Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1872-11-20
THE BROTHERS.

In 1919, the principal bank
ing institutions of the chance
kind in San Francisco were the
aBella Union" "Verandi, MIN
de Oro," and "Parker House, =
all situated about the "Plaza," "
and each employed a band Of
music to lessen the tedious hours
of that rainy winter, and to
drown the noise of jingling gold
and silver, and the cursing ejac-
ulations of the gamblers.
Many sad scene has taken
place within these saloons, that
chilled the blood Of the bshQlds
er, and is remembered WITH hor-
ror. | once carelessly sauntered
through one of these places. My
attention was attracted toward a
person who had large piles Of
gold before him, The staring
eyeballs, the swollen veins upon
his forehead, the cold sweat
upon his face, and clenched
hands, told of heavy losses
Mingled exclammations of hor-
ror and contempt would escape
him, and he seemed unconscious
Of all that was going on around
him. His gaze was bent upon
the cards as if his life's blood
was the stake at issue. In this
case his last dollar was placed
within the dealers bank; then,
with the frenzy of a maniac, he
drew a long, ugly dirk-knife and
plunged it up to the hilt into his
own body, and sunk a corpse on
the table. A few rude jeers fol-
lowed this act; the body was re-
moved, and the game went on
.as though nothing had happened
-as though another victim had
not been added to the gamblers
damning record, or another man
had not died. l.a
He started with a large stock
of goods, given him by his father
to sell on commission, and the
fathers fortune depended on a
safe return of the money SO in
vested; but, as usual with young
men, he INDUCED in the full
liberty of unbridled license, and
while the ship stopped at one Of
the South American ports, he
engendered the first seeds of
"play." But for a while after
his arrival, the excitement of
trade, and the energy necessary
to accomplish successful issue,
kept his mind busy. One day,
by appointment, he was to meet
a mercantile friend at this time,
and, while waiting for his friends
arrival, staked a few dollars up
on the turn of the cards, when
the latent disease sprang into
life, and it carried him headlong
over the precipice, and ended in
the tragic manner related,
/ The "Nim de Orc" was a
gambling-saloon ON Washington
Street, opposite the El Dorado,
and, in 1849, was the principal
resort of the disbanded soldiers
of the California regiments, and
also of the soldiers who had been
engaged in the war with Mexico,
Behind one of the largest monte
ba'ks in the room sat a man who
had won for himself honorable
mention, and an officers commits
sion was given him for his bra
very at the storming Of Monte
rey; but, preferring the climate
of California and it's golden"
prospects to a more northern
home, he embarked for that
country at the close of. the war
with Mexico, and, upon arriving,
he opened a gambling-saloon.--
The emigrants came in by thous-
ands, and, two or three nights
after his arrival, q young man
entered the saloon and seated
himself at the bank, and staked
various sums on the cards, until
he had lost nearly all the money
he possessed.
Excited by the game, and
with his losses, he acz
cgsed the dealerof cheating the
dealer replied sharply;Tthe lie
and then the young man
struck the dealer severe blow
pnon tho faco ,ull0uicls ag thmIohf