The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-11-26
.oTFUniWA IOWA, NOVEMBER 2s, 1857:

ftdB5s l9i t@rDo7 2iiiHifAis7 Sfb aPl's c5 D3lt3q
- - s...... - -. -
sssrlqqah iofaro For the Ouuusva Courier. syel
le.oi Sketches Of Gamblers. I. syops
!, 'BY' BY ). M II. GREEN GREEN. u'''@'' 0'"0"
''' '-a ,-@a4,acNo, H,teaw
What gires the Gambler Tie title Of Honesty and
.Gentasyfa
p Having in my first sketch treated slightly
upon the Instability Of the gamblers wealth. I
win now endeavor to draw a iine Of odistint.
tion between The honest man and The gambler.
This would be an easy matter, were to treat
1t as mere question of iFSeracity between
knavesa and honest men. . But shall not at
tempt The task. I shall merely endeavorgto
show how unreasonable Question tits for a
manof sense to PROFOUND to snotherAtlat OF
the possibility Of a'ina6 beings gambler, and,
at the same time, being an honest man or "a
gentleman. And vet, strange as II may seem
to q man Of sense, II Is nevertheless facttisat
this question has been more generally pro-
pounded for my answer than any or all others
concerning the character Of the gambler, since
my warfare against that fraternity took its
date; and although such may appear simple
for anan possessing two ideas to ask, yet
men and women Of all grades press such ques1
tions as these upon me .AlssHave yc,i never
known an honest, gentlemanly gambIer?,'-
And when have answered inthe negative,
they assure me they have known many. II of
course make allowances, knowing that such
questions emenate1 from two cIasses-knaves
and isnossnt people. T. don't mean 10 Aoif
them as intellectually ignorant, only ignorant
OF what the component parts Of honesty or
gentility is composed of this IL the most tb-
eral construction which ansbe put upon the
reasoning of such men and women: nfd gnirae
The intelligent gambler himself despisesEhis
profession, and feels himself degraded and M
deserving Of such fiattery, and knows ssell the
hatterer's moral worth. In this Republic we
have over fifty thousand s.houesty geatiemanly
blac legs" il fine eclothes and d'externat ap-
pearance make them such. The gamblers
concerned in No. Park Place have within
few years, followed 10 the grave three Of this
class of gentemanly rogues, in the persons of
Jack orjJohn Harris. Lewis M---- or Kite
Halsey, and Frank Stewart. 4 III. was, outside
Of his p, ,ofession, a kind hearted man and ar
derstood what was becomingila "a gentleman,
even at gaming saloon Yet he knew be- was
avilioin, and lived twenty years as such, and
died at No. 3 Park Place, with the tietirium
trernens, after having Aerved term in the pen
itentiary for bis genteeT, honest conduct. dj.v
slFrank s. was by nature a kind hearted res.
olute man, raised with and under the inflaence
ofwb',t is termed " Washington Market boys.'a
and known as low bred bullies. Frank grad
uated in the Bowery and at the Park Row, and
died with the detiriam tremens at his gambling
hoase. No. 3 Park Place. ~ 1szal iii's
Kite H.9wasa different kind Of spirit. 2 He
sasa cola hearted, sordid villain. possessing
none Of those nattal humane principles SO COM J
mon in the characters Of s. and III. Hischar!
acter can beimore easily judged BY the Follow
Ing incidents which are true to letter:-,'sa q
when his disease ('he consumption) had
brought himto his death bed he was visited
BY an eminent physician who, at the instance
Of his friends, was called to his aid-more For
the purpose Of encouraging him than with a
hope Of his being the occasion OF his recovery.
The doctor, as IS common to the profession,
made passby, rsrnarking.s .s'that he was was
happy to find his'cass so much more frvorl
able than his friends had represented IT," ifa5
"Fhen, you think there is some hope FOR
Kite vet, do you, aectora'' interroe ated7 the
sick man. siiia7asas ,ssT---l----si 10 1strazz
81 do" said the Doctor 1ei ssd ssiea ITs-rv
swell, doctor, don't wish to DISPUTE The
honesty of your thoughts, But, as am am a sfan.
ey maa;, (meanins a man having more = money
than time to spend it) l will bet you a thous-
and d'dollars you can't cure me, and Il will fol-
low your prescription to the letter, though you
prescribe sAppLER takes or FISH HooKs.o
The doctor declared himself "out,. and left
the .depraved wretch to find other means of
reconciliation more congenial to his sordid ma.
ture. 9saed 'saaionle SEQ
Bnt with all other vices and sins as we'll az
gambling re was familiar. Deeds which even
John r., or many other polished black
legs, would shudder to think of, were the very
deeds that he felt. most inclined to be the e.
ro Of On several occasions he was arraigned
before the Court of Sessions, but always man.
aged to escape "unwhipt Of justice I" One
day an acquaintance Of bis remarked as fol-
lows "Kite, old fellow. how comes il that
you get off so easy, yet pay so, little attea'ioa
tc the class of council you employ?''s 1esa
"couneil, my dear friend," said f.,
Ssarethe least of my troubles; when am in a
tight place all ! ask is good witnesses. One
good witness, sir, Is worth forty lawyers
For instance, don't you know when that fel.
low had me arrested for winning FIVE thousand
dollars?o
y 81 do" replied tie other. - -.
swell, on the day before the trial, met an
acquaintance, Jack said I, how do you
do?' 'Not well,' said Jack, 81 am broke
And you ca" bet You, life his being broke was
the. sweetest music he could have sounded IN
my earsos was hunting just such friend.-
Jack,' said ], 'don't you remember on such
day you and me.in Philadelphia. 81 DON'T,
replied he. Think well,'' said sIa .Think
until to-morrow morning; 1t is worth one hun
drsd and fifty dollars n you only can refresh
your memory Jack scratched his head and
n go tTTr HHFE3