Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-06-10
TRAPS FOR KLONDIKERS.
THE TRAILS. TO THE GOLD MINES
SWARM WITH SWINDLERS.

Since the grass has begun to grow
too short for them in town, some of
the confidence workers who still re-
main mt Skagway, Alaska, have taken
to the trails, where they continue TO
set suares for the dollars Of unwary
kloHdikCrs. On the Skagway trail
the sure-thing gambler seldom goes
higher than the foot of White Pass
summit. Half u dozen or so of the
tribe usually travel together, sharing
at the close of the day the profits of
the tricks they have turned. One of
the party IL chosen IA active operator.
His necessary qualifications are n ca
pacity to Judge human character and II
tongue that is gifted with glibness.
The successful confidence operator
is best described by the term spell
binder, His coniedcrates--the steer
ors--careiully disassociate themselves
from him whenever n possible victim
is in sight. The better TO disguise his
wolfish character the steerer frequent.
~ dons the sleeps clothing of II
packer. Ii is no uncommon incident
on the trail to see two or moro notori-
ous bunco steerers faring along, one
after the other, apparently heavily
burdened with packs which, If ana
lyAed, would prove to he nothing more
than straw or chips in canvas sacks
A little ahead Of them always is the
operator, equipped with II small porta-
ll, t,lln tl..., uh.lls nn1 thn alnatVa
pea.
When the first one reaches the ma
nipulator OF the ancient, but to the
victim ever new, game, he stops,
watches and listens, aud finally lays
down his pack rs II to rest and he
amused. Stecrer No. follows his
example, rs do the others in turn. by
thetm the prospective victim arrives
he finds spurious klondikcr just
winning bet from the shell game
player amid the half-enyious congratu-
lations of his conlederates,
"Well, well, this is my unlucky
day." says the man with the table,
'but I'll give some other gentleman II
chance to win with the little pea.
Back aud forth aud round about go
the little shells again, n glimpse Of the
pea being given the watchers nj sednc-
lively frequent intervals. Another
steerer gueSses its location and wins q
grcenback or two.
''If you follows are hitting me too
hard" obviously comments the oper-
ator, 81 must size mp my roll before
taking any more bets.
He opens a well.linod pockctbook,
and, while his attention il taken up
with its.contents, one of the steerers
slyly raises the shell under which the
pea is hidden. That catches the out
slider, unless he be- invulnerable
against the temptations of bunco.
Laying his finger on the shell indi.
Gated to him. he offers 10 bet $40, $40,
$50, or higher sum that it covers the
pea lis bet is taken, the shell Is
lifted, and the pea proves to be some.
where else. Usually the victim makes
second, aud perhaps a third, bet in
the hope of retrieving his loss, always
with the same result. A witness TO
one OF these episodes tells OF having
seen q prospector who had lost $50
sit upon his pack and burst into tears.
He said that his last dollar had gone
Oh the game.
Still higher up the trail that same
day man who runs tent restaurant
bet aud lost $50, but the shell game
player was glad to disgorge il when
the victims wife, a 200-pound laly OF
German nativity, seized him by the
coat collar and screamed Justify for
help.
A woman who said she was going to
the KlOndike in the interests of the
Institution complained to
Captain l.. A. Matile that confidence
workers were so annoying her that she
feared to continue the Journey She
is travelling alone. and had called at
the regular army encampment on her
way out Of town. Captain Matie,
who commands the troops at Skagway,
sent an escort II two soldiers with her
as far az the Northwest Mounted PO-
lice post at Summit lake. After work
ing one point on the trail thoroughly,
the confidence men scatter, 10 reap
pear at another point under like cir
cumstances some time later in the day.
On the Skagway trail the shell game
is not in operation regularly. The
men engaged at it are supposed to be
a detachment of "Soapy" Smiths
gamblers. Those who operate in
Dyea, Sheep Camp and along 10 the
base Of ChiIkoot are'undcr the leader
ship of Tom Cady, notorious Colo.
RADIO camp confidence man.
Other devices for catching victims
besides tho pea aud shells are heard OF
occasionally. The sailed mine man
is one of the most recent additions 10
those who seek to get something for