Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-02-27

felt confidence enough In himself to play
his hand unassisted. The limit had been
low and the play small, out of regard for
his majesty's ignorance of the game, but
as he began to comprehend its general fea-
lures and its opportunities ne became more
interested and excited, until he insisted
and at last commanded that the limit
should be taken off.
1t WIS two o'clock in the morning. the
king having insisted that the game should
go on, and the largest jack pot of the
night was on the table Several hands
had been dealt around without any one
having expressed his ability to open the
pot, when the king, with a look of sur
prise and smile of pleasure and triumph
combined, announced with an expression
of glee that he would open it twenty dol
lars worth, for through courtesy the royal
player had been allowed to win quite a
pile of silver.
Every one stayed. The paymaster drew
three cards, the lieutenant the same num-
ber, the assistant engineer took two, and
the trader one. The king stood pat and
put ten dollars more into the pot. The
paymaster saw him and raised him twen-
ty-five dollars. The others all STAYED
The paymaster threw in twenty-five dol
lars more and his majesty was right there.
Finding that things were getting toe
warm, the other officers and the trader
dropped out.
The paymaster put down the cigar he
had been smoking, skinned his hand over
and showed fifty dollars to the middle of
the table. The king put up the equiva-
lent in Chilian silver dollars, the currency
of the islands, and drawing a small can
vas sack from his pocket emptied its con-
tents before him and excitedly placed in
the pot the funds of the royal treasury of
Samoa, amounting to seventy-nine dollars.
in silver dollars, halves and quarters.
The paymaster's face grew serious and
he looked at his royal opponent in hesita-
ting, puzzled sort of way Could this
be Samoan Ah Sin he had run against.
he pondered. Had this kingly, copper
colored son of a gun learned the art of
poker from visiting traders years before,
and had he been playing 'possum all the
evening! The officer had six or seven
months pay in his pocket and he decided
to venture some of it for the purpose of
finding out. After few moments of in
decision he drew five hundred and seven
ty-nine dollars in gold from his pocket and
added to the pot, which now covered the
table.
Malietoa gave gasp and called for
bowl Of kara to nerve himself for what
was to follow. The other, officers and the
".
Malietoa announced himself as being
out of funds and requested the paynaster
to take his word for five hundred dollars.
The officer smiled, but made no reply. and
continued to look fixedly at the pot.
Then the excited monarch offered to put
up the island Manono, one of the finest in
the Samoan group, against the five hun
dred dollars. The paymaster consented,
and a transfer deed of the property, duly
signed, attested by the trader, who was a
notary public, and witnessed by the other
two officers, was put in the pot Then
the king called the paymaster
The moment of supreme excitement ar
rived. Slowly the paymaster laid down
four aces and five spot.
With a look of horror and Samoan
wall of despair his majesty exposed to
view three kings, an eight spot and
deuce. Then he fell off his chair in a
faint, the excitement having been too
much for his nerves. Attendants were
summoned and he was removed to his own
house.
The paymaster shoveled his money into
a sack and placed it in the traders Office
safe. The deed for the island he put in
an inside pocket, and with his brother Off
GERS went to one of the hotels and passed
the night there.
os LihS " VI tllc 1OIlOWlnR morn
ing the details of the big poker game were
known to every one in Apia. The Ger
man and English consuls sent official COM
municatiops to the American consul pro-
testing in the most emphatic terms against
the action of the king in disposing of the
island of Manono to an American or any
one else, and warning the consul that. un-
less the paymaster returned the deed for
the island to the king at once, they would
Immediately direct the attention of their
respective governments to the case
Here was pretty state of affairs The
officer had no doubt won the island fairly
and the kings sction was binding, but in
the tension in which Samoan affairs were
at that time the the German and English
governments would only too willingly
have taken advantage of the circumstances
as an excuse for international complica-
tions, ending ultimately in a disastrous
way to American interests
The facts were fully explained to the
paymaster, and on the promise of Malie-
toa that he would give the officer a number
of fine mats and other Samoan articles of
value, the deed was returned to the king
and destroyed. By mutual consent of the
consuls and others the affair was hushed
up in every way and never referred to-
and thus allowed to die out
Malietoa took an oath that he would
never again play poker, and he has sd-
hered TO his resolution up to date.