The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-09-13
A TALE OF FLUSHES.
CAPTAIN ANDREW WALTON, A RIVER
MAN, GIVES HIS EXPERIENCE.
Bowie, tho Duelist, in the Game-The Cap
tain Had King Up, but Fighting
Major Tried to Take tho Pot.


sat three men, says The New York Recorder.
There was nothing remarkable about two of
them. One was Kentuckian. who had been
in business some years in Now York. Tho
other was reporter. But the third of the
party was remarkable man. His slvered
TEN Piles, the deep lines Of his visage, luxu-
RANT snowy beard, the measured cadences of
trembling voice, all denoted age. They may
not have denoted his full age for he is we'll
preserved. lilo has passed into that stage
of severity, always beautiful in the aged, when
years cease to make new traces. This man at
ninety-four had scarcely more than begun to
show the signs of decadenco
1t was Captain Andrew Walton, the Oldest
! living steamboatman of America. He
| once famous on western waters. He served on
| one of the earliest steamboats, that tloated on
! the Mississippi lie pioneered i'll the trade from
| St. Louis to New Orleans, saw the growth OF
water transportation on western rivers from
| keelDoat to packet, from packet to barge.
| For sixty years he trod hurricane decks as q
| commander. His boats have rolled aside the
waters Of the Mississippi the Ohio, the Mis-
souri,, tho Tennessee, the Cumberland. River
| towns from Pittsburg to the gulf, to tho head
| waters of the Mississippi, the Missouri, the
Arkansas and the Red are familiar to him
| as the Missouri farm on which he was born.
| Grave sententous, forceful, "a beautiful old
| man is he. and beautiful old age it is he leads
| Shaggy brows, snow-white and mobile hang
| oddly over eyes blue as heaven, which CLEAN
| with the fire of consuming age; the bronze
and tan of his face speak of the veteran who
| has braved the clements and known no shrink
ing; large of stature, still shapely, faultess in
the lace of frills of fifty and q hundred years
| ago, freghted with remlnlSCence, kindly hui
| NOR his pilot, tho forces of a great manhood
| his power, he glides in the channels of other
| days and charms by his narrative, his dignity
| his wisdom
Of course everybody thinks of gambling in
| connection with tho old steamboat days, and
| it wasn't long before the captain got around to
! that subject.
II yield to no man first place in a knowledge
| of the game OF poker" said the captain, who
| spoke in a voice gruif, forcefui. trained to com
| mand, but yet little trembling, land yet L
have sat into just one game at poker, for either
| fun profit, in my life
| Learned poker in ono lesson! The listeners
| opened their eyes.
tinued the captain. THAT was the way be-
| gan steamboat life. A mud-Cerk? Never
| heard of that before? Well, WE'LL big world
| this OF verify In those times the Office out
| fit was two clerks and cub. After freshets
| soft mud loblolly called it, settled along
| the banks 1t ankle deep, sometimes half
| knee deep. Freight must be landed above soft
mud otherwise it will be damaged or slide
| into the water. AS it goes to the consigned 1T
| must be checked off This is usually the cubs
| Job; certainly, and if it's raining or nasty
| night. n that way the cub becomes known as
tho mud-clerk, and he is well named. had
| four years Of it, and when talk mud-clerk to
| you, possibly don't know what I'm talking
| about"
Here the venerable boatman looked through
| his broWs at each Of his listeners. rubbed his
| palms together and laughed. Then he went
| on:
| DUTY was cut up into Watches six hours on,
| six off. Mine was first watch, sunup till noon,
! from 6 till midnight L slept afternoons.
| Those times five hours did me, but to my cost,
as came later. Midnight should have found
me in my berth, but it didn't 1t commonly
! saw me behind u chair of q gambler, watching
| poker. They played stiff game, as rule,
| and tho professional travellers were the best
| players the country had,
al watched their play for months, years
| learned their games their rules of safety, their
methods of hazard. The different discards had
each q different set of rules. The game, with
| deuces to skies OUT, had its rules with seyens
| other rules with Fights discarded Still others;
| and not seldom the desperate twenty card game
| held the board-the game that carries big
| hands in every deal, that destroys self-control,
| Judgment, the power to deceive by tho looks,
| things vital to good play. All this l learned
| thoroughly.
But I never played My captain allowed
| no member of the crew to touch a card, and |
| obeyed Passengers played as much they
! liked, but always among themselves. The
game had strange fascination. Had broke
/
| irmed gambler. Fortunate for me 1t was
had such a restraint"
but you did play once" the newspaper
follow put in.
eyes, )" the captain said, IT did play once.
| 1t was years afterward. l was then a passen-
ger on the Mississippi steamer. 1t was an all
night sitting in the TeXas-the little cabin On
the hurricane deck for the crew and the gam
bers. In those days the staterooms were
named after the states of the union. This boat
Of ba firSt n o-ruo
as" 1t was in the fail of 1915, and Texas was
almost into the union, so when we built the
new cabin we gave it The name of the coming
state, and it stuck.
''Here it was that sat into the only poker
game that l ever played. 1t was as fine q COM
pany as ever | sat with. One of the party was
| the famous knife duelist, Colonel Bowie, of
/ Mississippi. Another was a Pennsylvania ma
! j0r, who lost a leg in tho Indian wars under
! TippeCanoe Harrison. | mention this gentle
! man especially. I!o nervous man,
who did not carry well. BY the eighth
tenth service he was Mustered, noisy and
| little ill-natured. 1t was just breaking down.
! The major had stood in the deal; as you say
! now, he stood pat The rest Of us made our
| discards, and all but the major and myself
! dropped out. l drew one card, and it was the
| right spot.
Then betting began. There was soon big
! pile of silver on the board; wildcat bank bills
| were thrown out freely. 1t was game Of see
| and raise, fifteen eighteen times back and
! forth 1t was exciting session. Twenty
! people looked on, breathless, spell-bound.
| Such a moment is a great moment. All tho
| sensations are played upon. The blood leaps
| Your nerve is up as if you were saving life
| But the spell is broken. The major wants
q showdown. With confident smile he lays
! down his hand. 1t is a pretty semicircle of
| hearts, queen flush. Sorry, captain he said
it's pity Yes, major l said; it's pity,
| and laid out another semicircle, not so pref
| ty, clubs all, a flush, with king up. IL was
! pity, truly. Tho major behind a couple
| of thousand. This would have seen him whole,
/ just about The board worth rising four
! thousand. He had bet his heart on it. He lost
! his head. He was angry with me, because
| king flush was superior to queen flush i'll the
royal game of poker.
! I'm his passion he attacked, across table.
| A heavy hickory staff his weapon. But
! the story has gone far enough-that part, at
! least. Though L came ont uniniured, it after
! ward gave me trouble. II was very ditficultto
| explain myself clear where ] most needed it.
! The story came out in the press and found its
| way to St Louis. 1t reached family where
| I was a good deal interested. / was we'll nigh
ruined by the notoriety. l made peace by en-
| gazing never to touch card again. | made
| that promise to the finest woman in Missouri,
then and now. I've never handled pasteboard
! since and advise all Young men to let it alone.