Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1890-11-20

High Play and n Duel Cure the Passion
for the Great American Game.
They were speak, g of poker playing
at the Chicago Ci',o the other night,
says the Mail of that city, and some
pretty tall romancing about big hands
and queer experiences had been told. A
man from Louisville, who. of course,
was called Colonel" had listened in
silence.
"Pve nevah played any pokah, gentle
men, since befo' Il e wah, he began.
II used to lie, recon. one of the most
incorrigible pokah ..layahs in the South.
But could afford it then, and every
body played. / vas a young fellow Of
twenty 70 or twenty-five. owned one of
the finest plantations in kentucky, and
had partnership in tobacco ware
houses in Cincinnati and New Orleans.
I've lost 'em all, or most all, since-lost
all my property, in fact, with the cause.
But at that time, the fall of '5S or the
spring of SO. / was about as well fixed
as any young man in the South.
"My business used to take me great
deal to Cincin att and New Orleans, as
you may suppose, and / always went
by boat There were some great vessels
on the river then, too-the old Natchez,
the Robert E. Lee, the Pensacola. and the
old Hayes They were floating palaces.
and the biggest games of pokah i evah
sat in or evan expect to see were played
in the smoking rooms and saloons of
those boats There was a regular run OF
professional gamblers up and down the
river. but they were gentlemen, gem
orally squah, as quick to defend their
honah as any gentleman, and generally
friends of the captains, who, they say,
stood in with their winnings.
1T was early in the fall of '58. l be-
lieve, that l left Cincinnati on one of
the down river fiiers at one afternoon.
There was good passenger Ii It and con-
siderable merchandise aboard. Among
the merchandise had about twenty as
likely mules as evah was foaled that
was going to carry to New Orleans an
sell. Among the passengers was an old
gentleman from Vahginny with his
daughter, a mighty fine lookin' girl of
twenty, and her m id, likely looking
quadroon girl about the same age. l
noticed 'em that night an the next day.
foh there wasn't any game till the folks
sort Of got acquainted along down about
Cairo. The young lady was mighty
fond of that mig ser girl and the maid
was mighty devoted to her.
The night after we left Cairo some
body proposed a little game. an / an
the old man from Vahginny. who was =
rich tobacco planter, as found out.
agreed to sit in. The other members Of
the party were one of the regular gam
blers, fellow kno .sn as Colonel Som
ers, am niger trader from down river
somewharS had about 81, 600 on me,
an played with variable luck for an
hour or so. till presently along come .
jack pot an broke me.
Colonel Somers won 1t, an he pinched
the old man pretty hard, too was a
goin' to quit, but he said: Stay in, sab.
Yo' credit is good with me foh the value
of that 20 head of mules on the Iowah
deck. An stayed. Ny luck didn't
turn, though, an by 2 o'clock Ibad lost
every one of those mules sat out an
watched the game. Presently the mig
ScA tAoANA &c = "a ~ ttAo4 10AAhS RACDsJ n0A "
kyards an y as gettin' into Somers's roll
right smart 1t run along that way
awhile. an. his luck leavin' him, he
laid back an played 'em close, about
$3 000 ahead of the game.
The ole man from Vahginny had been
losin' steadily an seemed all of sud-
den to get sort of desperate. He says:
Gentlemen. I'm 81, 900 into this game;
I have no mo- money. but have a
mighty likely niggah gal aboard that I'll
put up at 81. 800 fob . few moh JACK
pots
They both consented, and the play
got pretty hot 1t was mighty mean Of
the ole man, thought, bettin' his
daughters own maid, bat he was born
gambler an had that fab in him that
makes man let go of his ovahcoaE
1t was in the morning when that
game broke up an the old man didn't
have q cent The niggsr tradah had
been cashin' his nauah N Rad madn