, 1881-06-03


.#H HH HHr-H.".
... .... r.. .s. r
|. H-....E IGfHr"ff.. .'|I l#E'r.
. ..... ..s.a H.a m.HL l.'..l carl
.....r .. Obi. Wabash. There tFr MANY
.r....f.. .f I.u chat have been handed
...ar rr.I a.. aaffh preserving
d .- ola -.ttI.gs are o. hD believed.
odd p.e" luI thc late Judge Petit hal
many r lively ta-~ci 80 IL, card-tahle-
Bn ono occasion the two sat down early
u tl, forenoon at their fayorite game OF
"oII -l,dgc. five dollars game.
About four o'clock in the afternoon,
when Petit was about seventy dollars
winner. he announced to Digby that he
must quit.
What are you going to quit for?" in
0uired Digby.
II want to 90 and take care of my
horse" replied Petit. In those days
every lawyer kept horse to ride the cir
cuit.
II can go without my dinner" the
Judge continued, but | am not going to
abuse my horse just to accommodate you
at this game.
Petit retired with Digby's seventy
dollars in his pocket. The next morn
ing, bright and early, they were at 1T
again. Digby had big streak of luck,
and before twelve o'clock had bagged
one hundred and twenty dollars OF
Pettit's money. Raking from the table
the last ten dollars put up, he announced
to Petit that ne WAS going to quit.
''What are yOu going to quit for?' IN
quired Petit.
"Why, l must go and feed my horse,
John"
"why-you," replied Petit, ''you
haven't got any horse!'
"Well, John, if l haven't got any
horse, slapping his hand on his breeches
| pocket, I've got the money to buy
| one! !"
The game was closed.
Digby, who was bachelor, had a small
| one-story frame house put up on Main
street, close to where the canal now Is,
as an Office and sleeping apartment.
After it was finished, but the plastering
not sufficiently dry TO be occupied, Digby
| and Petit sat down to play their favorite
game of old sledge. Digby's money was
| soon exhausted and Pittit declared the
game closed. Digby proposed one more
| game, stalking his new house against a
certain sum of money. The game was
PLAYED, and Petit was the winner. The
next morning he made bargain with q
| house mover to remove the building to a
| lot he owned on the south side of Main
street, little east of the public square.
] The wooden wheels were put under ii
and in the afternoon it was started up
| Main street with a long team of oxen be-
| fore it, and ut dark had reached the pub
lie square. That night Digby and Petit
had another game, and in the morning
| there was u readjustment of the wheels
and the house was started on its return to
the river. 1t reached its proper place
| in the street and was left to be put back
in its old position on the morrow. But
| the next morning II was started up town
again. The next day it took the
other direction, and by this time the
| whole town came to understand it. FL
nally it remained in the public square
over Sunday and on Monday continued
its way up Main street and WAS wheeled
on Petit lot. He soon moved his books
into it and for many years occupied it
as law office.
In the early days on the Wabash nearly
all the lawyers played poker. During
court week the time was about equally
divided between trying cases, playing
poker and attending horse races. 1t was
no uncommon thing for Judge Porter
the first circuit Judge, and by the way,
a Connecticut Hankee-to ajourn his
court to attend horse race. He was
very fond of cards, but would enforce
the law against gambling. And thus Il
once happened, as published in the Sun
day Times of February 9th, that ne was
indicted, along with several members of
the bar, in the Tippecanoe Circuit Court,
for gaming. The record shows that he
pleaded guilty, assessed the fine against
himself, and paid it Lafayette
Sunday Times.