Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-15
GEORGE DEY0L, GAMBLER.
Some Curious Incidents in a Mississippi sports
Career q

Career.
A representative of generation fast
dying out paid the Memphis Avalanche
Office visit last week. 1t is a generation
of men that lourished and decayed with
the steamboat interest on the Southwest
ern rivers, and though not commendable
from the moralist's point of view, they
were an interesting part of life from Gin
cinnati to New Orleans a score or two
years ago, The visitor was man of
sixty. well preserved and stoutiy built,
with hairy, muscular hands; big
head, from which time is plucking the
strands of sandy hair, short beard Of
the same color, tinged with gray, and
gray eyes, with the quick, keen glance
peculiar to men who have carried their
lives in their hands, and who search in
that swift moment the features of people
they meet the first time. 1t was George
Devol, an Ishmaelite of the Ishmaelites,
for forty years the king of river gam
blers, who in his eventful career has seen
more of the seamy side of existence on
and along the Mississippi than any other
living man, and whose name is as familr'
lar as pig tracks to people who have
travelled on the great river before and
since the war.
Everybody gambIed, - he said as he
sat in the office, land all had stuff 20
lose'' 1 handled every sort of tools
them days-monte. faro, roulette, short
cards, and everything you wanted TO bet
on. l had the privilege on ali the big
boats runnin' out of Orleans, and it
WASH It much of week when 1 didn t
draw out five or ten thousand. Now IN
- =
the monte that used to slay the most
lambs, though 1t was so simple, you
= see, and they all just knew they could
beat it. 1t caught the fellers with the
big wallets that thought they could bust
any little machine like that. Did they
ever bust it? Well, not as remember.
1t wasn't built that way. Yes, I've
been a pretty hard one.
''One thing / can say that lots of men
that think they are better than me can t
Il never beat a friend, or anybody that
i knew and liked. 1 never would give
up money that won when there was a
bluff made, but many's the thousand
dollars I've given back to men thak
eouldn' t afford to lose it, and many g
the time I've given back diamonds and
such to ladies on boats when their hus-
bands would lose 'em to me. Fights?
Well, rather.
GIVE been cut and slashed and shot
all over, but I'm here yet, you see.
Look at that cash on my throat, see that.
wrist shot all to flinders; and thefe,Sas.
plenty more signs where you can t see
'em. My main holt in a rough and
tumble fight was buttin' [ win most oss
my fights that way. 1 never wanted ,s5$fsF
one pass at a man and I had him. Ny
head s as hard as iron. IN bet money
that I can split the skull of any niger in
America, and there s mighty few doors
/ can It bust in. OF course, l wouldn e
be here tonight if the steamboat men
hadn It been my friends. l stood in with
the barkeepers and mates and pilots, and
the officers liked me and Wouldn't see
me hurt by a mob if they could help it.
Still, L We had to take water more than
once to save my bacon when there was
gang after me.
''There are just as many suckers on
the big Atlantic liners as you can find
anywhere on earth, and they are gener-
ally well fiXed-tOur of Europe and all
that, you know. I've worked them many
a time to the queen IS taste. The purser,
stood in with me. I'd go aboard and pIsss
my tools in his office, and he would point !
out to me the passengers most likely to;
be worth my while. I always put a.ztH4k
of good liquor, wine and clgars,iE my
stateroom, and after l got acquainted 1
would invite the fellers to sample 'em,
and then L had the game in my own
hands. - "A