The Opelousas courier., 1883-12-08

A New York CorregpOndens'S Account
of Bovvery Encounter.


Near the Bowery, in Canal street, is
No. 1872, with a groggery in the base
ment, a number of rascals in the grog-
gerry, and a variety of curious wiles In
the rascals. This is a kind of head
quarters for operators known as street
fakirs-prize candy pedlars, three-card
monte men and otl1r petty swindlers.
They are usually On vacation while
here, having returned from trips to
horse races, country fairs and other
occasions of c%oncourse. But when
their money runs out before their
play spell does, they sometimes go to
work close by. Thus circumstanced,n no
doubt, was the low-browed, unshavcn,
greasy-coated chap who to day opened
a black bag on a tripod at the outer
edge of the sidewalk in front of 1872.
He had about two dozen small cubes,
wrapped in white paper like caramels.
He took several IL and 81 dollar
bills from his pocket, making as rich
a display as possible on "a meagre
capital.
81 am going to roll this ere s. note
round this ere block of wood" he
said, suiting his action to the words,
land there it is, all done up neat, and
l holds it atwixt my thumb and fin
GER" which he unquestionabl; did.
"Now keep your eyes on it, for I'm go
ing to fool you. throws it into the
pile of blocks-so-and yer can tell
now which it is.
But we could, for he had dropped it
quite separate from the rest, and SO
slowly that there could be no doubt
about its identity. Then he asked 4
Observation-Disclosures a stool-pigeon Or
not made no difference to the game--to
pick out three of the wrapped blocks.
This was done, and, & course, the Sc
lection included tle one containing the
money. He laid these 10 a row, and
at that point changed the prize for a
blank by deft "palming."
"Now, I'll sell the three for half a
dollar" he said, and ratified along with
~nonsensical argument until "a fool
made the purchase. The crowd laugh
ed at the dupe, when he opened tho
parcels and found no bank note: and
yet it soon provided other purchasers,
and in Is miau,es the rascal had taken
in So. A %policelna,, aauntsred by, but
did not interfere. 4 scowling pal, by
driving off all the boys, prevented the
crowd from reaching undesirable pro
portions. The seventh deal was in
progress. It vas intent.y y atched by
a fellow who was fully = foot taller,
proportionately broader and incompar-
ably brawnier than the gambler. His
character was unmistakable by any
body in the least familiar with New
York ty, es. lie vas a Bowery slug
ger. If not employed to whip o. eject
disturbers in some concert Lall, it was
simply because he has temporarily
given up business 10 go out on q
spree. His condition was palpably
EE 4
that OF an inebristy which. by long
duration rather tina present intensity,
filled him from the toas.ed hair that
stuck through his broken hat to his
toes, that threatened q similar escape
from his muddy shoes. His trousers
pockets were empty, except for. his
hands, judging by the size of those
maulers when he pulled them out, bit
IN exploration of his vest resulted in
the discovery of SO cents. He tender
ed the coin and reached for the three
cubes that the swindler had tempting
ly displayed, but there was a sudden
tendency on the part of that individ-
ual to reform.
mind, / don't say there's 50 in this
he said IN a forced, eve CHASTITY
vein of pleasantly; I'll guarantee you
that there amt" and he winked elab
orately at the slugger, as much as to
say c~onfdentially, between themselves,
that Of course it was only a sucker
that would fool his money away.
The slugger was not to be repelled.
He had made up his mind to play that
game to win. He held his half-dollar
for a second aloft, with a gesture that
made his bieeps distend his coat sleeve
significantly, and then made the silver
ring among the little packets. .YoG
lie" and here m of his personally
words are not q~uotablc:
there's a So rag in one Of 'enl, and
don't you make no mistake. I'm 4
'em, and the moneys right in
He waved his big forefinger
close under the swindler's nose.
This game is for gre,nies." and the
wolf-turned-lamb bleated very mildly.
"This games for me-right now
and I'm awaiting" was the uncom.
promising growl in response; Three for
belief dollar. Toss EN- over"