The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-17
OCEAN GAMBLERS TRICKS.
ne1DOe WITH a aEONBF's AN
FHaGGHREB ~ POHEA

tka present NrvsfuHrf seaihst nrssh
Iaasnbiaga H1nNhusa Ne sfetias Fiii suon ~
- estihr, ~ that #hirh uusd 10 infect tho
NatafH ~ the uhtp Fnd the Mississippi
~ Nin then 10 ~ pf,trr Nv Ire hett rehsr
elton q stony teilefa Nv ie' ihcig fanriea
VaAfn 1ysf the possibilities n mo rpst anil
" vfliS ahaohf0rlsrrs about hiFh rlav M
Che hish s,s li4' ~ " II nov 'ho fashion
~ aiih yarns about t.ettiha nrefoss In laeh
Io's hof5fc tho waf.
And sho ar ttrar rnrnn runhlefs1
Afr they q nov Thing ~ ~ r0 sbo,' ~ anime
thine IN. ~ afe NOV apn" teil Hnowh
Bind that hta aimtly ahiftrl 10 Told n
ofrfationl'
There atc 'hfNr distinct srccins n gam.
biefa known a. tho fraternity tho banker,
chs bookrahcY and tho hustler Tho first
eve ara men ~ capital, or have harkcfa. ~
slsc they work Tor Soine ono who IL IN that
fortunate position. They arc always 20 10
found at established places ~ business aud
gpretend 10 depend for . livelihood on q per.
pantAge u advantage In their favor In cor
Tain aames Of chance which require appara-
Gus or raos tracks,
To this claSs belonR tho kecpera Of gam.
bling houses and their assistants, faro
dealers. keno rollers, roulette aplnners
and %croupiers. Although their methods
are not always strictly fair. however loudly
they may protest that they arr, they do
not stand In any fear bf being shot or
stabbed while following their vocation,
There il a certain element Of respecta-
bility about them. known as police pro-
lection. and their victims come TO them
willingly, being attracted by tho established
reputation Of the place and the assurance
that IL will not be pulled
The persons employed in these estab-
lshments work for regular hours Inc have
flied salaries Just IA If they wcre engaged
In some mercantile pursuit. Many faro
dealers 90 to church regularly with their
families, Hpon the principle that IL In re-
spectable, If IL is nothing else.
The hustler stands upon an entirely
different footing. He has no established
place of business, and prides himself upon
his ability to disappear utterly after he has
made 4 haul.
No regular customers come to him. He
has to hunt for his prey, and having nun
IL down he proceeds to pluck it with the
greatest rapidity consistent with keeping
IL alive until the operation is finished.
He is about on a par with n confidence
man and a little above a highwa lyman,
because he never uses violence in despoil-
ing his victim, but tries to amuse him while
he ia robbing him. He IL called a hustler
because he must go out on the street and
hustle for a living. 1t never comes to him.
as it does to the class Of gamblers who are
connected with the banking games. As
a rule, a hustler is a thief who is afraid to
steal
If he has a family no one ever hears Of
IL and he never goesto church except to keep
his eye upon a possible victim for n poker
game in the afternoon. He has three rules
for his guidance through life: First, get
q place to sleep. Second, fll your stomach
before you cover your back. Third. wear
the best clothes you can afford.
If he has anything left after paying his
back board bill and carrying out his maxims
he proceeds to blow 1t in at the establish
ments of his more prosperous brethren
who run the banking games. If it were not
for that method Of restoring the ~ciroula-
ton some hustlers, disregarding Mr.. Car
negie's dictum, would die rich.
II the keeper of any gambling house en-
,ploys steerers to bring customers to his
place 1t may be set down as a certainty that
the game is crooked. n the hustler does
not employ the services Of a front stall'
70 pick up the acquaintance which are to
be iieeced later on he must pick them up
himself.
He Is then as low down as O business man
who sweeps out his own Office and runs his
own brands: Uhe gambler who works
with a front stall" or who has a silent part
-. - A. tka no+,,, .trat, - l. ---l
table is in a slightly higher class than the
man who works alone, and he is less liable
TO be shot. ,.4.,
Some hhstlers prefer to have a woman
for an assistant, in which case she is al
most invariably n blonde. but the more ex-
pert prefer to rely upon their own ability
TO pick up suckers and are satisfied to Sc
cure comparative safety from detection by
having a silent partner in the game. This
was Doc Owens scheme and is the f~avorite
With all ocean going gamblers because it
Is easier to lie out of it 10 case of trouble.
If the lone gambler is caught cheating
and Is not shot or thrashed on the spot,
he at least has the money on his person and
can often be forced to give it up. One of
these gentry made a trip on the Phil Allen,
which ran between Memphis and Friar's |
Point more than thirty years ago. and his
victims tied him to the walking beam Of
the engine with a view to making him dis
gorge $500 that he had taken from them
during the evening.
In this position he had to trot backward
and forward on all fours, like a dog, for two
hours, but he did not give up the wad.
When the boat approached Memphis the
captain said they would lave to turn him
loose, As he went down the gangplank
he Strengthened himself up as we'll as he
could and offered TO let them tie him up
for the return trip for another $500.
Even when the hustler has taken the pre-
of using a silent partner, he may
get of scot free. In 1859 a gambler on
board the Etruria was accused Of robbing
two Spanish fruit dealers by means of a
game called blind hockey, which is a great |
favorite on ocean steamers.
The Spaniards complained, and a mem
Der of Parliament who was on board was
asked to act in his capacity ne a magistrate,
and a jury was impanelled from the passen-
ger list to try the Egyptian as he was called,
with all the formalities of an English court
of law. A Chicago lawyer was appointed
to defend him. and when he refused to APP
pear a sergeant at arms was sent after him