Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-08-10
Gambling in Montana.

AN overland correspondent Oh the
San Francisco Bulletin writes from st.
Paul:
In the stage between Missoula and
Deer Lodge the only passengers beside
myself were two gamblers and hard
female companion. One of these gam
bieis rode inside with me, and was es-
pecially anxious, apparently, that I
should know that he was gambler.
He had followed the business for eigh-
teen years, and had been in every town
in the territory. His companion had
been all over Montana and. Washington
TERRITORY, and had been gambler at
Virginia and Carson cities; also, at Bo-
die. Business" l was told, was bad in
Montana, and the. pair were on the hunt
for new place Of settlement. 1t will
cheer Portlahders very much to hear
that these gentlemen and their female
friend think seriously of going down to
settle at Portland. The inside gambler
informed me that faro was the squarest
game dealt. He either could not or
would not tell me what percentage or.
advantage, on the average, the dealer
had over the player. He said there
were~four or five men in. Montana who
had 100000 to.$200000 Invested" in
the "business." One of them made {.
quarter Of million and left the.busi-
ness. He is now heavy cattle dealer.
My friend also Informed me
that if three or four of
the leading business men of a town in
dulge in gambling their example causes
dozens of young men to gamble also.
Marriage apd the settlement of a coun-
try, he said, were both bad for his busi-
ness. When young men get married
unless welded to the vice they had no
longer had either time or money to gam
BILE with. | asked him about the risk of
shooting scrapes. in his business. He
said the popular question was all hum-
bug on this subject He said gambler
was as safe at his faro table as if he were
locked up in tie penitentiary. Inoticed
that he carried a pistol, for it got out of
his pocket accidentally, whereat he
volunteered the statement that he car.
ried it on the stage only, because road
agents were plenty. There came near
being some use for pistol, too, on the
trip. At station where we changed
horses drunken stage driver seemed
determined to pick a quarrel with the
gambler onithe outside of the coach.
lilC SdLlbltl Was u NcIy ullc IDOktHS
man, over six feet high and as pleasant
and well-mannered man as ever met.
The offensive stage-driver was an extra
who had no business with our stage at
all, but he got up and emptied
the front boot under the seat
where the woman was sitting. In do
ing so he threw the woman's limbs
around in the roughest manner He
kept talking to himself that he was GO
ing to fight and kill somebody, etc
The outside gambler noted all this, and,
though evidently very much incensed, !,
restrained himself He however,
seemed sorry all the rest of the day
that he had let his unprovoked assail-
ant escape. From being pleasant and
chatty, he turned morose and quiet.
From what | could gather on my trip,
in Montana, whose earnings can, under
no circumstances be less, / should think,
than $40 day each, or S20,0OOa day in
all. My friend informed me, and he ev-
identity knew, that New York and San
Francisco are the two best places for
gamblers in the United states, and that
not, as supposed, because of their
large transient population. 1t is q resi-
dent population with fixed habits that
pays. The same victims year IN and
year out, make up the gamblers harvest.
My inside friend was evidently not sat
isfied with himself, for in moment of
unusual confidence he said that gam
bier WAS an internal lOafer, any way