The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-11-14
ARTFUL DODGERS.
Stories of the shrewdness of Many Indi-
viduals.

collins have encased stolen plate instead
OF cOrpses, and of particular race horses
painted to resemble certain others, and
sent on long journeys, in order that in
tending hackers might be misled, we
cannot, as nation, dispute the palm of
trickery, mental or manipulatiYe, with
some of the oriental races, whose merit
Undoubtedly raises them to that bad
eminence. Possibly, in the special
branch of horse stealing, the South
American Indian might receive an equal
certificate of proficiency with the Arab;
but as bold and expert general thieves,
the Hlndus and Chinese stand unriYaled.
A Chinaman has been known to seize a
mans finger and cut it clean off in the
midst of a crowd, to obtain possession
of a ring, and escape detection. This
immunity Is due perhaps to the great
resemblance which the faces of a Chi
nese mob bear to one another in Euro
pean eyes. rendering individuals aDsO-
lutely indisJinguishable at first, as well
as to an ingenious artifice for disgus-
ing broad bladed knife in the semb-
lance of closed fan, suchiasal Chinese
carry, Hlndus will swim or float eau
tlOusly along the river at dusk with an
old basket or empty gOurd over the head,
whirling and tWirling laZily with every
eddy, and Drawing the cTOcOdiles, to gain
an entrance to the bungalow they desire
to plunder under the very nose of its
proprietor. The writer once saw a
cOOlie immigrant in Guiana, a field
hand on one of the sugar plantations,
towing "A log of wood along one Of the
muddy canals or trenches which inter
sect the cane pieces. He passed the
manager on the path. salaamed COM
p0sedly, and was plOdding quietly on
toward the village, when the rope hitch
ed stake on the bank, causing the log
to tilt up, and disclosed the fact that it
was ballasted with something under
meath. Something" proved to be
coffee pot and various other silver uten-
sils which had been purlOined from the
breakfast table laid in the veranda of
the house to await our return. In a few
hours the whole would doubtless have
been converted into bangles, anklets and
for the poor Indians untutOr-
ed mind is just as keenly alive to the
which attend the develop
ment of specie unlawfully acquired as
that of Mr. Fagin or any other me,rOpO-
Titan ''fence,"
Two natives entered the emporium of
a MOhammedan dealer in one Of the Cal
cutta bazaTs and purchased valuable
shawl. They hesitated to pay for it, as
it did not appear convenient for them to
VAL y ~ away lu1A buthY ullb Illf uttltI,
an ayariciOus old scOnudrel, fearful of
losing his bargain, persuaded them to
part with the money and leave the shawl
by giving them a receipt for the amount,
which was duly witnessed by one of the
police. Scarcely had the buyer departed
when an English sailor came in, reck-
less, spendthrift. fOTcible in expression,
three parts drunk, and otherwise char
acteristic of Jack ashore. The follower
of the prophet spoke little Ingleesh, as
he spoke and did everything else which
tended to the transfeTence of rupees or
annas from other pockets to his own,
and was not long in finding out that
Jack wanted something to take home as
a present to blue-eyed Susan. UnfOr-
the faithful mariners rowing
eye alighted on the shawl which had
just been sold, and with the Obstinacy
peculiar to his class and condition he
insisted on having that and no other.
In vain the merchant told him it was
sold. Very we'll, he would walk down
the bazar and try elsewhere. An eXhOr-
bitant sum was named as the price.
Jack did not care; he had plenty of
1t would cost double that, he
was told, to get it back from those to
whom it now belonged. Jack was will
ing to pay for all. There is no doubt
that the MOslem's conscience would
have allowed him to sell the shawl
readily enough, but the purchasers had
his receipt, and even though ne return
ed the money, the transaction might
bring him under the strong arm of the
law, for which he entertained an eXag-
gerated respect. Unwilling to lose the
chance of so much profit, he bade the
sailor return at a certain hour, telling
him he should then have the garment he
so greatly coveted.
1t was Just as he feared. When the
dUsky customers arrived they refused to
accept their money back again, flourish
ed the receipt, and threatened to appeal
to the judge if their property were not
at once handed over to them. A small
bribe offered as an inducement to them
to fOTegO their bargain, had to be in
creased to a large one before it produced
any effect, and when one WaVeTed his
companion held firm. At last the dOu-
ceur was considerable enough to satisfy
both, and was handed over to them in
addition to their original purchase
money. The receipt was torn up, and
the merchant found himself 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 eXtFaVagant sea-
man, and was just in time TO see that
ingenious son of Neptune, as sober az
a lord chief justice, dividing the pro-
ceeds of the little dodge with his two
LascaT shipmates at the end Of a narrow
street.
A singular accident occurred during
the time of the gTeatsexhibitiOn of 1851,
which affords = curious converse to the
principle, or want of principle, Of artful
dodgers in general. A we'll known bar
Tister, still living, who was present in
one of the thrOngs that attended the
opening days at the building, felt a
fumbling in the region of his watch
pocket, and, looking down saw a mans
hand swiftly retreating. He made a
snatch at the wrist, but the thief eluded
his grasp, dropped the watch, and made
good his escape. The barrister cOntriyed
to pick up the time-piece before it was
tTOdden under foot, when, to his aston
ishment, he recognized at glance, al
though the face was shattered by the
fall, that il was not his own which,
indeed was repOsing safe and uninjured
in his waistcOat pocket, all the uimel
He at once proclaimed his discovery, as
it was obvious that the loss must have
been incurred by one of his immediate
bystanders; but in spite of the full pub
licity which the police advertisements
and newspaper reports gave to the mat
ter subsequently, no owner ever estab-