The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1899-03-16
THE CAPTAINS
REMINlSC SCENCES
Dy George Ads

I Dy George Ads
% A b, THE good old days have gone"
IA said the former captain Of the
sheli crew. mo matter how far out
into the country you get everybody
knows about the gold brick and the
green goods, and as for three-card
monte and the little BALL, why the farm
hands 20 out in the barn and practice
those tricks. So what chance have we
got? The only thing that we can do
now is to stay in town and speculate in
grain.
"I'll always maintain that the gold
brick game was the best one ever In
vented. can't explain why, but tho
boys used to get men with the brick
that you couldn't have touched with
any kind of gambling proposition.
You'd think pawpbroker would be
pretty hard to fool, wouldn't you3
Well, the first gold brick ever handled
In Chicago was sold to pawnbroker.
Two Of the wisest guys that ever got to-
and the scheme. They'd got II out went
somewhere. The first thing they did
sns to let Chicago man into the game,
and they picked out . good one, too.
Well call him Johnny, but that wasn't
his name. He had saloon and plenty
Of money aud pull, and after they'd
.swslled around With him week or Two
thay had . great standing. Thea
HsAnny intRodussd them 70 the pawl-
broker and they sprung the gold brisk
oa him. He knew they had just come
1pon the w0t and dGursd that thay had
coma by this gold CROOKED and sould.ft
9epS9sSedt thsMpNlvss, tHA4eespssvn-
broker Mho naefte W old ,3sysiry and
- on II WA . cinah TO get rA oe sny
aaount In tie lump that way. He sx-
amined the brick and figured on the
weisht and finally. ,tMpk, ~ oAsreA
them $500 for It. OF course they
passed him phouey brick. He must
have been suspicious and nervous, for
hs gct wise before they had time to
duck.
'rhe two Of them and Johnny were in
the back room there at Johnny saloon
splittan' up the 0oin,' and Just as'they
wsllcsd out to 90 up to the bara and take,
edrink to oslse1~As the good haul IN The
front door comss the pswnbroker. ,Hs
hat was OF and hN was The orasisst man
you ever saw IN your life. He oams
dowa along The bar HE IN 'sxpre0
trsin. but'bsfore he could grab other.
Of these fsllowv Johnny caught him
around TIE walst and held him fast and
began to yell, What's the matterf
What's the mattsrr Well, this fellow
tried to answer, but he was 20 mad al
he could do was spluttsP and choke and
try to break away. The two smooth
boys knew their business. They we're
out the back door and up an alley Ike
the wind.
'sThers was the pawnbroker trying to
get to the back door aud follow them
and Johnny hanging on to him and
shaking him like Q rat and hollerin':
WHAT the matter? What's the mat
ter2' Then when the pewnbroker tried
10 tell him he would slam him around
and beg him to keep quiet and tell what
was the matter. At last the. pawn
broker managed to say that these fel-
lows had robbed him. Then Johnny
was good and surprised. why didn't
you tellm that before ? he says. Come
on, and we'll see where they We gone to- :
BY that time these fellows were two
miles away. OF course Johnny was
sore. He kept sayin': why didn't you
tell me what was the matter when you
first came IMP Then all the pawn
broker could do was weep. And tho fun
uiest part Of 1t was that he never got on
TO Johnny"
Then the ex-captain told of the palmy
days of open gambling and "faking" at
the county faiS.
For two or three years I handled q
whole crowd of worken," he said. II
would pay certain lump sum for the
grating privileges at fair, and then
I'd divide up my men to work all kinds
Of schemes We used to run q wheel and
play the shells and sell jewelry alld
money in little boxes, and buy back gold
watches and buggy whips for twice
what we sold them for. and 80 ON, oh,
everything that was ever invented to
separate a sucker from his money.
r'The funniest experience ever had
when was in that line was out in Iowa.
We had to Jump all the way from Penn
sylvania to make this fair in Iowa. and
% was paying big salaries to cpew
Of men. and had paid the fair aasocia-
tion $500 for the privilege, ! was little
anxious to get out there on time and 60
to work. You understand, Of course
that grating ismanAgsd on strict busi'
nsss principles. Every man that wa
With me received Axed salary. and
could depend upon him toturn over Il
me Ill that he got from the suckers
AZ say. II was . loag jump from Penn
sylvasts - lava, aad Ne didaN reach
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