Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-02-14
FORTUNES pEoEIrrUL WHEEL.
Inside Working of the Louisiana Lottery
When q Drawing Takes Place.

Chicago tribune.
A visitor recently from New Orleans,
who has witnessed the drawings of the
Louisiana Lottery, gives the following
description of the manner in which the
drawings are conducted, which may be
of special interest to the gudgeons of
| Chicago who patronize the bunco con-
| Germ:
The monthly drawing is held in the
Academy of Music. 1t begins at II
o'clock and lasts about two and half
hours. Admission is free, and usually
there is large, unappreciative and
| disguised audience present. At the
door stands man who acts as o kind
Of master of ceremonies in the place Of
! the usual ticket-taker. BY IL o'clock
| the parquet is crowded with the poorer
! class, also with large sprinkling Of
saloon-men, gamblers, pool-sell-
ers, buncorsteerers, and other
types Of the rough element, who come
with the "high chances" Of making
scratch and winning prize.
The dress circle is mainly &C.
cupied by women, with slight
sprinking Of visitors attracted from
curiosity. To this charmed" circle
men unaccompanied by women are not
admitted, just as is the case in some
free-and-easy beer saloons. Up in the
gallery the gods" hold high revelry,
and it is crowded, for the gamns have
each saved 81 for the purchase OF q
coupon, with which they expect to win
a fortune. There are no ushers, and
the auditor finds his own seat. There
! is no orchestra TO play an overture; the
curtain is already up, and upon the
stage is seen, near the left entrance, a
large glass wheel about eight feet
in diameter: on the right is
a small glass wheel about
three feet in diamater. In front
of the big wheel there are ten white
canvas sacks-each sack containing TO-
600 tickets. In front Of the little wheel
there are four small canvas sacks.
These contain the prize tickets, 600
in number. The tickets, or numbers,
| are about an inch in length and are in
! cased each in an India rubber tube. In
| the centre, near the footlightS, two dud-
| ish young men are ''discovered" at a ia
, bic. Their part in the game is TO write
! the winning numbers in the Book OF For
tune. Instead OF the usual stage SER
want girl opening up the performance
! by busting at the furniture, o strapping
! colored man ''comes on" from the second
| right entrance and this is the cue for the
/ entrance OF the stars, Beauregard and
| Early. They walk upon the stage by
means of spring board extending from
the stage about twenty feet into the par
/ 70 mad (,annFalS
sent a comlcal, yet hum'liating appear
ance. Early, with SIouched hat, hump
ed back, faltering step and long gray
! hair, steps stagily up, as If he were go
! ing TO attempt Richard III. Beaure-
| gard, a little, wiry, weazen-faced, gray
eyed creole, with gray hair and paIlid
! features, walks up the spring-ooard and
on the stage as if he were about 10 do
something Of which he might be proud,
vet doubtless conscious that he has lost
the respect Of those who followed his
laundering leadership IN the lost cause,
which gave him reputation that he
might sell for 200 year.
Without any ceremony or waiting Tor
the applause that usually greets
star, especially from the clacque, Early
|
Beauregard marches TO the little wheel.
! Early opens the glass door and the
! darky emptieS into the wheel the ten
sacks Of tickets. The door is then
! locked and the darby turns the crank OF
! the wheel for few minutes so as TO
shake I'D the tickets. The darby is
thus called into requisition because 1t
requires considerable muscular power.
Beauregard opens the door Of the little
wheel, and the same cuisines" is gone
through with. The darby then
resumes his place by the
big wheel. Two boys, juvenile
comedians, then enter without much re-
! gard to stage technique. They are
blindfoded by the stars in plain view OF
! the audience, and one is placed at each
wheel. Without any predatory remarks
whatever the drawing begins. Beaure-
! gard opens the door OF the little wheel,
Early that Of the large wheel. The boy
| at the big wheel takes out ticket, or
tube. and hands it TO Early. Simulta-
neously the boy at the little wheel takes
! out a ticket and hands it TO Beauregard.
| Each OF the Generals valiantiy removes
| the tube from the ticket, throws the
tube into a property box in waiting, I'M
rolls the tickets aud reads them TO
the audience thus: Early shouts:
'sTlcket No. 414. Beauregard shouts
back: lone thousand dollars" An
other ticket from the big wheel, and
prize from the little wheel, until the
g. 600 prize numbers have been drawn.
Consequently only 5000 OF the 100, oOo
| tickets in the big wheel are drawn ont.
| About every five minutes the drawing Is
temporarily stopped so as TO SHAKE up
the tickets. The colored man is called
on To turn the crank OF the big wheel
while Beauregard gives the small wheel
| a faw revolutions and then looks around
| 10 the women in the boxes with
| chalky smile liks the ham-fat TRACE
dian, whose attitude asks the au-
dience: "Ain't / create" About
every half hour fresh relay OF blind
folded BOYS is brought on. The pres
ence of Beauregard and Early is only TO
give the thing tone. frequently alter
| the drawing is fairly under way their
places are taken at the wheel By com
missioners, who are salaried officers OF
the Lottery Company, and the two Ten
erals sit on lounge on the back Oh the
stage and discuss politics and the pros
perity (?) Of the State under Lottery
rule.
No man possessing half the brains OF
a society dude would invest in this one
! sided concern after witnessing draw
or after learning how it is done.
The Pennsylvania Club Dinner.
| .-.-.-. I'LL. D. EehruarY l2.-Ihe