The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1905-12-15

time than itatakes to tell It, beads Of
perspiration are standing out on his
face and, greatly excited, he is Juggling
and working with the box l =.1 :.
The CRATER counts so very slowly that
the supposed stranger gets disguised
and sings out: Count faster, you arc
cheating"
Atlast, when he is forced to count ten.
and the box remains unopened, the
CRATER, quickly passing the stakes to
the winner, snatches the box from the
strangers hands and, in an impetuous
way, gives it two turns instead of one.
and open comes the box, much to the
seeming disgust of the CRATER and amid
the lamentations of the victim
A very amusing little story was told Of
one of these grafters who turned the
tables on an unsophisticated farmers
boy at Upper Sandusky.
1t seems that during the county fairs
the town usually had been flooded with
grafters and the mayor had given the
strictest orders to every officer to run
in any man caught with any device for
buncoing the people.
The CRATER, who carried the tobacco
box, selected his victim-a green farm
er's boy, who had been displaying con-
siderable money. After having had
conversation with him, he "steered"
him around behind q side show tent,
where both sat down on the ground, and
just as the CRATER was holding the to-
bacco box in his hand he happened to
look up, and there stood an officer, gaz-
ing down with intense interest.
Realizing that tobacco boxes are
cheaper than fines the CRATER Instantly
jumped to his feet and threw the
box in the farmers lap.
'You KANT bunco me, ser!" he cried
out. 'Not much! Eve seed one of them
there things afore. Eff you wanter skin
some one, you better try and ketch
sucker"
He then dashed out and made his es-
cape.
Before the poor farmer boy realized
what was happening, the officer had
seized the tobacco box and had landed
days before he recovered sufficiently
from his fright to be able to explain how
it happened
While travelling through southern H..
linois, in the auction business, I ran
| across two men who were making the
best of an abundant apple crop. The
graft had to be worked during the sea-
son for gathering and marketing the
crop, which made the time very short,
but the grafters who gave their scheme
away to me explained that the same
graft worked nearly the whole summer,
in potatoes, cherries and many other
staple crops.
Just at time when the apple crop was
far enough developed to enable the far
mer to make fair estimate of what he
might expect, one of these smooth-look-
ing, businesslike fellows started out
with hired horse and buggy. He rep
resented himself as being from a large
New York fruit concern, and he called
upon every farmer in the county who
had large orchard, agreeing to pay
fancy prices and contracting for their
entire apple crop.
He carried blank contracts, and after
paying each farmer five dollars, to make
the contract binding, he would get their
signature to it, and drive on, leaving his
name, however, and his address, in case
any of the farmers friends should have
an apple crop to SELL
During this grafter's canvass an &C.
complete stayed at another town, where
they could not possibly be seen together.
When CRATER No. 1 had obtained
large number of contracts he went to his
hotel and CRATER No. q started out, fol-
lowing over his very tracks, also buying
apples. He represented himself as one
of a large fruit firm from St. Louis He
made no bones of telling the fruit grow
ers that in the country where his firm
did their biggest business the apple crop
was a total failure, and after looking
over the mans crop he made him all
offer of from so cents to one dollar bar
rel more than the other man.
Of course this would arouse the ava
rice of almost any thrifty person, and il
the farmer was frank enough to &C.
knowledge that he had already con-
tracted for them CRATER No. 2 suggested
that perhaps the buyer would release
him If he had talk with him.
'I'll sign an agreement here to-day"
added CRATER No. 2, Ito take your crop
at the price have quoted, provided you
can get released; and if you wish, will
make a cash deposit on the proposition"
If the farmer said nothing about hay
ing contracted for his crop, CRATER No.
said:
IF you wish to sell me your crop, I'll
give you written agreement, and de-
post to bind the bargain, if you don't
care to contract to-day, just think the
matter over, and if you want to let me
have it come to my hotel any evening
and will close a contract with YOU"
While CRATER No. was canvassing,
CRATER No. was busy at his hotel all
day cOmDI( missing with the farmers and