The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-02-28
THE GENTLEMANLY GAMBLER.
A Correspondent Meets Striking Type
of the Class,
Who Relates Several Startling Incl
dents of an Adventurous Life.


| acquaintance of Geo. H. Devol one of the
most famous, If not the most famous gam
bier of the west. Only day or two since
noticed in st. Louis paper long account
of how he and his confederates waltzed
Maine Yankee who was going south to buy
| a plantation for 81, 700 at three card monte
| 1t was the old story of Texas stock trader
who had been beaten out of g, 900 by the
little picture cards. and was explaining to
passengers how it was done. He had learned
the trick. Maine saw through il. and want
ed to bet that he did. Devol was a southern
planter. who was tired of planting and want
ed to sell ont, and gently led Maine up TO
the biting point When he did bite ii was
to the extent of his pile of ready CASH
Devol is a gentlemanly looking man of IL.
dark sandy hair, light sandy whiskers, begin
ming TO show the silver a quick piercing
gray eye, ruddy complexion, of good adj
dress. and a sweet talker. He was born in
Ohio. but for thirty years has followed the
profession of gambler. Some wears ago he
worked on the roads leading into Louisville,
and is well known there. Will. operating
on the Short Line road, near l. l., iange, he
won about S 800 and FIVE gold watches, and
ended the game just as the train WAS leaving
Lagrange on its way 10 Cincinnati. The
victims squealed terribly. and proposed to
have their treasure or blood. Tney marshal
ed their force and drew their revolvers.
Devol skipped into the rear coach. locking
the door as he went. He then went TO the
rear platform, and although the train was
running at the rate of thirty-fve miles an
hour, selected clear spot and Jumped He
rolled over at lively rate, bu picked him
self up unhurt though his late friends fred
a vollev at him from their revolvers. He
cut across the country and struck the rail-
road at Lexington junction and went back
to Louisville. .fa.. is
Devol is full of anecdotes of his profession,
Ill 4 IL
game he had with A. NJ Waddell. of Louis
| Vile, and Billy Cheatham, of Nashville,
eighteen years ago. DeyOi and Dad Ryan
| were going down the river Waddell and
Cheatham got aboard at Smi finland. a game
of poker, S25 ante, was soon in progress.
Directly" said Devol, Dad gave me. the
item that he was going to cold deck the
party. / reached over and said to Cheatham,
That is a very fine single-stone diamond you
have there This movement enabled Dad
to ring in the cold deck. Waddell got three
fOurs, and an ace in the draw, and lost 81, 200
on the hand"
Six or seven years ago Canada Bill, an
other famous three-card man, set up at the
mouth of Red river with lot of horses to
sell, mostly all of which he had won, and
store, which he had bought. 1t was right
in the line of Texas travel, and Bill was win
ming everything in sight. Devol suspected
| (wrongfully as is afterwards prOved) that
| Bill had held out 5000 from a divide of win
nings they had made together, and deter
mined to get even. To do this he went to
| New Orleans and manufactured a sucker
especially for Bill. He dressed him up in
rough clothes, gave him $1,000 in money
| tied up in womans silk stocking, and told
him to play the game of sreen by gawking
about Bills stable and counting his
money where Bill could see it. De-
Dol put the, 'sacker'' off at Hogs
| point, three miles below the mouth of Red
river, while he continued on the steamer.
| In due time the sucker came into Bills
| stable, and getting into an out-of-the-w
| corner, pulled out the stocking, which, by
| the way, was a keepsake presented to Devol
| by lady friend, and began to count the
money, Bill dropped on it2 at once, and
| took Deyol out and said: George, here is a
sucker with $1,000 or $4,000; lets take
| him. do you Ihink Lean handle him?''
said Devol. ''Of course you can said Bill.
| ''Tll try it" said Devol. He carelessly APP
| preached the sucker" engaged him in con-
| versa lion. and proposed walk. The suck
| err assented and they walked out together.
| While they were gone Devol told the suck
er" just how to play the game. Said he:
| Pretend that you are going to turn the
! spotted card, but don't do it. Turn the one
L motion to-" After while they came back
and Devol gave Bill the wink that the suck
| err was ready for the bait. Bill
| opened out. The usual ,prelimina-
| ries were gone through with, and
! the sucker united the knots in his stock
| ing and put up $1,000, and Bill covered it,
| Devol being stakeholder for the reason that
| the sucker would not bet unless Devol
would hold the stakes, as he, the sucker"
knew that Devol was an honest man."
/ Everything was all ready; and even then it
looked so fair that the sucker wanted to
turn the card with the spot on it, and it was
| all that Devol could do to prevent it, and he
| had to whisper to the sucker several times
which card to turn. This whispering Bill
| took to be part of the plan necessary to in
| duce the sucker to bite. Finally he
reached out, let his fingers linger moment
| over the card with the spot on it, and then
suddenly turned the right card. Bill looked
| like he would sink through the floor,
and said, That's the first rub.D
| The sucker said, rub. hi; want my
money! and pulled out six-shooter that
| Devol had given him and pointed it at Bill.
| and Bill said, George, give it up" The
sucker wheeled and pointed the pistol at
Devol, who says, "Bili, shall 1 give it upg'
| Yes said Bill, and the money was handed
over. After the sucker walked of, Bill said.
| George, by Cd, have seen. six cooked
pistols pointed at your head andyou didn't
give up nothing. How is it that you give up
so easy now?" Devol replied, II thought
/! that id fool would let that gun go Oh.
Afterward Devol told Bill how he had played
| it on him, and gave him back all but the
$500 which he thought Bill had Theld OUT
on him. After this Bill and Devol worked
together and made great deal of money.
1.-THE closest place was ever in in my
life," said Devol, was in so. was coming
up the river from New Orleans on the
steamer Fairchild, and had won great deal
of money. The boat landed at Napoleon,
| and ahnut Ok of those killers there who in
those days did not think any more of killing
man than they did rat, got aboard. /
opened out and won good deal OF money
and four or five watches. Everything went
along smoothly enough until about clock
in the afternoon, when they began to get