St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-23
HUNGRY JOE BEATEN.
A Farmer from New jersey Dimes
with the BunkO Man and Loses no
Money.
New York Tribune.l

NEW OrR Tribune.
A patriarchal farmer stepped from the
ferry-house at the foot of Liberty street yes
terday with q grip-sack in his hand, and,
stopping in the midst of the mud and the pro-
family of the draymen, gazed open-mouthed
at the long procession of slowly moving
carts and wagons of every description. He
was not lost in wonder long before short,
stout, neatly dressed man with another grip
sack collided with him, and blurted out:
"Hello, Burt, old mani How are your
"M-ny n-a-name isn't B. Burt; it's HARRY
Ma-a-son, and 1 Live in Mid-d-letown,"
stamered the farmer
An apology and the short man disappeared
The farmer continued his way; suffered at
the baggage-boys at the corners; leered long
ingly at the whisky stores, and was about
entering an eating house, when up rushed
tall, fine-looking man with a long, black mus
tache, and, grasping the farmer by the hand,
exclaimed:
"Why, my dear Mr.. Mason, when did you
get in from Middletown9"
"O-o-who are y-you?" demanded the sur
prised farmer.
And then the fine-looking man explained
that he was an intimate friend of Mr.. Robert
son, the vice president of q bank at Red
Bank, and how he met Mr.. Mason at his
friends Office last summer-he thought last
August. The farmer didn't exactly remem-
Der meeting the gentleman, but he knew Mr..
Robertson well, and then conversation fol-
lowed in which the farmer was astonished
with the familiarity of his new acquaintance
with the towns along the New Jersey South
ern. After dinner, which confirmed the init
macy, the farmer was asked If he did not
wish to buy some good Kentucky stock; that
he had friend living in Thirty-second street
who was the agent of one of the large stock
raising farms there, and that he could get a
heavy discount on any purchases. The farmer
bethought him that he had come into town
for that purpose, and acquiesced with con-
siderable earnestness to his new friends sug-
gestion.
The trip up town was made, and the farmer
was ushered into neatly furnished Office,
whose walls were deliberately decorated with
chromos of well-known horses The young
man at the desk welcomed the farmers COM
panion as "Joe, old man." and an exhaustive
conversation ensued in relation to horses.
Letters and so on were shown to the farmer,
and visit was made to a stable in an adj
joining street to see some of the stock. The
farmer saw and coveted, and asked the
young man what he wanted for pair Of
heavy-limbed Normandy horses. The an
swer was one-half, SIUO, down, and the rest
when he got the horses. A return to the
neatly furnished office, and, the terms SEEM
ing satisfactory, Mr.. Mason drew out ten $40
bills; a receipt was given and he turned to
go out, when he saw the young man wink
affectionately at @Joe."
The farmers suspicious were instantly
aroused, and, turning on his heel, he grasped
the money, which was still lying on the desk,
and drew heavy Colts revolver. Clutch
ing "Joe" by the collar, he pushed the muzzle
against his cheek and suffered:
II w-want you to s-sh-ow me d-d-ow-down
stairs. This th-thing is l-l-o-loaded"
"Joe" said nothing, but followed by the
cooked revolver led the way down stairs
Mr.. Mason went last night to police head
quarters and told his story. He was in
formed that "Joe" was known more widely
under the sobriquet Of Hungry joe"