Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-07-11
THE GAMBLER.s FATE.
A Touching Story and o Solemn
Warming.

A few days ago, Lieutenant w. w.
Flemming, of the United States Army
passed Palisade for the East, hand
cuffed and in charge of an officer. The
telegraph, some weeks since, furnished
the SENTINEL the particulars of bis
conviction and sentence. His crime
consisted in embezzling military funds
to the amount of $1,000. His sentence
was imprisonment in the Iowa Peni-
Tertiary (his native Sta,e) for a term of
ten years. The feature Of the trial was
his confession, which, because it tells
a touching, impressive story, and car
ries a solemn warning, we quote with
substantial fullness:
Let me, then, at this supreme mo-
ment, perhaps the eliminating in
my military career, make a frank and
honest statement to you. 1t will az
least relieve a spirit that is broken, n
mind that is surcharged and oppressed
by the weight of the awful miseries /
have brought upon me and mine. /
am yet a young man; / arr 80 years of
ok8 "&' . Il vas t1aitt. "
influences and surroundings which
were kindly and propitioua l am a
graduate of the finest military school in
the world. l belong to a profession
which, thank God, in our country is
universally acknowledged to be the
finest OF any of the branches of public
service. My associations, companions
and friendships have been with men
who are an honor and ornament to
their profession; aud previous to these
occurrences / was well thought Of. /
have introduced some testimony on
this subject. | have a loving. faithful
and devoted wife. Thus brief Y stated,
then, | stand before you a nan who
should have a fortune. / have only
a past, and a horrible past it is at this
point TO contemplate. Would you
know what has wrought this run7 1t
is a passion for gambling. That pas
sion absorbed all my other passions,
instincts and eiuotions-my entire be-
ing. That / have this passion and
have been unable to control it, / / hon
estly think is hardly my fault.
It is easy for men who have no
such overmastering passion. who have
stronger wills and better balanced
minds, to shrug their shoulders and
thank God hat they are not as certain
other men are. | make no claim for
clemency in my case, for there is moth
ing TO base one upon; bat ] ask, nay,
| entreat, that you and those whose
duty it shall be to read this record,
consider the circumstances of it as
mercifully as you can. The Govern
ment, as / understand it, is not a dol
lar loser at my hand, but that lessons
,,,t ann snfn tI. n,s.ru,0rr II $3.50, -
tense. / did not inteud-I have not at
any time intended-to deprive others
of what belonged to them. | gambled
away first what was my own, and that,
even, | could i'll afford to lose. / was
robbed by a lot of thieving sharks.
Having money which belonged to
others in my possession, my brain be-
ing frenzied and my blood on fire, /
took a small portion of it, hoping, and
in my foolhardiness believing. that
luck would turn in my favor, and i
could thus, and from those to whom
| had lost, regain what | had lost. By
hat act i became, as you can all uD-
derstsnd, doubly and trebly involved.
/ was involved pecuniarially; | was
involved with conscience; / was in
volved and entangled in many other
ways. Whatever may be thought oil
said upon the subject, the impulse
which prompted the next step was
honest in its nature. 1t was to restore
that which | had taken belonging to
others. / knew of nc way TO do it ex-
eept by again tempting fate at the
gaming table. / did it on che night of
March 9Th, and lost that night 81 ,450.
l need not tell the rest of the story. /
save myself from its recital. The sub
sequent steps were all taken in des-
peration, and, finally. in utter aban-
donment. The road / took and the OBJ
jects on the way are familiar to you
by precedent and tradition. as the
streets you traverse as you go to your
stations or places of business. Hav-
ing in the day when / gambled what
was simply my own. a prescience of
the fate to which this awful passion
for gambling was hurrying me, | Of
ten took vows and made resolutions
and pledges that | would never gam
BILE again. / did not keep them. l
could not keep them.