The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-12-22
The BacksHder
George AIDE, in Golfers.


The story came from the victim him.
elf. He offered 1t. not as an exposition
wondrous facts encircled by holly
nd mistletoe. but merely as an in
tance OF sure enough hard luck.
The man who told 1t had been a law
reaker I'm most OF the states OF the
Mississippi valley in which laws were
eing broken at the time he happened
long. He dealt largely in games of
nance, with the element of chance re-
hoved. At the old settlers reunion he
oiled carelessly above a folding table
really q sewing table, given as a
premium by the fashion magazine for
me new subscriber The properties
we're three halves Of the common Eng
lsh walnut and very small sphere Of
oft rubber. At the district fair he
old buggy whips and bought them
back at increased prices, and then sold
bther whips and did not buy them back.
Involving himself in series of COM
blicated transactions which left the
purchasers bewildered, as the livery rig
disappeared up the pike.
Chicago was headquarters for the
practitioners OF graft Tong before the
word got into politics and began to
6ymbolize cheaper form OF indirect
larceny.
The lean years came after the close
BIZ the Columbian exposition. the long
strike by the railroad men, and corn 20
tents bushel delivered at. the elevator.
Let him tell about II.
II landed I'm with the first snowstorm,
and my roll was a lone wrapper around
bn old glove. If they haven't got IL,
you can't take 1t away from 'em. Clark
Street was bottled up--a reporter wait
In In every hallway to spot a. stud
game and then write about tho carnival
bf crime. The pawnshops were goin'
blong. but everything else was cold.
my one idea all tho time I'd been
but on the circuit had been to bring
home, over and above rent, coal and
groceries. the price OF a piano which
was already wearin' q ticket with my
name on II. Susie was going on 8, and
Everybody that heard her sing said she
belonged on the stage. My wife had
picked out a teacher that charged IS
bn hour.
We'll. instead Of piano, I slipped
Susie the Swiss Family Robinson and
my wife told the teacher that we'd de-
tided to wait and take her to Paris.
Say, do you remember that winter?
Many one that had got used to squar-
in up to porterhouse was holdin' a
blue ticket and waitin his turn at the
Boup kitchen. Hunt up friend to tap
FOR paltry case note and he'd beat you
10 1t.
About the time the chain followed
he watch, Susie began to wonder what
she'd get for Christmas, and / was
wonderin' just as hard as she was.
IWe'd worked up the Santa Claus thing,
and It was all on the level with her.
Got home one night and wife, without
isayin' word, hands me letter ad-
dressed to Santa Claus. I'd taken the
| Kid along State street and showed her
the windows, and now she was putin
Pm an order for the big doll with the
blond hair and the lace dress that we'd
stopped and looked at for so long. be-
cause It didn't cost anything. The
| Santa Claus orders had always gone
Through, but this doll proposition made
III look as If we'd have to take her
aside and do little explaining. We
talked II over and wife started to fill
| up and that settled 1t. I remembered