Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-02-08
A Pointer.

II wish we could have 4 war with
England or some other big nation that
would make the fur fyP"
$50 do Il"
The speakers were a couple of seedy-
looking fellows, who had come into the
saloon a few minutes previous, Joined
the circle around the stove, and called
for 1.-TWO bootlegs Of beer"
"You'd make a dandy pair Of soldiers,
you would" remarked Il ~bystander in q
%sneering tone Of voice. s.What regi-
ment were you in during the late warp"
ooh, you bet we wasn't in any
regiment. II we had been we wouldn't
be anxious to have another war. No,
sir, we were in the recruiting service.
That pays better than fighting"
''HOw was that?:"
"Say, stranger, just you tell the bar
tender to fill up these 'bootlegs' and I'll
give you a pointer that will be worth a
fortune to you if we ever have another
war"
The "schooners'' were replcnished,
and after the beer had gurgled down mis-
neck the bargainer borrowed a chew OF
tobacco from his entertainer and COM
menced his story.
''Twenty years ago I was a police
man in Buffalo, and Bill, here, was
down ON his luck, and doing nothing,
SO he used to go along with me. One
day | found y Canuck sleeping behind a
lumber pile. and started to run him in.
He was a greenhorn, and when Igave
him the collar was about frightened
out Of his boots. He began to beg to
be let off, and finally said that
if l would let>him 90 he would enlist.
They were paying five hundred dollars
for subs at that time, so I turned the
fellow over to Bill, and he rushed him
in. That was making two hundred and
fifty dollars apiece pretty easy, so Bill
and l concluded to go into the business.
cat first w used to watch around
and when W. found a sucker Bill
would accuse him of something and [
would arrest him and give him his
choice OF going to the workhouse or
enlisting. One day l got hold of the
wrong kind Of a fellow, and he peached
on me to the Captain, so I had to
resign. Then Bill and 1 put I'D the
neatest job you ever heard of. Bill
knew a lot Of slick young fellows, and
we hired four of them, agreeing to give
them half and see them out of trouble,
The first place we struck was Erie,
and subs were bringing seven hundred
dollars there. We took the bows and
rugged them up to look like green
Canucks, and then Bill marched up to
the recruiting office and pocketed two
thousand eight hundred dollars for
them. When it was dark WI took the
BOYS clothes and went out of town a
little ways and waited. There were no
barracks in the country that could hold
those fellows, and before midnight we
were on q train bound for Cleveland.
and the next day the boys enlisted
there. Then we tried Toledo, came I'M
here to Detroit, got one thousand dol
lars apiece here, took in Milwaukee.
Madison, st. Paul, Dcs Moines and
other places, and just coined money.
"When the next war comes. stranger.
you go into the sub business. There's
wealth in it!''
"You don't look as if you were very
well heeled. What became of o
money!"
.Well, you see, Bill got married in
Chicago, and the girl cleaned him out
IN six months and then got a divorce
"And you?'
ooh, went home to Buffalo and ran
for Alderman in a close ward. n-.Detro;I
Free Press.
Lark On toast is a favorite Partisan