Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1890-11-21
Won Half a Million.

''The oldest betting l ever heard OF,
said one oil broker to another in the HoH
man House, the other day, says the New
York World, ''was between Henry Harley,
! who first conceived the idea of tidewatel
/. pipe line from the oil regions, and the oil
/ operators who used TO make their head
| quarters early in the seventies in Harley
offices. The gambling spirit pervaded the
whole business in those days. Henry Har-
| ley and his Brunswick crowd used to get
together about 10 in the morning. and
Henry often opened the ball by offering t.
| buy or sell 800 600 barrels of oil at given
figure at certain hour that day. He might
gain or lose as much as $780, coo on one of
seemed to satisfy him. He fought shy Of
side issues. But not so the gang.
Niger up or niger down" the avenue
was their favorite gambling game. 1t was
their own invention. Two of them would
sit at a side window and the other three at
window fronting on Fifth avenue The
two on the side would bet each other $40.
$40, $50 or 800 clip, as they felt in
clined, that the first colored person pass
ing would go up or down the avenue.
The three in front would be
judges and referee. Day after day and
week after week the gang taxed their in
genuity to get Harley into their game.
"Phillips-nGt one OF the brothers, but
an oil man also-had lost SIS, 900 to Wes-
ton one morning in an oil deal before Bar
ley got to the office. Phillips felt little
sharp set, and he bet Weston $500 more
that he would get Harley into the 'nigger
up or niger down game before night
Weston took the wager.
"0n his way down town Harley, who
was pretty close observer, had read in
his morning paper that the colored people
of New York were going to celebrate
Emancipation Day that day by grand
parade which would form in Union Square
and march to Central Park. He attached
no particular Importance at the time to the
announcement, but when he got to his
Office and Phillips began badgering him to
bet 'nigger up, niger down at $50 head
his eyes flashed and, to the astonishment
of all the oil men within hearing, and the
gang in particular, he broke out with:
1--we stood this thing long enough now,
and I'm tired of it. I'll bet you an even
hundred each that more negroes go up
than down to-day
ba iudgaS and tho rafaraa urat y,
their windows and Harley went about his
business as if nothing out of the way had
happened or could happen.
''By IL o'clock $40 colorcd people-men,
women and children had gone down Fifth
avenue in plain sight of the judges and not
single one had gone up. Phillips natur-
ally felt little 'sot up since he was $s7-
900 to the good, and he ordered in has
ket of wine. Harley kept up al impertur
bable front. He was secretly astonished,
inasmuch as the matter had gone Just the
opposite of what he believed he had rigat
to expect they would go. 1t didn't occur
to him that the SO people were going
down to where the parade was to form.
"At l O'Clock he returned. He had
hardly got his head inside the door when
wild barbaric strain was heard pealing up
the avenue, aud in a moment gorgeous
sable drum major broke into view, at the
head OF splendid negro band, Every
neck was craDed out To see what bad
broken loose, but Harley, who felt chat his
time was coming ut last, kept his own
counsel Before j o'clock that day 6,0U0
coiored people marched passed the Office
windows III the Brunswick Hotel and Eag
ley was 1913, eco ahead of the game oi
niger up or Niger down. don't be-
lieve it was played there much after tha.
Harley accepted dinner to the gang in
lieu of his stakes.