Morning journal and courier., 1883-10-10
srtful Dodges.

I But though our annals Of artfuiness caE
 boast of mourning households where cofint l have encased stolen plate instead Of corpses | and of particular race horses painted to re. 1 ssmble certain others, and sent on long jour. l nsys in order tha! intending packers might l be mIsled, we cannot, as a nation, dispute the palm of trickery, mental or manipulative, with some of the Oriental races, whose merit 1 undoubtedly raises them to that bad emi-
 hence. Possibly, in the special branch of horss-stealirg, the South American Indian might receive en equal certificate of prof.
 ctency with the Arab; kut as bold aud expert general thieves, the Hinaus and Chinese stand
 unrivRlled. Chinaman has been known te seize mans finger and cut il clean off in the midst Of crowd, to obtain possession of a ring, and escape detection. This immunity IS due perhaps to the great resemblance which the faces of a Chinese mob bear to one another in European eyes, and rendering in d1Yiduals absolutely indisting oishsble at first, ss well az to an ingenious srtiica for disguis- ing broad -b!Rded knife in the semblance of closed fan, such as all Chinese carry Hin das Will swim Heat tiorIss CT ss dusk with an old basket or empty gourd oyer the head, whIrling and twirling lazily with every eddy, and braving the crocodiles, to gain en entrse to ths bungalow they desiYe to plunder, under ths very nose of it's pro- prietor. The writer once saw coolie immi- grant ia Guiana, fiald-hand on one of the
 
 along one of the muddy canals or trenches which intsrssct She cant. pieces. He passed the manager on the path, salaafne5 composed 1y, and was plodding quietly on toward the village, when the rope kitchsd in s:ska on the bank causing the log to tils up, and dis closing the fact that it was baile4ted with something underneath. Something" proved to ba coffee pot and various other silver utensils which had been purloinea from the breakfast tabls laid in the veranda of the house to await our return. h few hours the whole would doubtless have been con
 ysrtsd into bangles, anklets and earrings; for the poor Indians untutored mind is just as kesnly alive to the advantages which at- tend the development of specie unlawfuIIy acquired as that of MT. Fa2in or any other metropolitan .fence."
 Two natives entered the emporium Of Mohannedan dealer in one of the Calcutta bazaazs and purchased 8 valuable shawl, They hesitated to pay for it, as it did not ap- pear convenient for them to carry 1t away just then; but the dealer, an avaricious old scoundrel fearful of losing his bargain, per suaded them to part with the money and leave the shawl, by giving them receipt for the amount which was duly witnessed by cne of the police. Scarcely had the buyers departed, when an English sailor camo in. reckless, spsndthrift, forcible ia expression, three pcrts drunk, and otherwise charactsris- tic of Jack ashore. Tho follower of tho Prophet spoke little Tngleesh, as he spoke and did everything elss which tended to the transference of rupees or annas from other pockets to his own, and WAS not long in find ing out that Jack wanted something to tako home as a present to black-eyed Susan. Un- fortunately, the faithful mariners royins eye alighted on the shawl which had just besa sold and with the o5stinacy peculiar to his class and condition he insisted on hay ing that and no other. h ysin the merchant l hIyI1i WOE nIA hE 701a11 walk down the bszsar and try elsewhere. An 1 exorbitant sun was named as tho price. Jeok | did not care; he had plenty Of monsy. It l would cost double that, ha WAS told, to get it | back from those to whom it nov belonged | Jack was willing to pay for all. TheTe is no doubt that the Moslem's conscience would | have allowed him to sell the shawl readily | enough; but ths purchasers had his receipt, l and even thougk he returned the money, the | transaction mighj bring him under the strong | arm of the law, for which he entertained an | exaggerated respect. Unwilling to lose the chance of so much profit hs bade the sailor return eE certain hour, telling him he should l then have the garment he so greatly coveted.
 It was just as he feared. When the dusky l customers arrived they refused to accept | their money back again, fourishsd the re- ceipt, and threatened to appeal to the judge if thsir property were not st once handed over to them A small bribe, offered as an 1 inducen,ent to them to forego their bargain, had to be increased to large one before it produced any effect; and when one wavered his conpanion held firm. At last the dou- ceur was considerable enough to satisfy both, and was handed over to shem in addition to their original purchase money. The receipt was torn up, and the merchant found him. self once more in legal possession of the shawl, with fair though greatly diminished margin left for profit. He hurried to the door to await the return Of the extravagant and WIS just in time to see that ingenious son of Neptune, as sober as & lord chief justice, dividing the proceeds of he little dodge with his two Lascar ship mates ct the end of the narrow street
 A singular accident occurred during the ine of the great exhibition of 1851, which sffords 8 curious converse to the principle, or Rant of principle, of ertful dodges in gene. .al A wei1-known barrister, still living Rho was present in one of the throngs that attended the opening days at the building, elt fumbling in the region of his watch pocket, and looking down, saw mans hand Wiftly retrsating He made 8 snatch et the wrist; but the thief eluded his grasp, dropped the watch. and made good his es- ape. The barrister contrived to pick up he timspiece before 1t was trodden under I o0t, when, to his astonishment, he reeog- lized at a glance, although the face WAS hattered by the fall, that 1t was not his own ! which indeed, was reposing safe and unin- urea ID ms "AiS.co0s PVSHos @a sAS tindo 1 Ie at once proclaimed his discovery, and it vas obvious that the loss must have been in- urred by one of the immediate bystanders l : ,ut in spite of the full publicity which the :. ,olice advertisements and newspaper reports ava to the matter subsequently,, no owner : yer established his claim to the watch, I which rests under glass case in the finders ' rawing-roon to this day.
 Meridsn has voted to build new High ( chool building not to cost more than $50,- 2 GO.