attempts to defend himself, is handed over
to the police on a charge of attempting to create a disturbance.

Other establishments sell watches and cheap jewelry. A really good
article is put up, and passed around through the crowd as a sample. It
draws bids rapidly, and is knocked down to the highest bidder. It has by
this time been handed back to the auctioneer, and when the purchaser
demands it, he is given some worthless article, which the dealer and his
assistants swear was the one exhibited to the crowd. Remonstrances are
useless. The bogus article must be taken or the money lost, unless the
victim calls in the police. The city authorities have recently stationed
a policeman at the door of one of these establishments, to warn strangers
of its true character.

The pocket-book dropping game is of common occurrence, but is rarely
practised on residents of the city. A man suddenly darts from a crowd on
the street and appears to pick up something at the feet of his intended
victim. This, of course, attracts the attention of the latter. The
former displays a well-filled pocket-book, and asks the stranger if he
dropped it, as it was found at his feet. He is answered in the negative.

[Picture: THE POCKET-BOOK GAME.]

"Strange," remarks the swindler, "it was lying right at your feet, and I
felt sure it was yours. However, it is a rich prize."

He then inquires if the stranger intends staying in town. If answered
affirmatively, he says:

"Then I will turn over the pocket-book to you. You can advertise it.
Give me ten dollars and take the wallet. You can advertise it, or the
owner will no doubt advertise it himself. Then you can claim the reward,
which will certainly not be less than fifty dollars."

The other party reasons that he is sure of his money, with the wallet in
his possession, and he sometimes dishonestly purposes appropriating the
entire contents to his own use. He pays the ten dollars to the finder of
the book, who hurries off, saying that he has just time to catch the
train by which he intends leaving the city. Upon examining the wallet,
the victim finds that its contents consist of a wad of paper wrapped in a
wretched counterfeit note. He has given his ten dollars for a collection
of worthless paper.

It would require a volume to describe all the swindles and rogueries
carried on in this city. The instances we have presented will be
sufficient to give the reader