National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-03-12
FIFTY GAMBLERS.
A THRILLING STORY OF vICKsBURG
Rescue of the City from Cutthroats-Au Occurrence
Never Before Described-Fate OF the Ruff.
fians-A Terrible Retributioa-Ths
Vengeance of Mob.

Rescue of the City from Cutthroats-An Occurrence
Never Before Described-Fate Of the Ruff.
ffans-A Terrible Retributioa-Ths
Vengeance OF a Mob.
1t is because | was in Nicksburg when
| the events which am about to describe occurred
that am able to give the exact facts of what was
the most exciting epoch in the history of that city
up to the war. This occurrence, believe, ha:
never been described-at least L have never seen
i-and it furnishes, perhaps, better than anything
else an idea of the state of society it existed In
| that period in the wild Southwest On the Fourth
of July, 1885, there was grand celebration given
| i'll honor of the national holiday. The town was
| gaily decorated, bands were the streets, and
there were evidences on every hand that the day
was one of general rejoicing. barbecue-a favor
lite feature of the Fourth of July celebrations in
the SOuth-was the event of the day, and to this
| everybody was invited For the time the utmost
| good feeling reigned. Even the vengeance sworn
against the gamblers forgotten, or, if not for
| gotten at least suspended. Eminent speakers had
| been invited from other States, and among those
there on that day were Alexander McClung
| of Kentucky, with Foote and Prentiss, and Others
equally well known in that day, if not well re-
| membered in this. They were all Democrats and
[
One table had been reserved for the invited guests
and the other eminent persons present and at this
were seated some thirtyfive or forty men. In such
| a mixed aSSemblage as the barbecue attracted
| there were not unnaturally O large number of
| neutrality-suspicious. gamblers-Of whom it was
| estimated there were not less than two hundred
! and fifty in the city at the tirle These gamblers
| had their headquarters in colony of their own,
| or rather in three houses, known as the " Kan
! garoos, Nos. l, 2, and 81 With them in these
| houses were associated the most abandoned
| wretches of both sexes to be found in the whole
| Southwest. Some of the notorious among
these gamblers were known in every State along
! the Mississippi, among them being George Black
burn, Frank Cabler, Bill Esken, Alexander Mccoy,
Jim Hood, and Tom Carr. The military had
turned out at the barbecue, and were under arms,
as part of the attractions of the day. While the
| speech making was going on the gambler, Black
/ burn, who was present in company with Cabler,
| his partner, both being seated at a table apart
from the speakers, began an interruption, Black
| burn remarking that he was "going to have some
fun, if he cleaned out the whole table" Some
body shouted to Blackburn TO sit down and not
cause disturbance. 1t was use. He was
bound, he said to start the fun and so saying he
jumped on the table
| THE FUN STARTED IN EARNEST.
As he did so several of the soldiers jumped from
| the table where they were sitting and demanded
that he sit down. Blackburn refused and defied
them. Presenting their guns, the soldiers damned
them against Blackburn and pushed him off the
table. He struggled fercely. but was finally over
powered and cut in the struggle. Cabler, who at
tempted to assist him, was also mastered Both
men bleeding, but still defiant, were then bound,
a canoe was got and they were placed in it and
pushed from the shore. In another moment they
were floating down the Mississippi, being rescued
by their fellows some half mile below The gam
blers were furious and threatened revenge, making
no secret of the threat that they would burn the
town down during the night. The barbecue
broke up. 1t was known-everybody felt,
that the gamblers meant business and that
the lives and property of all respectable people
were in the most imminent danger when night
came Nobody thought of anything but safety.
and the widest excitement prevailed. Citizens
everywhere were seen arming themselves to await
the struggle that all felt was at hand. In the
midst of all the commotion, however, there W ere
some people who did not lose their heads. One of
those was DR.. William Bodley, of Kentucky He
quietly selected number of men, formed them
into vigilance committee, and placed himself at
their head. This done, the vigilance committee
assumed the defensive, and sent word to the gam
blers that they had only five hours in which to
leave Vicksburg Or! Many of them did So
idle. They were North, Helms, Dutch Bill
Haines, John A. Murren, and another man
whose name I have forgotten. These men
had gathered at Norths gambling rooms,
near the river. Here they barricaded them
selves. and to the command to leave swere that
they would not move, and would kill any man who
interfered with them. DR.. Bodley, hearing Of this
went down to North's place, as he said, to make
last effort to convince them of the folly ofresist
f. A. l. IT. l. II
hardly got within speaking distance when a shot
from one of the gamblers was fired and DR.. Bod
ley fell dead in his tracks. He never breathed
again. The result may be imagined. The peace
loving citizens, who but an hour before were SIM
ply bent on self-protection, were transformed for
the time into blood thirsty mob, and, reckless of
danger, they charged on the house. and, breaking
down the barbados captured the FIVE gamblers
A TERRIBLE RETRIBUTIoS.
The " Kangaroos" were separated from the city
by bayou, which was crossed by wooden struc-
ture known by the suggestive name of the Bridge
of Signs" Across this the now frenzied people
hurried the captive gamblers. On the other side
trees were selected and in less than an hour after
the murder Of DR.. Bodley the five gamblers were
swinging by their necks, dead. But this was not
the end: it was only the beginning of the terrible
retribution to be eXacted. The mob advanced on
the three houses known as the "Kangaroos," and
found that there were still many of the gamblers
who had not taken flight while there was yet time.
These were seized, some of them shot down, 9TH
ers driven into the river, and two Of them taken
by the mob and thrown from the Bridge of Signs"
into the stagnant waters of the bayou far below
For over an hour this terrible continued be-
fore the vengeance of the mob was satisfied and
their work considered done. How many men per-
ished that night will never be known, but 1 have
heard of between fifty and sixty who were at 'the
Kangaroos" ON the Fourth Of July and who were
never heard of afterward. The bodies of the five
gamblers who were hanged were kept swinging for
two days, guard standing by with orders to shoot
down any one who should attempt to remove
them. Nor were the people of Vicksburg even
then satisfied. They followed the most notorious
of the gamblers into adjoining States, and more
than one fell victim to their vengeance. But
they did their work thoroughly-they rescued
their town from the domination of the cut-throats
who had ruled 1t, and thereafter Ficksburg was
never called-as she had been before that memora-
BILE Fourth of July-"the gamblers paradise"
How the gamblers who escaped played promi-
nent part in the conquest of Texas Is for another
chapter.-J H. Greene in the Philadelphia Times
Chinese In the United States.
In 1870 there were 1924 Chinese in
the United States and of these 49, $40 were in Cali
fornia According to the census Of 1880 there are
now "a, OPS Chinese in California alone In Oregon
Nevada it has increased from ,l52 TO 400 in Col