Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1889-01-17
KING OE EuNKQ-NlEN.


Some OF the Successful Ventures of til,
Notorious Henry Westbrook.
Engaging one Of the most successful o
latter-day bunko-mcn III conversation,
Saratoga correspondent Of the ST. Loui!
Globe Democrat asked him what were the re
quistes for successful bunko operation
He replied;
Three things are absolutely needful:
Il. The bunko man must be dressed il
the height of fashion.
so. He must have unboundcd faith in the
creduhty and gullibility of mankind
"3. Hc must be Of gcntcel address and he
must have sublime audacity
1.-The rest is easy. l remember that Hun.
cry joe who was finally sent up by In.
spector Williams, Of New York used tc
boast that he sold gold brick to cx-Sen-
ator Gordon, Of Georgia, and it is really
astonishing the number Of victims a well.
dressed sharper can corral onto III year"
Philadelphia gentleman, who sat on the
piazza OF the hotel, spoke up and said Z"
can believe, sir, all you say, for McColgan,
who so long kept q pool room in Phladel-
phla, was bounced out of $1,000 by young
man who met him in Cincinnati, and played
no mower racket than the old one of being
Mr.. Drexel's nephew"
My handsome acquaintance, who varied
the monotony of his story by visit to the
long bar room, remarked that he didn't
think there was a professional who would
stoop to so small an act as to beat McColgan
out OF $1,000, for a professional bunkocr al
ways struck for higher game" He de-
scrbcd with minuteness the success which
attended a. celebrated crook who called HIM
solf Cyrus Maitland, or Henry Westbrook.
Putting his feet on the piazza, and with a
titty-cent Flora di Cuba between his lips, he
told the story in these words:
"Cyrus Maitland was the discarded son
OF great English manufacturer, who has
twice been a member of Parliament, aud
who supplied his sons luxurious tastes as
long as that was possible. Cyrus was born
with elegant desires, which nothing less
than Rothschild's wealth would CRAFTY.
Crookcdness Of the crookedest kind caused
Cyrus to seek American shores.
g His first field of operations was Cane
May, where he got away with five thou
sand dollar check from q rich Baltmorean,
who was 80 ashamed at being duped by one
OF his own, pretended, townsmcn that he
took care ncvor to tell the tale himself But
the Jersey authorities did not take kindly
to Maitland or to his heather Chinee
games. The police force could not be in
duced to stand in with him. as the saying
goes, and he was glad to get away from the
Cape.
Maitaand's favorito alias was Henry
Westbrook. One cool morning IN carly July
the register Of the Choptank House bore on
IN ~ h,,11 al
the name of Horny Westbrook He brought
letters-they were in good business hand,
for he had written them hlmself-from some
of the leading people in Baltimore. He had
the finest drag, pulled at 2:40 gate on At
lantic avenue by tho finest chestnut colt in
all Atlantic County. For month West
brook devoted himself to the social graces
only, and happy the 'Choptank' maiden that
had the afternoon CALI for drive behind
the housekeeping chestnut
In August wealth and fashion had
poured into the big city by the sea. This
was Westbrook's time. He rode less in the
afternoon. saying he was engaged in hang
ing some valuable pictures his uncle had
sent him from Paris His first victim was
II Baptist deacon, who was accosted by name,
the hotel register Of the Mansion disclosing
his identity. He examined Wcstbrook's
pictures to his sorrow, and Deacon Rogers
first hour with his swell friend cost him
$4,000 in cash and $4,000 in checks, all of
which he paid rather than be brought out as
q 'squealcr' in the public prints.
Still Wcstbrook continued the idol of the
'Choptank' maids and dowagers, and rich
lronmongcr fell into his net and left behind
Fl 900 in cash and check for 5000 The
iron man first took a hand at the game, at
which the groenhorn is first allowed to
win, with dead sure thing that the next
time he puts up cash or check he is sure to
lose. not infrcquent trick of Westbrook's
was to profess to tear up a large check and
accept small one, which always ended in
Mr.. Bunko Mans keeping both checks,
which sooner or later turned up against
the victims bank account, unless the loser
stopped the checks.
'The iron man did not worry over his
II, 900 loss, but the 5000 check struck him
hard, and he telegraphed his bank in Phila-
dclphia, one of the strongest financial in
Stitutions in the city, to stop payment.
This brought the iron monarch's name into
the papers, and Wcstbrook, on the arrival
Of the ten a. NJ. train at Atlantic City, was
named as the somewhat celebrated bunko
sharp of Baltimore and New York The
Choptank' maldens straightway cut him
dead, and the brightest Of the tair bevy of
beauty took an immediate train to Balti-
more.
'But bold as aNumidian lion and, strange
10 say, entirely fearless Of the city author
ties, Westbrook determined to make bold
lash for big game before the city by the sea
got too hot to hold him. At the bathing
lour the quiet but well-dressed gentleman
rom Baltimore addressed Treasurer
dorner, of the p, B. & W. railroad, saying
&c was an old friend of his sons. Tho treas
lrer, grand old man of seventy summers,
vas delighted with the frankness of his
friend, and willingly accom-
panied him to his picture gallery on Allan
nc avenue.
by some subtle alchemy which the
Young often exercise over the old, the
treasurer tried his luck, and went out of
he picture gallery leaving $500 cash in
Nestbrook' $ pocket and check for s. 900
1.-THE trcasurers son got wind of it, stopped
he check, and after d lively lawsuit, IN
which Lawyer Page and Thomas II. Diehl
defended against the check, the bunko men
gave up the fight and gave up the check.
"Maitaland drifted, like so many of his
class, to New York, and falling into bad
,treak of luck, was found one morning at
he Grand Central Hotel with the gas
urned on--and lifes ftful fever was
,ver."
Tho American Flag
1t may not be known to every one that
hero is law regulating the making of the