The Dickinson press., 1888-03-03
GAMES OF THE FAKIPS
SMALL SCHEMES THAT LOOK HON.
EST BUT ARE DECEPTIVE.

NV ~ sssbS wv III 1IIIDOu
and Gr:psac's ~Man-Smug.lcd ShawIs
Which En:rup the I'mwar,-Thc Sailor
and Ills cigars.
Tlcr" are Il Thousand and one ways in
wllrh til" u~nsuslGcting resident ur the hil-
collie visitor in New York may lie relieved
of his mnny without in the least susIacting
that he is Icing dctlaulc,l until the opera
tion has been performed. There are inmu-
mcrahlc schemes daily i'll operation in this
city by which a great and greedy army of
social harpics manages To tax" in uuitca con-
siderable revenue from their practice.
Perhaps the most successful of these little
gamc is that one generally described us '.tho
kid glove racket" The method adopted in
this game is very simple, but is nearly always
successful ltrause it works 81, strongly on the
Imagination and appeals with such peculiar
force To The gulli!.ility which ~rrln,scs in tn"
mi"d of the average man. The gentleman
wiz" plies this interesting game may he met
frequently on Broadway. between Four
tcrnih and ~Twcnty-thir,i streets. and along
tie Huwc,y. He selects II pedestrian WHO
from his appearance may become Il likely
victim. He walks CLOSE beside the man for u
few PAGES when suddenly lie stoops To the
ground and picks up a dark object.
- RING IN rr."
Naturally the curiosity of the prospective
victim is aroused, and llc wants to know
what the Young mm3 has found. ''Pshaw.
It's only IL lil gloHr. d it. cNrlaims that
individual. II, lie makes Il motion as if To
throw j, away. He Restraints himself with a
start and cries: "Thrrcs IL ring in it. hv
gosh. Dust feel it," and the man addressed
fools. willie. surely enough. there it is. Then
Ill" young man draws, out the ring, and,
he ling it at arms lcnsth. rxclaimS with a
t;i i>iic'l smil", ".Ain't shrn beauty. thought
"itl she il. if glitter and size count for any
thing. l., prov" that the ring is valuable
,l.' he offers the glove for inspection, and
this being alwav>"t the best description, nat
urllly ~rHrit'S thu belief tina, Il person wear
in:E such an "xcrllrni glove would naturally
Wear a valuable ring. 81 this time the vic
tim Is III good shay. and the youn- man Of
fcr> T." sell the ring fur -. 1t is too much,
tn nlansaNS.
"rh, we'll, I'm dead broke and Won can
have it for -" NJ this price the Victim
buys. and lie walks away with tn pleasant:
i'm rrSs!"n that be rar,ics ii lar-aiu with
him ia his pocket which cast The y,un. man
wlI">"liit iU-: t~ilrtrrcniS. He$rau i,:rn>hiS
mistake. In; seldom tells others ,f l.,w- ,.eat-
~ liz has ht-n %>NurI-Ni. and coll~s,ueutlN the
young man who works tile lid glove racket
goes along >sroYv!y on the ioai,a wealth.
Any ltr-p" MY" passes along the Rowerv
'in.a,- tic at'ernaol VII, probably noric, a
haas. wA.'. il aa.i III: II season. Wears a high
whit battered kat. :. Einl ~ linen lu>tsr, a
wooden miI.ter around his neck and a re
mar.,ltlv red Hos. He t~..i.,> with linn n
l"lta'lr~ TRIPOD OF stan: and a weather beaten
gri! sack wliiyh lie uninlI> and crrct> at Il
sio: ~ u Canal street. wil,lc there is ALWAYS
Il sr''it tlrvng Of i~ass-i>hv. He glaices
af"tli.'l 10 81" TINT nn hated "copper"" is in
sM..gllt. and then hc is ready for gulgeons.
HIS game is ii modification of the three card
trick. "l' Il still further illustration of the de-
gree t" which the now You see it. now YOU
Gpnt act. may lie carried. He has a hole
about two inches square cut in the partition
dividing i'll two compartments of the grip
sack. and in the outer partition arc four or
five small pn>tcbuald boxes, something like
Those made 1" hold cigarettes.
He picks up one Of tho boxes, and, pulling
out its drawer, shows therein Il five dollar
bill. Then he announces to the crowd which
gathers SO easily on the Bowrrv that he will
ALLOW anybody to draw that lux who can do
so by paving 81 for the privilege. The crowd
is not DESTROYS to try. when suddenly Il tough
young man wearing pea jacket ornamentcd
with great meek peal. buttons, says he will
try. He puts down Il dollar, draws a box,
and 10! it is the one containing the bill.
HE TRIES 1T AGAIN.
II" invests another dollar, draws again, and
again he is successful. The rcd noscd nan
expresses his disapproval of his i'll luck, but
announces that somebody must win. The
young man with the pea jacket says he will
not try again, as he is So in pocket and is
happy, and lie disappears from the scene. Nv
this time several men want to try their hands
ut the drawing-it looks SO simple! The first
one draws aud finds his box contains Il cake
of SOAP. He tries again, with a like result.
Nothing daunted he slaps down another dol
lar for II chance. but fails to get tho box with
the bill.
or course. that particular box is ALWAYS
dropped sliillfllly through the little slot in
the partition. Then other Observers try their
luck, but the result is always the same-thcy
come ont losers. When the crowd is pretty
well worked the red loseAl man gazes down
the street and cries with n start, s'Herp's 9
cop" and suddenly hundlins up his traps he
disappears down Canal street. OF course
there is III coop" in sight, and if any pcrsol
should follow the rcd noscd man he will find
him iii company with the young man will
the pea i;vS"t in Il saloon Il block away.
drinking milk punches while churlliny ovel
their l"rk.
Tho most rnierprisilg and elaborate of al
petty swina!rS is the '%'slnusglcl shawl bust
ness. This l.; really I'M artistic little idea
and I'll" man VIII" practices it deserves to III
called IL Napoleon of finance in his way. II,
dresses in IL uniform similar to that worn h\
stewards "n first class ocean steamships. Hi,
story never fails to make the desired impress
sion om his victims.
He goes around IN tenement houses during
the day while the lords of creation are al
work and h. carries Il parcel which he de
clare' contains Il shawl of rare value which
has hcen snlus:sled from France 1r Timbuc
too or some place far away. Sometimes il
is silk lc offers. hut his makeup and Ill,
plausible story he tells usually get himawur
chaser. In this way the guileless housewife,
buys Il shawl for so which the rascal get.
wholesale ON Catharine street for $40 {,
dozen. To this class of swinllcrs belongs thu
alleged sailor one meets SO frequently along
the river front who sells %''smugglcd' cigar.
at 50 per box of 1O which he purchased OF
Park row Mt Il cent apiece or less.-Ncv
York Press.
Strange and Mysterious Fact.
"A day or two & n lady i'll the West En-
called my attention to Il strange and mys
terious fact in reference to the prevalence o