The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-20
LIFE OF A CLEVER ROGUE.
Ups and Downs of the COunty-Fair
SwindIer-spends His Money Free

Ups and Downs of the COunty-Fair
SwindIer-spends His Money Free
ly.
From the New York Recorder
The constituencies rascals who are de-
nominated by their fellow-swindlers as
'sure-thing" men are very much in evil
deEce in New York city at this season
of the year. In spite of police reform and
Lexow committees New York city is still
their headquarters and general rendez-
Vous, and they are at present engaged in
organizing and laying out their routes
for the coming summers campaign. From
New York they will start out on regular
circuits all over the east working the va
rious fairs and gatherings from Maine to
FLORIDA. But they are sure to get back
to New York two or three times a wear
and invariably come here to squander their
gains. Most persons who have attended
county fairs and suburban racing meet
lngs have seen the sharp-eyed swindlers
at work. The raScals are by no means
numerous, and except for a few free
lance operators are organized under one
in this city.
The life of thimble-rigger is full of
the mysterious. He appears and disap-
pears and no man knows when or where
TO find him. No commercial traveller
knows his way about better than a Thin
ole-rigger. Sometimes he is in hard luck
sleeping no one knows where, haunting
saloons in miserable attire and eking out
his existence by borrowing from his friends
girl. Gu
Then. perhaps, we meet him at the ex-
IRENE end of Long Island ''workine'' a
county fair. He lives at the best hotei
In town, wears huge diamonds, buys cham
payne at the bar and drives around in
supply "a"
He is the envy of the countrvmen and
M VS. az! me minor fair officials-in fact
of working the fair and has free re3n
Tor evil doing He mods to the farmers
and fatters them while he takes their
has disappeared.
And so he travels from one fair to
announcer, and when he has gone the shop
losses. They swear vengeance against him
ana are swindied in precisely the same
manner the following season.
When the Long Island fairs close +ha
surething man" suddenly hobs UP in
New York But he doesn't do any nor
rowing now. We find him of an evening
Tor young woman who wears silks and
diamonds, or swinging a costly cane on
the afternoon promenade in Upper Broad
Soon he is in Rhode Island at the big
Providence fair. few days later ne
turns up. in Connecticut. He goes the
rounds of the Nutmeg state fairs and
reaps rich harvest. Next ne is seen in
vermont, or even as far north as On
tditO anu anon ne appears IN Delaware
and Virginia.
About this season of the year he car
ries hundred-dollar bills in every vest mock
ct, and is very apt to run into New York
in order to get rid of some of his money
He spends a good deal on his girl hut
the largest part eventually finds its way
into the pockets of the faro dealer the
roulette twirler and the crap man, for
your thimble-rgger is born gambler
He is known as a e-thing'' man.
because thimble-riggers are not really
gamblers. They take no chances and
either win or don't win. They never lose.
1t is all a matter of sleight of hand and
the so-called pea is never under any of
the shells when the farmer lays down his
money but is deftly held between the
third and little fingers of the operators
hand.
While these sure-thing men concentrate
their main efforts upon the shell game"
they are not averse to utilizing other moro
snowy apparatus, with the same Interior
object in view. Among these may be cit
ed the Switchboard, the black-and-w
the three dials and the drop case
This latter layout is somewhat new
and brief description may prove inter-
esting. 1t is shaped lige a beehive, with
a little hole in the apex. and a board be-
low divided into compartments, some Of