The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-10-02
The Fatal Card.

former class of steamers were i'm many
respects delightful. but they never ceased
TO be objects ct dread TO timid peoDle for
II the racing which Was reduced to a sys-
tenn, did not result in the loss of the boat
there was sure to be one or more encounters
| between the lawless portion of the travel
efs' IN which pistol-balIeLs would d. rather
| thlck Tor the comfort of steady-going peo-
pie. The cause of such disturbances was
generally IA quarrel over the gambling
table The regulations OF the boat usually
required that all such amusemr nts should
| be conducted In d saloon provided for thar
purpose in the Texas officers cabins"
| situated on the hurricane deck; but the
! sporting gentry We're by no means careful
| 10 obey this rule, and the gaming was most
monty carried on on the dining tables
IN the main saloon of the steamer TO the
great annoyance OF twO-thirds of those Oh
board.
Many professional gamblers used to make
these boats their home, travelling back and
forth with them, and fleeing all who were
Verdant or foolish enough to fall into their
| clutches. So well, indeed. was this system
managed that the various members OF the
| ''craft' seemed to have their different
steamers marked out for them by common
consA so that no one would tres pass upon
| the domain of the other. OF course these
men were warm friends of the officers of
/ the boat, who were either too sincere in their
! friendship to put stop to the practice, or
| too much afraid OF the gam blers to care to
/ provoke a quarrel with them, for IN those
! days it was common affair for such men
10 resent any fancied affront with pistol
! shot.
| One of he most remarkable men of their
! class was named Daniel Sturdivant,
/ trenchman, the son OF broken down
scion of nobility, who had settled in New
| Orleans before the transfer of Louisiana to
| the United States. Sturdivant had been
raised as 4 gentleman" by his aristOcratic
father, but upon comingot age, and finding
ha fal n
As means of lettering them. His success
in this field was so great that he was in
duced To continue it until at the time 1
write, and he was one OF the most nOtori-
Gus gamblers between st. Louis and New
Orleans He was fOrty-tiVe years old, but
had kept himself so we'll that he seemed
much younger. He was a man of fine
personal appearance ana of great physical
strength. He was also noted for his per-
sonal courage. As gambler he was most
expert and successful.
There were dark stories of deeds which
he had com mitted while under the influence
of play aud liquor and it was said by some
that ne had killed half dozen men in his
lifetime. Yet no one cared to speak these
stories openly, for no one cared to bring
upon himself the anger of such man.
There were few who knew i'm who really
cared to play against him, but they feared
a refusal to do 50 might involve them in a
quarrel with him, and rarely declined his
Invitations.
About fifteen years ago, the time of
which | write, he had attached himself to
one of the magnificent steamers plying
between New Orleans and Nicksburg and
had publicly announced his determination
to shoot any man who attempted to en-
crOach upon his scene of operations Of
course this left him in undisputed posses
sion Of the ti"ld, and he reaped a golden
harvest from it during the one brief year
that he conducted his operations there.
1t was my lot at that time to be compell-
4 Is..N, fA,.I
leans and Vicksburg, being heavily engag
ed i'm cotton specuatiOns L preferred the
steamer OF which SturdiYant had taken
possession, inaSmuch as II was not only the
most comfortable, but also the sWlftest, and
time was of importance to me. 1t was
known that | carried large sums of money
with me, and | was always apprehensive
lest Sturdivaut should ask me to play had
fully made up my mind to refuse him, and
if lie attem pied to draw me into quarrel
to shoot him without mercy, as L knew that ,
the only chance for my life lay in getting
the advantage of him. Strange to say, he
did not make any such proposition to me,
and gave him no chance to do so.
One night we had started out from Nicks-
| burg and was heading merrily down the
| river, when Sturdvant came up to the
group which had gathered around the
stove, He had been drinking and was
smoking fine cigar as he approached. All
| made way for him.
well, gentlemen" he said in an un
| steady tone, ''you seem to be terrible dull.
Who wants TO play tor $50 ante ?"
There was no reply. All present seemed
to know the man, and no one cared to vol
unteer to place himself in his clutches.
"Umphr' he exclaimed, with an expires
| sion of contempt. ''afraid to try your luck
against Dan Sturdivant, Ell? Or maybe you
| want a little coaKing. Some of you must
/ play with me. l can't stand such treat
ment. Come, let's see who it will be-"
! He glanced around the crowd as if TO Sc
4 > mott. Il
the gaze of one OF the group fixed steadily
upon him. He was a stranger to me, and
was dressed in plain suit of homespun,
and his face was partially concealed by
widebrim med som brerO which was drawn
over it. He was small, but powerfully
made man, and in the decided expression of
his well-shaped hand | read an unusual
tirmness and intensity of purpose.
Are you Daniel Sturdivant, the gamb-
Ter ?" he asked IN 9 calm tone, without rls-
Sturdivant flushed darkly ana gave the
stranger fierce glance.
"Some persons call me so, behind my
back he said, insolently; 'but no one
would dare apply that term to me before
I'Nevertheless," said the stranger, 81
v~ant an answer-yes or no
ssWeii them" said the gambler, II Rm.
What of it?"
"Simply this" replied the stranger, Il
have heard it said that you claim 70 De the
best card PLAYER in the Southwest. haze
come two hundred miles TO prove you
liar"
sturdivant strobe forward step or two
and thrust his hand into his breast as if to
grasp q weapon.
''Stop" said the stranger, elf you shoot
me, you will simply prove yourself afraid o.
nae. Take your seat at the table, and Will
make my word good
There was something in the calm, stern
manner of the stranger that seemed to rem
der the gambler powerless. He hestated
for a moment and then said bullying:
Il never play with a man whose face L |
cannot see"
"Never mind my face said the stranger.
IF your are not afraid of losing. you shall
see it when l am done with you"
"But how do l know you have money |
enough for such sportp" persisted Sturdi- |
want. "You look seedy enough, my hne
fellow"
There" said the stranger. producing a
large pocket book. 81 have $4,000 there; |
If YOU can win it YOU shall do so. )"
With an oath Sturdivant placed himself
at the table and babe his challender do like |
wise Those of us who had listened to this !
singular dialogue now gathered around the |
table expecting to see scene of more than |
usual interest The stranger had not yet
raised his hat-brim, and none of us had
seen his face. but we all felt from his gener- |
al air and manner that Daniel SturdiVant
had at last met his match. It did not take
long to show that the stranger was an I'M
usually good player For an hour or more
the playing went on in silence. The stakes
were high and the contest marked by rare !
skill. SturdivaDt exerCed himself as he |
had never done before, but in spite OF his
efforts he lost steadily. By the expiration
of the time indicated above he bad lost two
thousand dollars. and strange light came
into his eyes. AT last, with an exclama-
ton Of triumph, ne drew toward him the
heap of notes.
THAT was well dOne.n said the stranger.
~ on are an expert at cheating. But go on. |