The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1889-02-21
WAYS THAT ARE DARK.
Giving Away Dice Boxes-why the Cards
Were "Sacrificed

Giving Away Dice Boxes-Why the Cards
Were Sacrificed"
A dapper looking young man dropped
In at a Dearborn street resort one day
not long ago and inquired for the pro-
! prietOr. When informed by the white
aproned young man who caters to the
thirst of the customers in the absence of
the proprietor :hat the latter was not in,
the dapper young man unwrapped
a package which he carried and pro-
duced O new dice box Containing the
regulation five dice. He stated that he
represented certain patent medicine,
the proprietors Of which thought of Civ
ing out these dice boxes as an advertise
ment, and, if he succeeded in placing
enough of them to make it an object, he
would come around later and stencil an
advertisement on the boxes. He begged
permission to leave that one for the pro-
prietor, with his compliments, and, as
| the dice boxes in use We're somewhat
shabby, the white aproned man gladly
| accepted the new one and thanked the
dapper youth. When the proprietor
turned up little later he was pleased
with the gift and threw away the old
| boxes.
On the following afternoon a party of
well dressed mon entered the place,
called for the dice box, and proceeded to
shake for the drinks. After two or three
rounds the men began to shake for ''a
quarter corner" and then 81. The pro-
prietor. who was behind the bar, noticed
| that the big man who proposed the slak-
ing for money was the heaviest winner,
and, in the course of tho afternoon, one
OF the proprietor's friends, who had gone
| into the game, lost 800, the bulk of which
| went to the big man. There was some
| thing peculiar in the way in which he
handled the box, and, after he left, the
proprietor examined it carefully.
While he was thus engaged an old
| friend of his, who had for years travelled
with circus, came in. He knows all of
the tricks with dice, and, when asked if
there was anything wrong with this. par
ticular outfit, he picked it up, looked at
it, and then said: Eyes. it's what is
called California smooth box, and in
practiced hands it is a sure thing. You
notice that the inside of the box is as
| smooth as glass and that the dice are per-
feet cubes, with square corners. The
| man who understands it can shake two
pair ON the square, and when he picks
up the odd die he can slide it into the box
| with the desired spots on the upper face,
shake it up and down carefully, and the
same spots will slide out and fill the hand
like this" and the circus man demon
strated the idea. The proprietor readily
saw that the box had been planted"
there by the big fellows confederate the
alleged patent medicine man, and he now
retains it as curiosity, but allows no
one to shake with it.
Some months ago this proprietor was
deceived in another way. 1t was Just
after Mayor Roche's edict against sam
bling had gone forth and the sports had
begun to realize that wide open gam Bling
was done for for the time being. and
were beginning to seek fresh ficl;!f; and
pastures new if they could muster the
price of railroad ticket. Cnc day q
certain well known sport dropped il at
this same place and quietly iGilC!3,cd the
proprietor that he was HUNGRY, had no
money to buy a meal, and his sole assets
consisted of three I;lc'-s Of cards, which
he had saved from the clutches Of the
police at the ic3t "puil." He offered to
sacrifice them for twenty-five cents per
pack, and, as the c-oTr:etor's customer
often INDUCED in a little game in the
| back room, and he was out Of cards just
then, he bought them, and the sport
withdrew with seventy-tive cents.
ABOUT TWO VI liICS udyS ldteI III came
q party of young fellows, who had few
| drinks and then asked the privilege of
| inducing in small game. They were
furnished with one of the three packs of
| cards and went into the room. When
the proprietor went into the room few
minutes later to take the partys order he
noticed that the greater part of the chips
and cards had accumulated in front of
sport whom he knew to be friend of
the fellow who sold him the cards, and
! when he went out he examined the backs
of tho other two packs, and found them
marked ingeniously. He invented an
excuse to break up the game, and then
he burned the cards. Just now he is
wondering if his eye teeth are through
| vet-Cbicago Herald.