The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1905-11-11


Razor poem, as follows:
"You know a gun shoots fast and
loud,
But a razor is the real thing in q
crowd.
I could have used 1t better than q A,
II they had only fought with razors
in the war"
Then, corn cutter in hand. he coof1y
crawled down from the buggy, and be-
gan walking slowly through the
crowd, carefully scrutinizing every
face as if trying to locate the man
who had threatened to take his hearts
blood. The glitter of the corn cutter.
and the terrible look of vengeance
on his face had the desired effect, and
when he climbed back into the car
riage, every man stood as II paralyzed.
They seemed to have forgotten what
had happened, or what was expected
to happen.
Immediately the CRATER signaled
the driver to start, he himself remaining
standing in the carriage as If terribly
agitated and repeating:
81 would like to see some man cut
my heart out; would just like to have
him try it," at the same time feeling
the edge Of the big knife, as If to see
that it was sufficiently sharp.
The team went on at a trot. The
grafter's hotel and livery bills had
been paid in advance, and no stop
was made until they had reached q
small town 20 miles away.
The CRATER was $500 or $500 to the
good. AS the carriage moved away
the dupes still stood in line, staring
sheepishly at one another. with ten
cent belts dangling from their hands
The old darby who had been SO ODE.
dent was the only man who had the
courage to protest.
See yher," he yelled, you gener'
GUS white man, what my family gwint
to do fer sumpin to eat? Gin me
back ma ten dollars. or top yol
buggy over, you schoundrel!"
So saying, he and his two colore(
companions rushed toward the car
rage, when an officer who stood con
veniently near said:
What you niggers lettering arotnt
here for? Go on home, or I'll run
you in"
Eventually, of course, this cleve
CRATER landed in states prison.
Il
A Chicago man once made a grea
deal of money out of the sugar graft
With an old horse and q covere'
peddler's wagon, he started out witt
load of sugar, put up in tin cans
each holding $3.50 worth at retail
The wholesale price was about $1.2s
After remaining in some count
seat long enough to get line on tn
town." he would start out and cal
upon the farmers of that county, wit
a proposition to sell one of his 8
pound cans of white sugar for $1.2
in cash. He would represent that b
had recently moved to their count
seat, where he expected to reside i
the future, and would make regula
80 day trips, enabling them to RI
plenisn their supply of sugar at tn
lowest possible price.
Sugar, being a staple article, an
there being an actual saving of
cents on every purchase, he had n
difficulty whatever in making sa
at the house of almost every thrift.
well-to-do farmer. Many farme
who wondered how this man could a
ford to sell sugar SO much cheap'
than the cheapest grocers in many II
stances paid for it several times owe
The graft was more like thievir
than grating. When selling a ca
of sugar for $125, the CRATER wou
almost invariably be handed a av
4 ten. or even a twenty dollar bill.
a Having become very skillful
palming. he would always ke'
palmed in one hand a one dollar bi
q nicely folded in such q way that Il
d figures would not show on either SID
Should a farmer hand him larg
Il bill he would begin folding it as
had the one dollar bill, and tn
t would suddenly say:
q well, here / am, short of chang
a so lust let this go, and pay me on q
O next trip, In 80 days."
He would then shift the large
A for the one dollar bill, and, hands,
\ the latter to the farmer, would sa
q PUT it in your pocket and pay I
b next time"
There was not one chance In
, thousand that the farmer would U
! fold the bill, but he would lay it cal
q fully away in his purse, just as 1t b
!. been handed him.
N This was graft of some magnitu'
! To make Is or 20 sales per day "
n not an uncommon thing, and whs
the proper change was given
r. CRATER received the first cost OF
r goods at least, and If only a b
n dozen farmers were grated in di
le his i'll gotten wealth accumulated r;
ve idly. He was very careful not to
20 into the county seat again during
stay in that county and never
10 travel any road the second time.
~ replenish his stock, he would hs
several barrels of sugar shipped
;" small nearby towns.
This grafter's success through 1