The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-12-22

ing If you should happen to deal
u~nluckily for a week you would be
dead sur to lose your place and
like every other employment, when
you're out il is not so easy to get in
again. I've been a ~faro-dealer for fic-
teen years and have been discharged
several times without the least warn
ing, and without a cent due me.
AS for hard work, l don't know
what q galley slaves work is, but from
what | have heard OF it, it is
easy compared with faro
dealing. You sit in a chair four or
five hours at a stretch, shutf1ing
cards, putting them in a box and
pulling them out again. You have
to watch the layout before you and
the players and all the bets, taking
and paying as the turn GENES in two,
three or fou" diiferent-colored chips.
Your mind can never wander for an
instant, or you will overlook ome
thing. You have to bear in mimi
the value of various markers that
players ask fer, often running
through half d dozen turns You
must keep your temper and be polite
20 everybody. Of ourse you have a
partner who stands watch with
you, acts as your lookout and takes
his turn at dealing. You work from
8 o'clock in the morning until ! at
night. Or from : o'clock at night TIL
t or 5 the next morning, with al
hour off Tor lunch. It is not on,y il
slaves, but a dogs life.'
r. /, :. . ,., rvy A Nrr,.>
DO faro-Iea.ers play against Tie
bank:'
We'll, I should think they did.
They keen their wages anticipated
nearly all the time, hoping 10 make
u scratch and get enough ii a stake
ahead 10 put into some bank roll.
They are Just like the clerks anG
workinsmtn. They keep themselves
in distress all the time trying to make
a win. Sometimes they make it like
George Lester did last winter, bat
more generally they don't and they
are in the hole all the time"
From what class of society Go the
gamblers come from"?'
"FFnm pretty much all, from boot
blacks I'D. Frank Iiernan, who runs
i'll, came froau ~ OF the most aris-
tDcra,ic Catholic families Of Pitts
borg, The Gum boys are q farmers
sons. Mike 1LcUouaii was q train
uny II Ms time. i'at Siiieedy is a
tsrae~s makerby trade. Billy Skea-
gle was u mechanic OF II kind
shoemaker, I think. The !ianbins
nr0tslera came from a. tHrIu. Tom
Kellogg. who died the other day, was
q Blacksmith. and Geda &c Holt. who
VAS :"9;Jentaily kliie.! last spring,
va % brakeman.
~, Let !erumes a. IL, ra1GLirrs::'
-, :. II them die 'bioke.' They
1--we = hard and trying syrt Of life
buru the candle at 10th ends. II
they ever let 20 t."!r Grip 81 any at
cun!uialiou they have E.iue they
| never seem to get il back ugain. 1t
| requires lie s4use business qualities
to take care OF money made at gaui-
bling rs at anything else. and there
are uot MACY OF then t.,tt are good
business H.er. Most OF them, after
ekilg cut their few declining years as
'pi,"Gers' iii a bank, die in poverty
What lisa 'piugGer::''
A 'plugeer' IL a man who is sup
| piled with chips by the dealer for the
purpose o. keeping the game going.
lie usually goes through the tormaii-
" OF buying the chips, but the money
is supplied by Ire bank. His services
| are only needed when the players are
| reduced - one crtw0. He gets S2a
day
tIrnarK. I.ni,r.i Mill Won Sp. Il