The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-05-30
POKER sAARPS.
The Clever Swlndlers who Seek for Vic'
Tins on Atlantic Steamships.

against gambling on the Atlantic steam
ships, and many letters had been pub
!shed giving instances of passengers
being tleeced by card-sharps. 1t was
also coniectured that some of the pro-
fessional gamblers, having been starved
out of New York City, were plying
their vocation on the steamers. These
travelling sharpers are sometimes called
ocean tramps. They are not confined
to the male sex, and were crossing and
recrossing the Atlantic before the
poker-sharps and the brace gamblers
were driven out of their favorite dens
uptown by the police. Two of these
sharpers are slender, bright-eyed girls,
who are familiar to ocean-travelers in
the summer season. Not long ago the
writer saw them board q fast steamer
for one of their periodical round trips,
and they appeared very pleasant to the
eye. They were simply yet richly
dressed in becoming travelling suits.
One of thenr>had an alligator tourists
bag slung over her shoulder, and tho
other, with equal grace and
archness, carried pair OF
marine glasses. The small,
snug, gray hats that surmounted their
pretty heads of neatly done-up hair,
their close-ftting jackets, and strong,
yet shapely shoes all bespoke exper-
fenced travellers. As they stood at the
steamers rail, watching the busy, jost-
ling crowd they were the cynosure of
all eyes. They were not unattended.
Looming up in the background with
bland face was the male guardian of
the pretty pair. AS the younger men
who were going to be their fellow-pas-
sengers eyed them with ill-concealed
admiration the gray -mustached chaper-
on frowned in manner that was dis
couraging to the most audactous.
AS the reporter gazed at the picture
he was startled by feeling "a 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 manr'
Turning around the reporter saw the
rotund face of the jolly chief officer Of
the steamer, the flagship of the line.
"What, ares you looking at those
girls, eh9"
Eyes. l wonder who they are-En-
glsh girls going home with papa after
doing the States, / suppose; or, may
be, they're Boston bellies abandoning
their crude and barbarous native landp
They re pretty girls, anyhow, and Ifeel
| Jealous already of that gaunt, round
shouldered dude who is making up to
the fair-haired one in spite of her
fathers scowl."
The Jolly officer burst into peal of
augh .er, which reached the ears of the
beauties at the rail. They turned,
looked at him, crmsoned with resent
ment, and haughtily left the rail to go
below or get out of the way of the Of
iicer's eyes.
English swells or Boston bellies, ehP
That's your reckoning of it, is itP''
laughed the jolly tar. "Why, my dear
fellow, you're all off. Those are the
three cleverest swindlers that work the
herring pond. presume you've heard
of the card sharps and confidence OPP
orators who spend their time during the
summer months between New York and
Liverpool fleeing their fellow-passen-
gers. Well, that's the slickest trio in
the business. I've had 'em twice or
this ship, and on the second voyage
they got so deep into the pockets o
two young Englishmen westward bounc
that the skipper got 'thwart of theil
hawse and confined them to their state
room for the rest of the passage. Yol
see, they look as father and two
daughters, and as soon as the ships il
blue water they begin to throw out sig
nails. First one and then another green
horn runs alongside and makes fast
Then they sound him. If he is cleve
or on short allowance they sheer OF
and let HIM alone. But if he's what you
Yankees call well fixed they make fas
to him, flirt with him, drink tizz anC
/. brandy and soda with him, smok
cigarettes with him, and in du
. time play poker, or nap, or baccara
with him. The poor dupe think
they are too awfully nice for anything
All the other lady passengers are be
low, or off the wind, and he thinks it
charming American characteristic, thi
, freedom, and audacity, and good fel
lowship. The cover-that's the oil
sharp-he makes pretense of shorten
ing sail once in awhile, but it's only
blind, my boy. Then the first thin
. you know, just as you make the light
ship, Mr.. Greenhorn is cleaned out {
every shilling, and may have chucke
in half-a-dozen checks or promissor
notes besides.
They're the hardest class of fraud
! to tackle, because no skipper likes
run afoul of lady passengers. SUI
. pose he should make IA mistake and oil
y der Il young lady whose worst fault
- that she is little gay to keep to he
state-room, as he can under the BIRTHS
lawP Why. she might make it as he
l. as old Harry for the company; for sue
y an action would be false imprisonmel
r of the worst kind.
;, "My old man took his chance
o though, and the damsels will give OF
l. line wide berth when they are oper
l. ting in future. Some of the agen
ir have blacklisted lot of the most mott
a. of these rogues, but new ones appe
le every now and then, and as long
there are geese there will be foxes.
seems almost impossible to keep &
Is poker sharps off the ocean steamer
20 but we do our best to keep our patro
5; from being swindled, even at the ri
59 of taboo.ng the wrong person. w
Sun,