Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-05
POKER ON THE PLAINS.
rhe Clever Trick by which Two Card
Sharps Made Money in New Mexico.

far Western cattle range. 1t was
bright cold November morning. We sat
at the breakfast table, which had been
drawn in front of fire that had burnt
brightly on the hearth, picking the bones
OF brace Of blue grouse, and drinking
good coffee. Breakfast over and our
cigars lit, we sat in easy chairs, with our
feet resting on another in good c0mrade-
ship. The talk drifted from cattle and
mines to cards and gamblers. as II always
did when Alexander and / met.
After long silent look into the past
my friend asked DO YOU remem GER
Johnny Shang:7 Then. seeing that did
not recall Shaug he suggested to jog my
memory. Gle killed SUBWAY N FARGO,
On the Red river of the North, and after
wards shot the telegraph repairer of the
telegraph pole that stood in front Of his
saloon in Bismarck" "Yes, now l re-
member him." | said. "He was a tall,
thin, consumptiye looking man, with an
RQuiline nose and high cheek bones and
steel-blue eyes. lie used TO travel with
the seyen-up sharp who carried The io0ded
cane" Yes that is the man, Well, ne
and the seyen-up sharp played, so ! awe
been told, the neatest game on the New
Mexican and Arizona snort-card players
that ever heard Of. Shang as you know
Of the upper Missouri valley was more
than he could safely endure. So be and
his pal, the seven-up sharp, decided to 90
to California to live, first spending the
winter in New Mexico and Arizona. Pre-
paratory to their journey they sent TO
New York for a few gross OF stamped
cards, common star-backed, steamboat
cards. and the explanatory charts which
accompany them. After having mastered |
the chart and the marks sufficiently well |
TO be able TO tell the suit and value Of all /
the cards by glanclng at their backs, they |
packed the cards into their trunks and /
started for Santa Fe. There they seps- |
rated, taking different routes into the min /
ing camps and cattle towns. They repre- /
scented themselves to be drummers for /
card manufacturing house. In every |
town or camp they struck, they stocked /
one or two saloons with their cards. Ii |
they could not sell them they gave them |
10 the saloon keeper Just as a sample OF 4
the goods their hOu sc manufactured. /
Each kept a list OF the names of the !
saloons. and the towns they were in, that /
they sold to. When the cards were all /
placed, they returned to Santa Zee and eX- |
changed lists. Shaug took the route the |
seven-up player had stocked and he /
Shang's route. They would stroll into /
the designated saloons and sit into the |
game, and if these cards were not ON the |
table they would curse their luck and /
teRru up cards as is the wont OF gamblers, /
and call for fresh packs until their cards /
were brought on. Then the luck would /
change and they would speedily trim up |
the game. They bankrupted the short
card players of New Mexico, and created |
regulations as phenomenal poker and |
seven-up players.
Through with New Mexico. they Or
dered more cards and generously stocked |
the saloons of Arizona. While playing in |
an Arizona mining camp. Snang saw one /
OF bis New Mexican victims, whom BUSH /
ness had called into Arizona, looking at |
him curiOusly. He took alarm at once. I
be knew If he was DC sctCd in using !
marked cards that he would be killed. |
He cOOlly rose from Ike table, leaving mis- |
checks on ii to show tina: he was coming /
back, and eXcusing himself for a few 1
minutes, walked briskly out Of the saloon.
II was just stage time. Shang did not |
wait to get his trunk but clambered into /
the stage and left town. He sent word to
his pal TO get out Of Arizona at once and |
JOIN him in California, I heard that they |
were both killed on Wood river, in Idaho, |
a couple Of years ago."
We sat in silencs for few minutes. / |
was soberly thinking of the many men |
knew who had been ruined by combina-
ton OF poker and whisky, and Of how re-
gularly the red hand of sudden and violent |
death appeared among them. Almost all |
the men my friend spoke of he uncon- /
sciously idensi l. { and recalled TO my |
memory by - mention OF some bloody |
murder. | was becominT decidedly |
serious, when he interrupted my thoughts |
with a merry laugh, and in reply to my |
look Of inquiry said: 81 was thinking of |
Shorty's game of poker"
Instantly there arose before me the !
figure Of short, brOad-shOuldered, bow
legged, tOwheaded, weak-mouthed man
OF 30. Shorty was an innocent from
Nova Scotia, VINO was employed on Alex
ander's Colorado ranch as a cowboy.
shorty's surname and Christian name
were unknown on the cattle range. Ny
friend laughed again, and then said
''ShOrty was ambitious to become poker
player. He consulted me as to the best
method 10 be employed to enable him to
grasp the intricacies OF the game. |
agreed to teach him to play poker. So,
when | was at the home ranch used 10
play poker with shorty for beans.
taught him the value of the hands, but
would not teach him when and how to
bluh. Then l showed him the simple
tricks used to cheat at poker, such as the
double discard, the bottom deal. slipping
the cut, Gaping the deck, palming the
cards, discarding to the deck. and how TO
ring In a cold deck. ladyised MIN to get
50 10 nickels, TO put half m one pocket
and half IN the other, 10 call one pocket
Dick and the other Jack, and 20 play one
pocket against the other. There was
nothing Tor shorty TO do around the home
ranch except 10 drive a few COWS TO and
fro. Time hung heavily on mis- hands. lie
was very lonesome. He would sit on The
prairie for hours playing pOker-a sort
OF studnorse poker, IN which he was the
dealer and two dummies played against
each other. Whenever / came to the
ranch, which was about once week,
Shorty would grayely tell me OF the result
OF the weeks play. ] noticed that Dick
was steadily winning. soon Shorty had
10 keep book IN which 10 enter Jacks
Indebtedness, which amounted 10 quite a
large sum. j went Oh with the COWBOYS
Tor couple OF months, and when re-
turned shorty told me that Jack wns
heavily indebted to Dick, and that be did
not believe that the former could ever
play even. ] inquired into Richards
phenomenal run OF luck, and the Blue
Nose innocent told me that Dick Was such
a cunning chap that he capped the deck
and double discarded and stacked the
cards, and was on the whole much more
adroit player than Jack. Then be showed
me the account book. 10 took three
figures 10 express Jacks indebtedness.
Shorty was so serious about the
absurd game that became alarmed
fearing that tha isolated life had affected
bis brain. So ] sent him 10 the beef ranch.
That ended the game between the pockets,