The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-11-29

swindlers started for the car door, but
the old man was on his feet in a second,
and with a blow from his cane on the
head of the old friend of his son brought
him to his knees in the aisle The other
man was stopped by passengers. They
were both taken into the baggage-car
and bound to beam. When the train
reached the swamp wilderness of North
ern Indiana they were dropped from
the train. don't know how they ever
got away from there, but two years
later a man who was playing cards with
three others in an Erie smoking-car near
Hofnellsville was pointed out to me by
a brakeman as Rush Wakeman, who
had just won one thousand dollars on
one hand from the other players.
recognized in him the friend of the
Valparaiso old gentleman's son. By the
| way, the old man was one Of the best
known stockholders of Chicago, and in
valise he had under his seat that day
he had over fifteen thousand dollars. "
''The flush time of railway confidence
men and gamblers was during and for
a few years after the war" said trunk
| line conductor. money was plenty
! bAlNil, iIiOl ais NtlC IhllCl ldA3 anu all
way men did not seem to think it part
of their duty to stand guard over the
| property of credulous travellers, or those
whose cupidity ran away with theirrea-
son. Besides Rush Wakeman-or Billy
Porter, as the boys called him-there
were many other bright operators who
were kings in their line. l remember
'Bunky' Silver and his chum Big Jer-
sey, John Baily, and a man known as
Red Shirt. Big Jersey and Red
| Shirt were the bosses of the three-card-
monte men, and were marvelouslv ex-
| pert at tricks with cards. Red Shirt
was product of life among the Penn
| sylyania coal mines, and when not en-
gagged in working railway trains he
made things expensive for the rural Wis
| inator of the brilliant idea in cards
known as the 'tissue-paper racket His
| favorite role was that of man bored to
death with the monOtony of riding on a
railroad, who was anxious to find con-
genial partners for a social game of
euchre. In those days the newsbov
with his cards and lap-board to hire to
passengers had not made his appear
ance on our railroads, and card playing
to pass the time was comparatively a
new thing. Red Shirt, who would
readily have been taken for the
easy-going son of a wealthy farmer,
oyerburdened with both time and
money, always had a dainty, brand
new pack of cards in his valise,
and he seldom had to wait long to get
up game, and he rarely failed to man
age to select players who had blood in
them. The game of euchre seldom
progressed far before Red Shirt would
say, in careless off-hand way, and APP
parently speaking more to himself than
to any one else:
"'By Jove this'd be beauty of
hand in game of draw
whenever Red Shirt reached that
stage of the game you could make
pretty big bets that his hand wasn't the
only one around the board that would
be beauty in a game of draw, and
that other hand never failed in being
four aces, cold. The man who held
that hand never failed to be just game
enough to remark that his hand doomed
up pretty fair for poker hand, too.
1HCu IbCI ClllIL nOIllNu SAY
more about it, but make out as if he
was about to proceed with the euchre
game. For a man with four aces in
his hand, who has had the value of
hands as regards poker suggested to
him, is not a true-born American citi-
zen if he sacrifices it at euchre, and no
body knew this fact better than Red
Shirt. The man with the four aces
would invariably propose that they test
the value of the two hands in the usual
way. Red Shirt would at first prefer
not to bet, but finally would back his
hand. The other man would raise him,
of course. And so it would 90, back
and forth, until it suited Red Shirt to
bring the matter to a close when he
would call his opponent.
-Four aces!' that lucky person would
say.
'Whatn Red Shirt would exclaim,
excitedly. Let's see emf
"The man would throw his cards
down. Red Shirt, picking them up,
would run them over quickly, and then
rubbing his thumb on one of the ace
cards would shave off covering that
revealed two more spots, making it a
tray spot.
"'Look here, my friend he would
say, Indignantly, 4 thought / was play
ing with gentlemen. You can't run
in any of your Chicago tricks on met
"Then he would throw down hand
that always beat three of kind, and
before the others recovered from their
establishment the money would be in his
possession, and he would make break
for the car door. He never failed to
time his play with the movements of the
train, and when the climax came tho
cars would be slowing up for a station.
1t was no trick at all for him to get off
a train moving fifteen or twenty miles
an hour, and he never got caught but
once that know of. Then he was fol-
lowed close by his victim, and they both
got off the train together. Red Shirt
was given most beautiful trouncing,
but the man did not get his money
about five. hundred dollars. 1t hap
pened that as Red Shirt was hurrying
out of the car he met John Baily on the
platform coming in, and quick as a flash
he passed the money, all crumpled up
in wad in his hand, to John. Red
Shirt made thousands of dollars during
ii, noroo,. hat bo J;oJ 4, "a Donn.,,1,,o,;n