Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-05-16
The Good Old Times.

Bailey was the greatest gambler O
his period, and was in the height o
: his fame during The administration o
Washington, Jefferson and Madison
He was the son Of an lrishman and hi
, mother Quaker. Born in Chester
, Valley. Pennsylvania, his father wasted
considerable fortuneo Mrs. Bailey''
by going security for men at large
Then entering the patriot army, the
elder Bailey became a Major and was
killed at the battle OF Cowpens. The
impoverished widow loaded her goods
upon cart, and with her brood OF
children followed after on foot to Cul-
pepper county, Va, where she kept a
tavern, and afterwards a school, and
finally married again. The second hus-
band toundertook chastiseyoung Bailey
but received dreadful. fogging. This
happened at theSeneca Stonequarries,
in Maryland. Afterwards young Bailey
married a tayern-keeper's widow, and
showed considerable genious for trad
ing in horses, liquors, negroes and mer-
chandise.
Without education he had still a
powerful will and violent temper, and
his prowess made him audacious and
/ feared. In those days the Virginia
Springs were full of faro dealers, and
Bailey was the principle gambler at
the Sweet Springs, afterwards keeping
the hotel there. In the height OF his
fame he had large boarding house at
Berkley Springs, and a city hotel at
Washington, called the Bell Inn kept
in six of Daniel Carols houses. At
this time, as for fourteen years, he was
the dupe of Winchester widow,
named ann TurnbGll, and although
with this creature, the Chief Justice
aud the Supreme Bench boarded with
him, and even advanced him hundreds
ofdollars at times, an account of board.
Again he had a magnificent establish
ment at Georgetown, and haunted the
Union Hotel. He was twice in prison
as a debtor, and each time escaped,
once advertising reward for the Mar
shal of the District (Ringgold,l who
had placarded him. On another occa-
sion he visited President Jefferson in
the White House, at the request of
Commodore Barney, and Congressman
Dawson, and when the Secretary, Col !
onel Cole, sent in an usher 10 tell him |
that he must retire, he waylaid the |
Marshal in the street and gave him a
dreadful fiogging, for which, after te- |
dious prosecution, he was fined only |
$40 aud costs. He kept some of the
fastest horses in the country, and ran
at Annapolis, Richmond, Petersburg.
Winchester, Lexington, Lynehburg,
Port Tobacco, and other places. He
drove either four or six horses to
grand chaise, with outriders, and men
in livery, and his own hairwas superb
ly powdered, while he carried a gold
headed cane. On such tours he stop
ped at the prominent places, and open
ed game. He says that his earnings
amounted to half million dollars in
gross. On one occasion, when the laiesat
the Sweet Springs refused to dance with
him, he bought the negro yiolinist and
stopped the music in the height Of the
season. He went abroad to dispose of
some mountain lands, and becoming
short of funds, ran in with some Eng
lish noblemen, who diced freely, and
he bet ESQ, 900. Losing, he threw him
self on their generosity, and they raised
him purse. Again, in France, mag
nifcent luck followed him, and he re-
turned to the United States rich. He
then loaded ship with merchandise
and went into business at New Orleans,
where disagreement with his doxy
made him low-spirited, and he lost his
luck.
In the latter part of Bailey's life,
when he was struggling most earnestly
to amend his evil courses and thrive
by legitimate business, he fell into the
hands of bailiffs, and was hunted from
jail to jail for trivial debts until he lost
the use of his limbs bywearing mana
cles and by rheumatism, when, wretch
ed, pursued and despairing, he went
into meeting house at the town of
Bath, where he had once been great
favOrite, and endeav6red to address
his ignorant soul to the contemplation
of Heaven. The constable suddenly
rushed in upon his meditations, and he
was dragged again to Jail. Finally re-
leased from Hagerst0wn prison by the
intercession of the celebrated Otho
Williams he had no resort buttoindite
his memoirs aud peddle the same from
horse race to horse race.
His book closes at this period, and
although sometimes vulgar, it is so free
and unreserved in its developments
that we may doubt whether any gamb-
Ter ever lived who described himselfso
fully. To the.student of early social life
this is an invaluable book, giving the
depths and heights of gamester's fate.
On one occasion Bailey was convicted
at Staunton of keeping a faro bank,
and under laws, as then enacted. was
TO be sold as a slave. He IL
belled the Judge, St. George Tucker,
and was cited before a committee of
the Virginia Legislature. -Ecchdn0e.