The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-05-18

met you last talking one day on some
loan or other business to Snow, the
secretary. How are all your folksT
This ninety mine times out of hun
| dred more than satisfies Smith. In all
probability he has slight acquaint-
anceship and profound awe for Jaggs,
| the local millionaire. Snow he knows
better from having had slight financial
operations with him. As result he is
delighted at being regarded in New
York as the friend of man who has
intimate relations with the Treasury at
Washington and the Stock Exchange
in Wall street. He unbosoms himself
to the bankers nephew, and for a
dreary quarter of an hour tells the in
terminable tale of measles among his
children, pip in the chickens, dry rot
in the potatoes, his daughters engage
meDt to his neighbor's son. and all the
other details of bucolic life.
| THE SPIDER AND THE FLY.
The next step is to further impress
Smith as well as to please him. The
bunco man takes his victim to the bar
of some first class hotel, where mer-
chants, politicians and prominent men
congregate. A popular deluslon is
that it is low saloon or dark grogge,y.
1t never lie, except by the least skilful
Crooks" Up to the bar they go. If
Smith uses intoxicants SO much the
worse for him. As they stand near
the cleaning crystal and silver the
bankers nephew points out the celeb
rites.
| Confidence once gained, the operator
begins the second act of the drama.
This is to take his prey to the place
where one or more colleagues are
lawaiting his arrival, and where the
actual swindle is perpetrated. The
scheme employed in this transaction
varies infinitely. Sometime it is the
Louisiana lottery, sometimes a policJ
shop; it may be the wheel of fortune,
keno, sweat, 'green goods" dice, poker,
euchre, cribbage, whist, roulette, rouge
ct noir, trolling the log" three card
monte, thimble-rigging, "the envelope
game, or heaven knows what not. OF
the men who are swindled not more
than one in five report their less to the
police, and of these no two tell the
same story alike. The common
est trick is for the buncoist to give his
|, colleagues In the office a lottery ticket
J for which he is supposed to have paid
J S25 and to receive $3.50 cash in return.
He counts il methodically while the
victim sympathlzes in delight at his
, friends good fortune. The cashier
} announces that the special weekly
, drawing will be held in fifteen minutes
. and that $500 will, in every prob ability,
. win $4,000 in good money. The
/ stranger accepts or hesitates. Gen
7 orally he has only 5000 or $500 about
? his person. The bunco man comes tc
3 his help. He will take half risk and
= divide the profits. The interest il
a bought, the drawing occurs, and the
b. selections wins nothing or a small sum
But always comes within an ace Of
hitting the capital prize. At this poin
! the victim ''sours," to use a slang
phrase, and Often ''squeals,' to use an
other. Sometimes his credulty is Sc
: great that he continues playing unit
= bankrupt. If when he perceives tha
he is being robbed he shows the whit
feather, he is either beaten or scared
!, into a silent OF hasty fight. In an,
case the victim is quickly disposed of
e peaceably if possibly, forcibly if need
b full.
n ETIQUETTE OF BUNCo.
IS 1t is opposed to the etiquette of bun
It co to rob man by force. 1t is ais
:, much more severely punished by tn
law. An action of this sort COS
= Hungry Joe his liberty and his prestig
o. as the '6rst operator in the land Tn
i intended victim foolshly displayed
:. large roll of bills in his hand to 10
and his partners after having refused
s to venture penny upon any scheme
= Joe, hungrier than usual, snatched tn
e money and ran away, committing rob
g berry instead of the swindling he ha
q contemplated.
d Another odd feature of the art is th
q aversion of the bunco man to remai
n long IN the same place, either ''tl,
!, office" where he does business or tn
Il house or rooms where he resides. /
:. is not from fear of the police, as all o
f nearly all the worthless are known b.
!. face, name and record to the force. S
> constant are the changes that it woul,
|. require large volume to keep thei
e record. 1t might be supposed tina
!. the police would have difficulty in az
v pretending one in case he were want
8 ed for scme offense. The very oppc
site, however, is the fact. They ar
= gregarious ia their habits. Nearl
;. every one knows of the whereabout
of the rest and being aware of the dif
i. fculty of conviction for buncoing ha
no hesitation in giving information a
:, to friend or pal. A second mod
n of placing them arises from their cor
N vivial aud social habits. They are dc
,e barred from good hotels and decer
=. bar rooms on the one side and on tn
other will not pa,ronize low saloon
and cheap groggeries. They therefor
Is frequent those sporting houses where
e. mans character has neither value nc
d. meaning and where their company, o
y account of their extravagance and foil
a is warmly welcomed. These establish
<. ments are not many in number and al
y all familiar to the police.
is VICTIMS OF OPIUM.
e, A third method of locating them
n. based on their singular addiction I
ry the opium habit. They are the be
IN customers to the opium joints an
er since these were prohibited by law, (
le the private opium clubs which are sea
er tered throughout the city. OF the ii,
rt or six hundred affairs of this class it
or fair to assume that thirds are mac
ge up of crooks. 1t is also fair to assan
lg that three. fourths of all the bunco mt
ce are victims of the habit Hungry JC
,h and especially two Insignificant con
id dence operators who have been reco!
at nized by detective sergeants in SUI
I'd places times numberless; Harry Ashto
he the bogus Harry Ashton, "Sheene
ly Doc" John Palmer and Lew Mart
be spend twenty-four hours at stretch