The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-03-04
POKER sHARPs AT SEA.
Fleeing Unsophisticated Travellers on the
Ocean Steamships.


Ocean Steamships.
New York sun
A recent London cablegram In the Suo
said there was revival Of the outcry against
gambling on the Atlantic steamships, and
many letters had been published giving in
stances of passengers being feeced by card
shsrps. 1t was also coDjectured that some
of the professional gamblers, having been
starved out of this city, were plying their
vocation on the steamers. These travelling
sharpers are sometimes called ocean ira nps.
They are not confined to the male sex, and
were crossing aud Iecrossing the Atlantic
before the poker sharps and the brace gamb-
lers were driven out of their favorite dens Ep
town by the police. Two of these sharpe
are slender, bright eyed girls, who are
familiar to &C an travellers in the sum
season. Not long ago the writer saw them
on board fast steamer for one OF their De-
rioolcal round trips, and they appeared very
pleasant to the eye. They were simply yet
richly dressed in becoming travelling suits.
One Of them had an alligator tourists bag
sluDg over her shoulder, and the other, with
ebual grace and archness, carried a pa of
marine glasses. The small snug gray hats
that surmounted their pretty heads of
neatly done-up hair, their close fitting jack
cts and strong yet shapelY shoes all bespoke
experienced travellers. 4 they stood at the
steamers rail watching the busy, jostling
They were not unattended. Looming up in
the background with a bland face was the
male guardian of the pretty pair. AS the
younger men who were going to be their fell
low passengers eyed them with nlconcealed
admiration the gray mustsched chaperone
frowned in manner that was discouraging
to the most aUdacious.
As the reporter gszed al the picture he was
startled by feeling huge red hand upon
his shoulder. and hearing a voice in his ear
that sounded as if it came from the depths
of the sea. 1t said.
well, old man."
Tuning around, the reporter saw the TO-
tund form of the Jolly chief officer of the
steamer, the flagship of the line.
What are you looking at those girls, eh!"
"Yes. l wonder who they are-English
girls going home with papa after doing the
States, | suppose; or, my be, they're Bo ton
bellies abandoning their crude and barbarous
native land. They're pretty girls, anyhow,
and l feel jealons already of that gaunt,
IoUnd-shouldsred dude who is making up to
the jair-haired one in spite Of her fathers
scoWl."
The Jolly officer burst into peal OF laugh.
ter which reached the ears of the beauties at
the Iail. They turned, locke at him, cri "a
somed with resentment a3d hsughtily left
the rail to 90 below or gst out OF the way Of
the officers eyes.
English sxeils or Boston bellies, Ell?
That's your reckoning OF it, is it?" laughed
the jolly tar. why, my dear fellow, you're
sill off. Those are the three cleverest swind-
lers that work the herring pond. l presume
you've heard OF the card sharps and couf-
dence operators who spend their time during
the summer months between New York and
Liverpool fleeing their fellow passengers.
Well, that's the sliokest trio in the business.
I've had EN- twice on this ship, and on the
second voyage they got so deep into the
pockets OF two yourg EDgli;hmen western
bound that the skipper got 'thwart of their
bawse and confined them to their state
room for the rest Of the passage, You see,
they book as g father and two daughters
and as soon as the ships in blue water thew
begin to throw out signals. First one and
then another greenhorn runs alongside and
and makes fast. Then they sound him. II
be is clever or on short allowance they shes
off and let him alone. But il he's what
you Yankees call well fixed, they make
fast to him, first with him, drink 6zZ aud
brandy and soda with him, smoke cigar.
cites with him, and in due time play poker
or nap, or baccarat with him. The poor
dupe thinks they are too, awfully nice for
anything. All the other lady passengers are
below. or of the wind, and he thinks 1t a
charming American characteristic, this free
dom and audacity and good fellowship. The
cover-that's the old sharp-he rlakes a pre-
TENSE OF SuOfI6ulDS SAL OuCS III b WQlte, DuI
it's only blink, my boy. Then the first
thing you know, just as you make the light
chip Mr.. Greenhorn is cleaned out of every
shilling, and may have chucked in half a
dozen checks or promissory notes besides.
They're the hardest class of frauds to
tackle, because no skipper likes to run afoul
of lady passengers. Suppose he should make
q mistake and order a young lady whose
worst fault is that she is little gay, TO keep
10 her stateroom, as be can, under British
Isw2 Why, she might make 1t ss hot as old
Harry for the company; for such an action
would be false imprisonment of the worst
kind.
"My old man took his chances though,
and the dsmsels will give our line a wide
berth when they are operating in future.
Some of the agents have blsckllsted a lot of
the most noted of these rogues, but new ones
appear every now and then, and as long as
there are geese there will be foxes. It seems
almost impossible to keep the poker sharps
of the ocean steamers, but we do our best TO
keep our patrons from being swindled, even