The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1899-12-19
THREE CARD MONTE.
CAREER OF THE MAN WHO INVENTED
THE SMOOTH TRICK.


He Imposed ON Many Men of High
Standing In the Nation, Made =
Barrel of Money With His Swim
ding Game and Died a Pauper.
Lew Houck was the inventor of the
notorious three card monte trick and
about the cleverest card sharp in the
world Houck was well known in Kan
sas City, where he operated on and
off for 20 years, making the city a
sort Of way station on his trips east
and west.
The last time Houck was here he had
just returned from a European trip.
He produced papers and letters to
show that while he was in London he
was feted and dined by some of the
upper crust of English society. He
had passed there as a wealthy and
Travelled American. He had letters,
too, from Secretary Olney, Secretary
Carlisle and other leaders of the Amer
lean political world which recommend
ed him in the highest terms not only
to the American representatives
abroad, but to any friends of the writ
ers who might meet him. And these
letters were genuine. Their authentici-
ty could not be doubted. Houck had
a way Of getting entrance into the ex-
elusive clubs of Washington, Philadel-
phia, New York and other cities, and
in his role of gentleman of leisure" he
had SO imposed on men of high stand
ing in the nation that they thought
him all he represented himself to be
and gave him the letters of introduce
ton that helped him to fleece the arts
tocraey of Europe.
Houck Invented the three card monte
game before he became Of age. This Is
trick with cards that has heeced
more people out of money than any
other game ever practiced. The trick
is played with three aces, two black
ones and one red. 1t Is always played
with a confederate to help, or STALL"
for the game. The operator takes the
three cards between his fingers, show
ing them to the victim, and then shut
fies them about and drops them face
down upon the table, offering to bet
any amount of money that no one can
pick out the red ace.
At this point the operator turns his
head a moment to spit or to speak to
some one In the crowd behind him,
and in that moment the confederate
picks up the red ace card, shows 1t to
the victim, "crimps" the corner of the
card and slyly lays it down again, APP
parently all unseen by the operator.
The operator again shuffies the three
cards and throws them upon the table
face down. There lies the card with
its crimped corner. The victim sup
poses. of course, that it is the red ace
and bets and picks it up to find that 1t
is black one, and he has lost his
money.
The operator, when he picked up and
shuff1ed the cards carelessly the Sec
ond time, with deft movement Of his
fingers removed the crimp In the red
ace card and put similar crimp in a
black ace card. That was all there
was to the trick. Houck worked it for
years In hotels, on billiard tables, at
fairs and circuses and on railroad
trains and steamboats, He taught the
trick to Canada Bill, a noted gambler,
and the two worked together over all
the country. They paid thousands up
on thousands of dollars to railroad men
In the old days for the privilege of
working the game on trains, and they
made money.
Later, when nearly every state in the
Union passed laws aimed directly
against the working of the three card
monte game, 1t became improbable
and was given up by Houck. But about
that time an ingenious English cockney
invented the three SHELF game, which
was even more productive than three
card monte, and Houck took 1t up The
three shell game is modern improve
ment on the ancient thimblerigging
game that was worked at English fairs
for many years. The old way was for
the operator to crook his knee over the
head Of cane that stood upright on
the ground and move a small seed
around between three thimbles on top
Of his leg, offering to bet that no one
could pick the thimble under which
the seed was hidden.
The lesson taught by the lives and
deaths of Houck and Canada Bill and
all the rest of their kind is that it never
pays to be dishonest or to live by ones
wits. These men may get great sums
Of money by sharp practices in the
course of lifetime, but they all die
poor, and most of them die in prison.
Canada Bill, who worked with Houck
on trains out of Kansas City and
made probably $1,OO0,OOO in his life,
died a pauper in the almshouse in
Lebanon, Pa, and is buried in pau
per's grave. Houck dropped dead on
the street in Durango, Mexico, and his
widow in Ohio had to solicit aid to get
his body home to give it decent burial.
kansas City Star