St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-09
PLAYED FOR HIS LIBERTY
A Game of Poker in Which Man
Lost Himself.


A Game of Poker in Which Man
Lost Himself.
The presence in this city the other
day of an enormous negro named Jim
Zeigler recalled as interesting a game
of poker as was ever played in this
country. Jim is, perhaps, the biggest
man in the Indian Territory, being six
feet eight inches tall and weighing 2S4
pounds. Well proportioned, perfectly
erect strong as an OK, this dusky Her
cules has for the past ten years COM
manded both respect and admiration
from half the Choctaw Nation, over
near Kuly Chaha, where he lives alone
in ,poverty-stricken, old dugout, his
bOrs call him Hanta-Kalanusa (the
Black Giant, and he is treated with
Difference consequent upon so meritOri-
GUS title. Nobody knows where he
came from, nobody knows anything of
his past life, but of one thing all are
.certain-he is man to avoid at all
times, says Fort Smith. (Ark.) letter.
Jim's poker-playing prOwess is COM
menmensruate with his size. He used
to sit for whole days beside the rough
Indian ''Saw-log" without change of
cOuntenance, without a sound save an
occasional grunt of disappointment or
approval, without thought as to food,
time OF results. One evening about
fourteen months ago four Indians, one
white man named Bud Tucker and Jim
himself met around the saw-lOg at Jim'S
camp to ''go their luck" The game,
as usual, was ''hulla-ke-busko''-
After the oklahoma" (whiskey) jug had
been passed around the conventional
number of lOungers dropped in
to witness the game. Candles
were stuck opposite each man,
and he game was started.
Honors are evenly divided toward the
first hour, the Indians having slight
turned Jim's way. Toward midnight
his success continued, to the evident
chagrin of the Indians, who began to
mutter disappointedly as their strings
vanished. Bud Tucker, however, played
more earnestly than ever. He never
lost hope, but now and then eyed his
brawny competitor with hatred so
keen that the giant drew his next hand
with undisguiSed nervousness, scOwl-
ing erstwhile so savagely that the In
dams became more and more nervous
and finally dropped out about3 o'clock,
leaving the giant and Bud facing each
other to play to finish.
AS the first streakS of daylight pushed
their way between the cracks in the
side of the dug-Out the scene inside be-
came one of terrible earneStneSS. The
two competitors were beginning to show
signs of their long confinement. The
spectators gaZed on with feveriSh in
tereSt, now and then muttering cultural
EXPLANATIONS of surprise at some excit-
ing point in the game. The candles
burned low, leaving long streakS OF tai
low across the board, while card after
card was played between hands trem-
bling from the long and tireleSS strain.
The Black Giant was stripped to the
waist. Huge drops of sweat stood out
on his knOtted temples. His bloOdshOt
eyes cleaned furiously at the board on
which he now steadily and surely lost.
Tucker, small and wiZened, lay prone
on the earth, too weak to sit up.
Anon he would pull his long, gray mus
tache, drink deep draughts of Okla
homa, smiling meanwhile at the disgust
of his gigantic antagonist as successive
pots fell under the flap of his bearskin
saddle-bags. Toward noon, about the
eighteenth hour of the game,a very few
wrinkles disappeared from the giants
face as he glanced over his hand, and
ray of hope cleaned in his yellow,
blOod-shot eyes as he watched fuckers
next play. The wrinkles returned with
increased malignity when Tucker re-
fused cards and stood pat. Big Jim
drew two cards. Betting began. After
every chip had been laid on the
log the excitement of the half-breed
spectators found vent in uncomfortable
cries of wonder, mixed with terror.
Many of them instinctively moved
toward the door. as though fearing that
a lost hand on the giants part would
result in general demolition of every
of suppressed excitement worn by the
players there ragged tremendous strug
gle between passions of Scorn, deter
mination and deadly hatred. Huge
knots stood out upon the darky's head;
perspiratiOn streamed from every pore
of his barred neck; his breath came hur-
riedly and desperately, and his hands
trembled like leaves.
The viii e man jerked his mustache
with increased vigOr and nerved HIM
self into a half-crouching posture, as
though ready to spring at his black COM
petitor's head. The giant wagered his
horse, and finally his house and outly-
ing claim, yet the gray-beard again
smiled and raised him, Without mo-
ment's pause Zeigler Kissed the startling
proposition that his life should back his
hand, and that if he lost he would serve
his vanquisher faithfully in any capac-
ity he should name. At the announce
ment of this unprecedented stake per-
feet howl of surprise went up from the
onlookers, and before it had died away
the Black Giant was a slave in the
hands of his puny rival. Zeigler held
four queens, the white man four aces.
With one glance at his opponents hand
Tucker fell in dead faint, while Zeig-
Ter uttered terrible curse, shuddered
from head to foot, and stalked out of
the hut.
From that day to this he has served
Bud Tucker faithfully, and quasi
friendship has sprung up between
master and slave. Jim attends to Tuck
er's farm, herds his cattle and acts as
whole armed posse in terrOrizing the
hOrse-thieves of the surrounding coun-
try, while in compensation he is allowed
to visit the village occasionally and
enjoy a few days of freedom. He is
now serving the third month of his sec
Ond year.
Wiesbaden. full brother to Wedge
wood, 2:19, died recently in Colorado,
where he has been owned for MANY