The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1885-12-26
FLEECiNG THE UNWARY.
Various Schemes Employed by Chicago
Sharpers to Rob ~Countrymen.

Various Schemes Employed by Chicago
sharpers to Rob Countrymen.
"About the most troublesome people
We have to deal WITH" said the big,
handsome policeman at the Union
depot, ''are the transients from the far
West who come down to Chicago with
plenty of money and chock full of rest
lessncss. Most of them have been 50
far away from civilization that they
have not been able to spread them
selves as much as they would like, and
when they get into town they are about
As ungovernable as a drove of wild
steers. Try u best, we can't keep
them out of the hands of the runners
and cappers for the Canal street dens,
and once they leave the depot they are
invariably leeced.
when a runner gets hold of a suck
err he never lets 60 until his victims
last cent is gone. The stranger is gen.
orally first 'steered' against the dice
and allowed to win one game; the
house wins the next, and they saw off. /
Then the petite is 'rung in and the
traveller is done for He may thank
his stars if he gets away with enough
cash to take him back to the prairies.
"The saloon and clearinghouse
keepers are not the only people who
profit by the greenness of our visitors.
Gents furnishing stores, retail clothing
and shoe dealers and ticket scalpers,
all have their agents out looking for
the unwary, who are roped in and sold
shoddy goods at the most e%xorbitant
prices. One expressman is known to
make from five dollars to TWENTY-FIVE
dollars a day in commissions on goods
sold by an apparently reputable house
to the emigrants he escorts from the
train. The worst of it all is that we
can seldom make a clear case against
any OF these fellows. They are always
careful to cover their tracks and to rob
people who will not be able to stay ia
the city long enough to prosecute.
Now and then we get a party who il
willing to 60 to court against them, but
when the case comes up for hearing his
evidence is nor than counterbalanced
by the testimony of a horde of wit.
nesses who swear the money changed
hands in a legitimate way.
"Only this morning a very stylish
young man arrived here from the East
with his grandparents. The boy left
the old people, to take a look around
he said, and the next l saw of him he
was drunk and a notorious thief had
him in tow. l Swallowed the pair and
caught the crook in the act Of relieving |
the young man of his valuables. |
kicked the crook and restored the
prodigal to his grandpapa.
Another and a much sadder case
came to my notice to-day. A young
couple from Pennsylvania, on their
way to the northwest, arrived here last
night with just thirty dollars in money
in their possession. They rented a
room in a Madison street hotel, and
when they woke up this morning their
money was gone. They have through
tickets to St. Paul, but they have no
living in that city and Heaven
knows what they will do when they
get there.
Confidence men, bunco steerers
and sneak-thieves do not bother US
much. They used to swarm around
here and we tried arresting them for
awhile. That didn't work, so we re.
solved upon another scheme. Now,
when one of these smooth gents shows
Up my partner and / just collar him
md take him into a quiet place, where
We pound him until he thinks honesty
$ really the best policy, after ALL
NeUs.