The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-26
II WAS 4 FAT JACK POT.
Wha. Lucky Baldwin Won OH One
Hand Ia = Big Poker
Game.
Town Lots, Mining stocks ana
Herds or Cattle ventured
on Cards.
A isIe -Four Gambling transaction IN
Wislsi -Four Of n Kind We're Dealt
All Around.

One Of tho most memorable eanies oi
,poker ever played In California came oil nj
1,nke Tahoe last sufmmcr between Charles
CLAYTON, Horace Smith, Martin DavidB and
George baldwin, four exceedingly wealthy
men, srys n Sonoma, Cal, correspondent oil
tho IT. Louis Republic.
CLAYTON IN u cattlesnan, whose possessions
in Butte county arc estimated TO be worth
upwards Of $4,000, 900; Smith owns mincs III
Placer county that are putting thousands
OF dollars in his pocket daily; Davis owns
ranches and lands in Monterey county TO
the worth Of 5000, 600; George Baldwin IL
the owne Of fast horses, valuable lands
and proprietor OF the Baldwin hotel, San
Francisco. He has been heard OF frequent
" through public print rs 'Lucky' Bald
win.
Lake Tahoe is a body of water situated
among the foothills Of the Sierra Nevada
mountains. IN the northeastern part OF Gal.
ifornia. 1t iS q famous summer resort II
il freauented during the hot month s by the
wealthiest people in the upper hall OF the
state. On Castle Rock, q rugged island III
the midst of Lake Tahoe, George BALDWIN
has built q summer residence where ne en-
tertains his friends royalty. and report, mas
IL that many thousands of dollars have been
lost and won with cards within the walls of
Castle House, MS the Baldwin establishment
in called. 1t was at this house that the great
game above referred to took place. IL was
Great not through the clevernesS IN force
during the play, but in the enornity OF me
stakes. which were over $500, coo, and 1T was
the closing play of a weeks %sojourn, at the
lake. during which time the cards were
MANY times dealt, and to the great prof1t OF
"Lucky'' Baldwin. These four men during
that week had surrendered, one to the
other, $4,000, and Dayids,, the heaviest
'Lucky'' Baldwin is a generous host. and
the table that he sets before mis- guests al
ways upholds the best that the market OF
the season affords, and his wines are Under
the choicest of foreign brands.
And so it was on this occasion; the men
had Toasted, wlned and dined hi gained
for a week. The evening before the party
val to disperse, Davids. who sat in the
sumptuous dining-roorn, tilted back against
The wall. ENJOYING an after-dinner cigar,
rather carelessly suggested that they close
tile night and the season with a great game
Of draw poker. The suggestion seemed to
please the other member of the party, and
Clayton, the cattle man, asked how he
would have it PLAYED.
~ would have no money bet" said Day-
ids. 1.-The stakes should be real or person
al property, and there should be no limit to
the stakes. I've beer PLAYING in pretty
ready cash and l feel like making an effort
70 get ever or lose a great deal more"
1.-THE idea suits me- said Baldwin: II
Am in favor Of giving Dayids a chance to
get even if he wants it,"
Smith, the Placer, county miner. thought
the idea q novel one, and was anxious to
get into the game right away.
my idsa,'' said Davids, lis to play the
game until q Jackpot is made, and the win
ming of the pot shall end the game
To this the others agreed, and they de-
cided that the game should be begun at 10
O'Clock. and at that hour the four men with
a dozen spectators about them, seated
themselves at the table and the deal fell to
Clayton.
The game was an interesting one and the
stakes lost and won up to three O'Clock in
the morning gave neither man 2 great ad-
vantage. A few m1nuses past three, smith
dealt a set of weak hands and a Jackpot
was made. 1t was made up of slips of paper
torn from notebooks, On which were writ
ten the amount of the bets. Clayton had
bet nine mead of Jersey COWS; Davids' bet
was four acres of tiitable land two miles
from Monterey; Bald~1n's bet was a lot in
the town Of San Rafael, n Smith had bet
two shares of stock in the Sulphur Gulch
mine. These bets represented a cash value
of 1880.
Dayids sat at the left of Smith. who
passed the cards to him. II think" said
he. that the squarest way to play this out
:. will be to choose some one who has no
financial interest in the game to deal the
cards, then there can 'beN no suspicion of
trickery."
This suggestion pleasedsthe other players,
and they selected George Hayward, a San
Francisco merchant, to act as dealer.
The cards were thrown around, but 40
H~Jvy oouob% Stovonorc - and tho not ruoo
"~fattened' with more cows, town lots, acres
and mining stock. Twenty times the cards
were dealt and twenty times the Jackpot
was 'fattened,' for the cards failed to
combine and the spectators had got off
their chairs and were watching the game
resentation of $4,000 on the table. At
last the cards punched and Clayton
opened the pot with 300 head of cattle; this
bet was equal to $4,000, but he knew that
he was playing with gamey men and he
had no fear that they would draw ont, no,
the bet with a house and lot, while Smith
saw hin with nine shares of Gray JACKIE,
mining stock, and Davids came in with
ninety acres of land near the town of Pa
cific Grove.
The Jackpot now doomed up. 1t was
worth at a rough guess $6G, OGO. and the mer
showed by the manner In which they eyel
each other that 1t would be much larger
than that before the game ended.
'Cards?" asked the dealer of Clayton
who was half out of sight iii a cloud of to
bacco smoke.
'I'Il stand pat" he replied, with his eye
fixed on the white slips of paper in the cen
ter of the table and his cards carefully con
cealed under his hand.
His action caused the other players t,
change their positions uneasily. Smitl
drew first, taking two cards, Davids cam
next, and he drew u single p%asteboard
Baldwin was apparently playing on hi
nerve and trusting to luck, for he drew fou
cards.
1t was evident that the four men mean
business, and Clayton promptly set the pac
by betting 600 head of cattle, which wa
equal to $4,000. Smith, the miner, pom
dered over his cards awhile, looking suspi
clously at Clayton from under his eyebrow
and Thea writing on Il slip of paper an or
der for fifty shares of stock in the Endles
lead mine, dropped it on the table, saving
''IIl raise you $4,000"
Davids covered the bet with LOCO acres O
land near Monterey. and Baldwin quickI,
came in with a business block in SAINT,
Cruz.
Clayton ran his thumb over the corners O
his cards q few times. and finally leaned
back in his chair and ordered a bottle O
champagne. For a quarter of an hour tn,
players and spectators slipped the wine an
commented upon the various phases of til
game; then the four men faced each othe
once more. CLAYTON evidently was not t
be blnffed out of thu game, and he bet loo
more head of cattle. which covered Smith
raise of $4,000, and Gent it $4,000 better
a.