The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-26
HOW GIBSON WORKED IT,
THE BUNCO GAME PLAYED ON
q BUTTE LAWYER.
Had Salt Lake Confederates Who
Shipped Corn Meal Instead of the
Law Books Sold by Gibson.

The Anaconda Standard of Monday
gives the following additional Dartic
ulars ot the bunco game by which B.
A. Gibson beat a Butte attorney out
of $50:
"B. A. Gibson, "a lawyer, ex-banker,
real estate Spectator and mining in
weston, and a late resident of Lincoln,
Neb., is wanted in Butte on the charge
Of swindling d well known young at
torney out of $150 by one of the mean
est AID most contemplate tricks on
record, and both the sheriff and the
city marshal are after Mr. Gibson
Gibson came to Butte about month
or six weeks ago, presumably from
Denver He stopped a While at the
Butte hotel, and later put up at the
McDermott. Soon after his arrival he
called at the Office of Clinton & Lamb
attorneys. Gibson had known Mr..
Lamb CT Lincoln, where he had prac-
! ticed Law. Prior to going to Lincoln,
Gibson was a banker in some small
Nebraska town, and subsequently be-
came q SPECTATOR in real estate and
mining in Colorado.
Presenting upon his acquaintance
with NJ. Lamb. he made the latter S
Office his headquarters, and in q short
Callahan, who had an office on the same
floor of the Chambers building. Gibson
then began to drop into Colonel Gala
hans Office occasionally, and frequently
spoke in admiration of the colonel's
law library. and one day he observed
| that Mr.. Callahan did not have a full
set Of the American law reports. He
said they were a good thing to have,
and remarked that he used them. Mr..
= Tol ,a, I, hi +Io+ he
ports were valuable Nothing more
was said about the books at that time,
but a few days later Gibson brought
! up the subject again, and in the course
of the talk said he had a friend in Salt
Lake named r. a. Given. who had a
whole set of the reporters, including
! American Decisions, American State
| Reports and American Reports, several
hundred volumes in all. which he would
sell for $500. They were second handed
books, of course, but nearly as good as
new. New they cost about Sc a volume.
Mr.. Callahan recognized the bargain,
! but the extreme cheapness of the books
made him suspicious, but ne finally
agreed to take the American Decisions,
100 volumes. Cor $3.50. Gibson said he
would attend to it. A few days later,
on Friday. Nov. Y, a telegram was re-
ceived from Salt Lake, signed Mrs.
R. a. Given" stating that the books
would be shipped on the following
! Monday Last Wednesday, the 18th,
Gibson again called at Mr.. Galatians
Office and exhibited an Oregon Short
/ Line bill of lading, dated at Salt Lake
/ two days before and bearing the stamp
Of II. w. Henderson, the Short Line
agent at Salt Lake. The bill was for
| 295 pounds of books. Gibson also ex-
hibited a letter which he had written
to Il. a. Given upon one Of Mr.. Gala
/ hans letterheadS, explaining the book
! deal Gibson had taken the liberty to
| tell Given that Mr.. Callahan would pay
the $3.50 upon the arrival of the bill of
lading. On the back of the letter Civ
en- had written an acceptance Of the
terms, and authorized Gibson to receive
the money. Mr.. Callahan at first pro-
tested against paying for the books be-
fore he received them. but Gibson said
he was hard up and wanted the money,
and Mr.. Callahan finally told him to
come back at l o'clock.
In the meantime the attorney took
the bill of lading to the Short Line
Office, and asked Mr.. Bacon, the agent,
as to it's genuineness. Mr.. Bacon said
the bill was regular enough. but, of
course, he remarked, the agent at Salt
Lake could not tell what the box con-
tanned.
1T might contain sawdust'' said MIR.
Callahan, who was still slightly sus-
picious.
Promptly at 1 o'clock Gibson was at
the office again, and Mr.. Callahan told
him he would give him the $3.50. but
would make the payment in advance
entirely upon Gibson's representation
and to accommodate him. The money
was paid AID Gibson returned TO the
| McDermott hotel, where he paid SO on
his hotel bill. which then amounted to
/ $27. He told Mr.. Stetson he would pay
the balance on Saturday. He then
went to a Main street ticket broker
and bought d ticket to Denver. and a
few minutes later was on the south
bound Short Line passenger. But this
fact was not discovered until a few
days later.
In the meantime Mr.. Callahan was
looking for his books by every train
from Salt Lake. The box finally ar
rived AID was delivered at his office
Saturday evening. He opened it, and
found IN it. not the 100 volumes Of
American Decisions but
Eight sacks Of corn meal and one
big red apple!
1.-The box was rudely marked. From
r. A. Given and addressed to Emmett
Callahan, Butte, Mont" Mr.. Callahan
was at first inclined to think that some
of his friends had played a joke upon
him, but a little investigation soon
convinced him that the box had been
shipped from Salt Lake all right
enough, and he made up his mind that
he had been yictimized by very cheap
bunco game. He placed the matter in
the hands of the sheriff and police and
the officers are now trying to locate
Mr.. Gibson. II he is caught. Colonel
Callahan Will do his best to send him
over the road IF the scheme was con-