The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-07-28
The Old Canyasman's Story.

| {" l reckon" said the old canvasman-
| reckon if some of these fellows what
writes poetry had got hold of the story
of o. Joseph Beggs, they'd have made a
nice thing of it."
g What was that?' / asked.
g Take seat, and I'll tell it to you"
! SO sat down on the dancing barrel
while the old canvasman related to me
the story of o. Joseph Beggs
"Thats what we always called him, ="
he began" Joseph. The 0 stood
for Oliver, l believe. / don't quite know
how he got to part his name in the middle
that way; but everybody in the company
spoke of him as o. Joseph, and it seemed
to please him nightly. Occasionally
some new member would call him Joe or
Joseph, but Beggs would look so panied
| like at such times that his friends stuck
to the o. He was nothing but groom,
you understand, but everybody liked him
and treated him kindly. He must have
been sixty years old, and from the time
he was a toddling kid he had scented the
sawdust. He was trained for a rider;
| but he met with bad fall when he was
about twenty or Whereabouts, and that
knocked him out of the ring. But it
didn't keep him out of the profession.
Hang me, but l believe he would have
stuck to the canvas somehow if he'd
had to stand up for center pole.
" 1t was the season that Horton took
his company down the Mississippi
be you remember it? We travelled on. a
little wheezy steamer which Horton had
chartered, and pitched the canvas along
! the banks of the river wherever there
was settlement. The company was no
great shakes; but the field was fresh
one in them days, and we did a good
business. Joseph had charge of some
of the horses and l was experimenting
the canvas. Some of the company had
got into the habit of playing poker, in
order to kill time while we were on the
boat, One night they had persuaded O.
Joseph to sit down to little game.
There were three other players, and
among them Tom Long. He was a
Observation-Disclosures very good one, al
though he would Drag more about his
performances than any man you ever
saw. | never liked the fellow, for he
was regular bully. l saw him beat his
ten-year-old boy one day until the
youngster could scarcely stand, and that
was enough for me. A man whatll
abuse woman or a kid amt fit to live.
Them's my sentiments. Well, as | was
saying, o. Joseph sat down to play along
with Tom Long and couple of other
performers. The boys had just got their
salaries and were tolerable flush They
played along for half an hour or so, and
| then 0. Joseph got three kings dealt to
him. He drew two cards and got pair
! of sevens. was watching the game, so
knew the hand came to him fair and
square. The other two players went out
on the deal, but Tom Long took one
card. Then ne and o. Joseph began to
bet. They run the pot up to twenty
dollars, which was the extent of Beggs'
pile.
"' What have you got?' said 0. Joseph.
"' A full hand, with Queens up says
Tom Long. And he was just about rak.
ing in the stakes when o. Joseph said in
his quiet way:
"'I beat you, Tom. Mine is full,
with kings up'
AT that Long got mad, and began to
swear like pirate. He said Beggs had
cheated him, and that nobody could play
that game on him. Then suddenly he
jumped up and struck O. Joseph a stun
ming blow under the eye. He was going
to hit him again, but the rest of us in
terfered, Beggs picked himself up, and
never said word. He even didn't claim
the stakes which he had fairly won, but
took simply his own money. 1t was an
outrage, and if could have had my way
about it I'd have thrashed Tom Long on
the spot. o. Joseph never played an
other game of cards after that
Well, we travelled down the Mssis-
sippi until we struck New Orleans. That
was III August, and the weather was the
hottest l ever knowed. / ought to tell
you that, after the night when Tom Long
struck him, O. Joseph never mentioned
the matter to anybody. He went quietly
about his business and kept out of Longs
way as much as he could. felt sorry
for the old fellow, and offered once to
whip Long for him; but he said no-that
wouldn't do any good. When we got to
New Orleans we found the weather fear
worse, we fond the yellow fever. How
ever, we pitched the canvas with the in
tention of showing week, and for the
first three days we did a rushing bust.
ness. 1t was a Thursday afternoon, l
think, when Dan Talman, the clown,
came into the dressing-tent and said that
Tom Long was down with the fever.
Dan and Long had found cheap board