Morning journal and courier., 1889-05-22
George HI. DevoI Recalls SoMe of the Big Games Before the War.

AN OLD-TIME GAMBLER.
 Big Games Before the War.
 [Frem the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.1
 George H. Devol is here and he has been in the city for several days. To the younger generation his name is not familiar, but the older people will recognize it as the name of one of the most famous gamblers that ever stacked deck or stole a card. Before the who didn't know Dsvol as one of the most daring sharpeIs that worked on the lower river boats, and his face was as familiar to the planters in the olden days when every river steamer was g gambling hell as the names of the boats themselves. He has re- formed now; the tiger has drawn in his claws. He has written book giving his experience during fifty years. Devol has been an object of much interest ever since he has been in the city, for his wonderful record makes him an interesting character.
 He has had his throat cut, been shot four times, shot at ten times that often and had any number of Chair breadth escapes" He
 was standing on the corner of Sixth and Ol-
 i've streets the other day talking to an old
 steamboat captain who had known him since
 1889. Meeting this old acquaintance threw
 him into reminiscent mood, and he began
 to talk about old times.
 They're gone," he said; "gone for good,
 and the Lord knows we'll never see such glo- rious days in this country again as we had
 before the war. Why, sir, everybody was rich in those days, and happy too. And down South Why, the planters had more money than they knew what to do with. Many time pvs seen a planter take his fam fly, his wife and daughters down to New Orleans and spend twenty thousand dollars on diamonds. And what days for gamblers
 those were! We'll never have such anether
 harvest time. Lord, how those planters
 used to play! They'd take eighteen or twen-
 ty thousand bales of cotton to New Orleans
 and sell lem, and when they came back
 they'd play poker all the way home. They
 didn't care for money when they were play ing among themselves, and some of the
 stakes were big. Some people have an ex-
 aggerated idea about the games though, and, my boy, when some old timer tells you about
 thirty and fifty thousand dollars being put up at one crack tell him he's liar, and if he wants to fight send him to me. I have seen as much as eight or ten thousand dollars put up on snap game. That is man would put up ten thousand dollars as his pile and
 say Now play against that;' but no fifty
 thousand dollar raises go, and they never did
 ge.
 The biggest game ever saw in my life was
 played by party of planters between New
 Orleans and Baton Rouge. It was one hun-
 dred dollars ante and 1t took two hundred
 dollars to come in. But gamblers never
 play that way. It's too big 8 game for 8
 gambler. Besides they wouldn't let us in.
 After we got to be known on the river the planters were friendly to us; they'd meet me
 and shake, invite nae to drink and all that,
 but when they made up game George was
 left out After we were found out we had to
 work strangers only, but, bless your soul,
 there were plenty of them. There were no
 railroads then and everybody had to go by
 boat. The gamblers were fine fellows then
 and great dressers. They wore the finest
 broadcloth in the land, black always; ruff
 fled shirts, with one or two big diamonds
 that cost two or three thousand dollars
 apiece, and a soft felt hat, and they were
 dandies. We were great fellows toe, but we had to have nerve and be quick, for we had
 some close calls. Look at this scar on my throat; fellow named Abe Porter cut me there, and came near fetching me too, for he got into my windpipe. Twas down in New Orleans. He got mad at me one night, though hadn't beat him out of any money, and he caught me by the inustaohe and gave it twist. I hit him and knocked him down and he saved that up against me. Two years afterwards I was standing on the street on Mardi Gras night, and he came up behind me. The first thing knew my throat felt | like some one had drawn piece of ice | across it. Next time I knew anything was | in the hospital with my throat cut. But believe the closest shave I ever had was at ! Napoleon just before the war. A party of Arkansas killers (men who carried pistols | loaded to the muzzle) whom had beat out \ of their money and watches on a boat some l time before, landed at Napoleon. drank | with them for awhile, and then we got up ! game of poker. 1 was seventeen hundred ! dollars winner when the game broke up, and | towards the end of the game I had noticed one of the men cycling me pretty close. When we finished he asked who I was. One of the boys told him I was George Devol, and he went out. l went down stairs into the saloon, and was standing near the bar, when he came in the door with five six of the gang had beat on the boat, and they began to shoot. dodged behind the end of the bar and slipped through the doorway. l didn't shoot back, for 1 knew 1 wouldn't kill more than one of them before they'd get me; so made for the river, and found a darkey in a skiff I jumped in and said to the fel- low:
 "'Row me down the river hard as you can and I'll give you ten dollars an hour.'
 ''The fellow began to pull for dear life, but we hadn't gone very far when the killers kappeared along the bank and began to shoot FsThe dsrkey got so scared he had to quit row ing, and I grabbed the oars and worked harder than 1 ever did before in my life. l made for the center of the river, and as 1t was dark night I was soon out of sight, and the darkness is all that saved my life. '' There's real gambling nowadays to amount to anything" he continued in re- gretful tone "There's little in New York I had a friend who went there about two months ago and won fourteen thousand dollars at one sitting, but all those games are private. There are eighteen gam~ bling houses running open in Kansas just across the Kansas line, and they're doing @ nice business. Bat there are no gamblers now: only young fellows who win few dol l lars and go to a tailor and buy flash suit of clothes, then come out and call themselves gamblers Pshawl They're no gamblers! When you meet real gambler, sir, you meet man of principle. A gamblers word is as good as his bond, and better than many a merohant's boD5