Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-11-24
ARTFUL DODGES.
4 Few Stories of the Shrewdness of
Many Individuals.


But though our annals of artfulness
can boast of mourning households where
coffins have encased stolen plate instead
of corpses, and of particular racehorses
painted to resemble certain others, and
sent on long journeys, in order that in
tending hackers might be misled, we can
not, as nation, dispute the palm of
trickery, mental or manipulative, 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 Hindus and Chinese stand unrivaled.
A Chinaman has been known to seize a
mans finger and cut it clean off in the
midst of crowd, to obtain possession of
| ring, and escape detection. This i'm
munity is due perhaps to the great re-
semblance which the faces of Chinese
| mob bear to one another in European
eyes, rendering individuals absolutely
indistingushable at first, as well as to
an ingenious article for Disgusting a
broadbladed knife in the semblance of
| a closed fan, such as all Chinese carry.
Hindus will swim or float cautiously
along a river at dusk with an old basket
or empty gourd over the head, whirling
and twirling lazily with every eddy, and
Drawing the crocodiles, to gain an entree
to the bungalow they desire to plunder
| under the very nose of its proprietor.
The writer once saw coolie immigrant
in Guiana, field-hand on one of the
| sugar plantations, towing log of wood
along one of the muddy canals or
trenches which intersect the cane-pieces.
He passed the manager on the path,
salaamed composedly, and was plodding
quietly on toward the village, when the
rope hitched in stake on the bank,
causing the log to tilt up, and disclosing
the sact that it was ballasted with some
thing underneath. "Something" proved
to be a coffee-pot and various other
silver utensils which had been purloined
from the breakfast-table laid in the
veranda of the house to await our return.
In few hours the whole would doubt
less have been converted into bangles,
anklets, and earrings for the poor
Indians untutored mind is just as keen
ly alive to the advantages which attend
the development of specie unlawfully
acquired as that of Mr.. Eagin or any
other metropolitan "fence."
The natives entered the emporium of
a Mohammedan dealer in one of the
Calcutta bazars and purchased a valuable
shawl. They hesitated to pay for it, as
it did not appear convenient for them
to carry it away just then; but the dealer,
an avaricious old scoundrel, fearful of
losing shis 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, spend thrift, forcible 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 transference of
rupees or annals from other pockets
to his own, and was not long in finding
out that Jack wanted something to take
home as a present to black-eyed Susan.
Unfortunately, the faithful mariners
rowing eye alighted on the shawl which
had just been sold, and with the obstin-
acy peculiar to his class and condition
he insisted on having that and no
other. In vain the merchant told him
it was sold. Very well; he would walk
down the bazar and try elsewhere. An
exorbitant sum was named as the price.
Jack did not care; he had plenty of
money. 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 shall read
lily enough; but the purchasers had his
receipt, and even though the returned
the money, the transaction might bring
him under the strong arm of the law,
for which he entertained an exaggerated
respect. Unwilling to lose the chance
of 80 much profit, he bade the sailor
return at 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, fourished
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 forego their bargain, had to be in
creased to large one before it produced
any effect, and when one wavered his
companion held firm. At last the couceur
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 pos
session of the shawl, with fair though
greatly diminished margin left for profit.
He hurried to the door to await the re-
turn of the extravagant seaman; and
was just in time to see that ingenious
son of Naptune, as sober as Lord
Chief Justice, dividing the proceeds of
the little dodge with his two Lascar
shipmates at the end OF the narrow
street.
A singular accident occurred during
the time Of the great exhibition of 1851,
which affords curious converse to the