The Arizona champion., 1886-09-11
BEATING THE STARTERS.
Comrades Who Were Too shrswd for the
 Bunco Men.

petar0, tne laCt IS tnat WneH dh hcApctt confidence man puts his tendencies upon "sucker," something unusual comes before he lets go. The En- campment here has furnished few bona-hde exceptions to the rule that are worthy of chronicliny. The low fares and the presence of so vast a number of strangers have, of course, drawn a great number of sharks to San Francisco. This class is distinct from pickpockets and thieves. It IS formed from confidence operators, pure and simple, prepared to fleece the Grand Army of the Republic at anything from bunco to monte. Some of them come from Chicago, some from St. Louis, and there are two or three faces on the street that are familiar to Inspector Byrnes and his detectives at New York. One of the metropolitan "ou,ht" was lamenting his lack of luck to a party of friends in a Kearney street sporting resort last evening.
 'I had been reading up army his- tory for about month," he said, ''and was we'll posted on the leading battles. You see wanted to be able to talk to the veterans, but it turned out that it got me into pretty tight fix. got acquainted with an old fellow yesterday and found out that he had been in the hattie of Gettys- burg. l wanted to draw him into poker game, and to make myself solid sad: Why. I was in that fight, too.'
 "Is that SOP he said. You aint C. A. R. man, are you2
 "'No,' I answered, T don't care to join for private reasons
 " 50 you were at Gettysburg?' the old fellow went on. What division, DOW, did you belong tol'
 'Sickles's.'
 "'Yes. .yes-why,I I belonged to that too. Where were you the night after the first days hghtingI
 "I slept in a barn on Culp's H;ll,' answered, cautiously, for l felt I was getting into deep water.
 "'No!' he exclaimed, 'What kind of looking barn was itp'
 We'll I said at ransom. 'as near as remember it was small, Single-story building, with one side partly blown out
 "'Nol Was there straw-rick Tn it?'
 "I don't know, I said, desperately, T believe there was.
  "'You don't say, he replied; and the manager busiede'
 "'Yes; l think so,
 "'Was there another fellow in there with you1'
 "I think there was, l said, like a blame fool. not knoSing what was coming
 You scoundrel, youI' yelled the old man, "that was me! Give me back my walletl'
 What wallet1'
 "Oh, you know we'll enough! The blasted lhief that slept with me that night stole my wallet and s7oo in greenb-c cks. I've been looking for hlm now for a5 years. thought l knowed you when you come up.
 1t took me some of the hardest talking l ever did in my life to get rid of him Idon't want any more Grand Army in mine,
 Another s,ory is told in the Oregon headquarters. It seems that couple of smooth. faced gentry fastened on io one oi the veterans, and prop osed 10 go out and see the town. He agreed, but before starting ne excused hIms=lf d minute, and stated on com ,ng back that he had left his money wiih friend for sale keeping, and only taken along few dollars. They told. him il was all right if he knew where he could find his friend when he wanted him, He sad he did, and the party started out. The two con fLence men spent about SIo apiece entertaining the victim, and then pro posed that he look up his friend, get. his cash, and play poker.
 "l can't get it from him tonight" said the veteran.
 "Why, l thought you knew where to find him." protested one of the sharps ..
 "So do" said the veteran, "but ii hanosns h.fe ,h. ean,s fr,spd nn