The Benton weekly record., 1882-12-07

SLIM JIM5S QUIET BU RIAL.
ais Strange Career as Hold by Gzae Of
the Ea0gErRers.


shop, 81 Greenwich street, yesterday af
/ tern0On. No minister, no weeping rela-
tiVes, no flowers lo tears were TO be seen.
Only 4 couple Of dozen IF rough men
went into the shop, singIy OF III couples,
and took a look at the corpse. It was the
body Of a man OF 30, with i high fore
! head, prominent nose, and the expression
of a man who had seen life IN some Of its
roughest phases. The undertaken said:
'FThere is no use in publishing his name.
His last request was that it should be kept
secret, because he did not wish his poor
old mother to know Of it, She is 70 years
old, and living in q comfortable home
Down East which he provided for her.
He said it would not do any good to let
her know that he was dead. ....-s
'EHe was the slichcst-handed man that
ever tossed q pasteboard," said one Of the
bystauders. He went by the name Of
Jordan, but his real name WAS Bruce. lie
was well known among the sporting fra
ternity as the original "SIim jim, king Of
the three-card monte men," His real name
was James Brace, and he was a farmer
boy away down in Maine, up to 1868. One
day he went to q county fair and saw ts
man tossing the three cards. He thought
he could pick up the little joker. 1t look
ed so easy to make $5 by saying "that's
the card,' when he saw the corner turned.
| He bet and lost, and bet and lost as many
q greenhorn has done before and since.
In trying to get $50 out Of the three-card
monte man, on what he thought q sure
thing, he lost $25 Then he made up his
mind it would be q good game to learn.
He learned it so well that he made over
! $500, 600 out Of it.
Jim was ) feet II inches tall, weighed
$50 pounds, had u smooth face, and looked
look at him when he was made up for bus
mess you would think him a country lout,
who needed to be taken care Of. He used
to wear a suit Of 'sdungarecs,' OF brown
country garments, that made him look
like farmers man in store clothes. When
he got Oh those dungarees, with a straw
hat, big boots, with his pantaioons tucked
in, and a hunk Of gingerbread, he was
ready to skin the sharpest counUryman that
ever tried to rob o monte plan by pretend
ing to guess card when he thought he
| had it sure.
| Jim, dressed il this rig, would stumble
into an express train at u country station,
sprawl over the floor, spill a few out Of a
bag Of $40 gold pieces, swear that he had
been robbed Of part of the money he had
/ got for selling his farm, and in 4 clumsy
way bring out the cards to show how the
gamblers got the best OF him. His cap
Ders or cOntidants would gather about, and
soon Jim would have 4 first-class game
under way. The greenh0rns would be
sure to bite. Jim would turn up the cor
ner CT the ace III such d clumsy way and
let them win a few times to get them excl
ted. Then the simpletons would bet all
they had, and Jim would scoop it.
For years Jim has been known at races,
fairs, and Oh the principal railroads. He
worked them all as long as he could. He
was very successful on the Union Pacific
and Central Pacific railroads, and was the
best stsure thing gambler" il America.
He was the equal Of the celebrated 'fCau-
ada Bill,'' the three-eard monte man who
died in Philadelphia recently.
Jim offered the Union Pacific Railroad
Company $4,000 for permission to ply his
game on their road in 1870, and agreed
that he would not fleece anybody but dea-
cons and clergymen. He used to say that
it was perfectly fair thing to swindle the
pious people who we're trying to cheat
others by betting on what they thought
was sure thing.
Jim was we'll known in Utah, Califor-
MIA, Nevada, and, in fact, throughoutthe
West. Often the railroad companies
would put detectives after him to keep
him off the trains. Latterly he has work
ed the trains between New York and
Washington. He was not without SYM
patl1y. IF he won from man who could
afford to lose he would not care how much
he toek away from him. But, if he
thought the victim could not spare it, he
would give back part Of the money with
the good advice, "Don't gamble; don't
even THAT you are alive. =
Jim was registered az tile Park Hotel,
Mat Gooderson's old place, as James Jor-
dan, and by that name he was mostly
known. A week ago last Saturday night,
he was out with some friends pretty well
on to Sunday morning. He got to scaff-
fling and fooling, all in fun, with Matt
Carroll. Carroll got into scuffle with
another man and shot at him, lifting jim
by mistake. The ball lodged in the groin,
and lie was taken to Bellevue Hospital,
where he died. Some Of the boys visited
him i'll the hospital, and did what they
could for him. They raised $3.50 to bury
him decently, and some Of them sat uF
with the body last night. Who were they
Well, perhaps there is no use saying who
they were, as the man was crooked. But,
though he was. a crooked man, he had
good heart, and many is the dollar ne took
from those who could afford to lose II, and
gave il. to some poor emigr:tnt without
dollar IN The world
The facts with regard to the shooting q
rg1.z Df