrong. Big JERSEY
one OF the quietest fellows you ever
saw, was the boss worker of emigrant
trains. He could talk all the languages
there are. His real name was Warren
kirkham. He was native of Balti-
more. but lived nearly all his later life
in Northern Pennsylvania. He always
claimed to be a graduate of Yale Col
lege. He was the originator of very
many of the card tricks with which
sleight- performers amuse their
audiences. He could handle cards with
dexterity that was simply wonderful.
He took over So, 900 from an emiprant
train on the Central road between Au-
burn and Canandaigua in one night.
He was an inveterate faro player. One
night he went into Steve. Bradford s
place, IN Scranton the Majors thew
used to call it-and won $4,000, break
ing the bank and causing Bradford to
leave the place. The same night he
was robbed OF the entire sum in d iloto-
rious resort in Commercial Alley, and
he went to New Mexico He was killed
there in drunken row by the brother
of the brakeman in aid of whose family
john bailey, chum and an occasional
assistant of Kirkham's subscribed Gfty
dollars.
! But the vigilance of the men who
are now running the Erie has about
broken up the three-card monte bust
ness on our cars. We know-pretty well
now who the swindlers are, and we al
ways keep an eye on them. The other
day, TOR the first time in years, one of
them managed to get his work in on
passenger, and got 800 out of him.
lie was spotted, though, by brake
man, and was caught as he was at
tempting to jump off the train at Belvi-
dere. He's in the Steuben County iail
now, and no doubt he will serve the
State for spell.
+. g About the neatest thing any of the
Erie employees ever did in the way of
getting the best of q train sharper was
Poppy Aver scapture of we'll known
expert known as 'Bunky' Silver Sill
yer had been a printer, and could do |
more tricks with cards than any fellow
| ever knew. He hailed from Syracuse,
If ] remember right, and did first
class business on the Central for long
time. Under the old Minot manage.
ment trains on the Erie were rather few |
and TAR between, and finally Silver |
got to working our trains. as the
chances were better for his getting
away with his gains. He got down into |
Cattaraugus County, and one night at |
Ellicottville swindled lawyer out of |
500 by one of his card tricks. 1t was
necessary for him to get out, and he
struck across to Dayton. station on
the Erie road He boarded Poppy
Ayers train, which had big load Of |
Swedes who were going out to Illinois.
The Swedes who emigrated to this
country in those days generally had
money about them. What does Silyerj
do but watch his chance and personate I
an agent of the road. He went through
the cars telling them in their own Ian
guage,a for he could talk it, that it
would be necessary for them to ex-
change their money for American
money. Then emigrants did not Get
their money exchanged in Castle Gar
den. Silver got big pile OF money
and showed off on the emigrants a lot
of queer stuff. When the train arrived
in an out-of-the-way place he gave the
bell rope q jerk, and waited for the