The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-15
A Poker Play Which Involved the
Indebtedness Of Two Colo
RADIO Counties
Warrants Worth Sixty Cents on
the Dollar Were the
Stakes.
Con. Tom bowen ana Capt. Bill Green
Net, With the Result In the
Formers Favor.

fIooAOly tn0 mo9S unequal poker game
that ever occurred In Colorado was one
played in 1876 between Gen. Tom Bowen.
Afterwards United States senator, and
Capt. w. H. Green. clerk Of HinsdsIs
county. The total county indebtedness OF
tho two counties Of Hinsdals and Rio
Grands was involved, the stakes being
the outstanding warrants Of both counties.
Gen. Bowen, whose fame as q poker
player reaches from Little Rock to Denver,
and from Denver to Washington. had re-
Gently come from Arkansas md settled
down to the practice Of Law in the little half
agricultural. half mining town of Del
Norte, the county seat Of Rio Grsnds. His
failure to secure the United States senator
ship from Arkansas had bankrupted his
fortunes. but had not diminished his ambi-
ton. He was q tolsrably fair lawyer and q
mach better politician. but his skill at draw
poker collapsed all his ether qualities. Att
erwards. when in the senate from Colorado.
his prowess d cards gave him q national
reputation, and there we're few IF the
''statssnen'' Of the period who cared TO sit
opposite tho swarthy. sphinx-facsd member
from the blooming west.
Capt. "Bllr' Green. ~ he was familiarly
OAsACOs A0O C0SAVO AL WIG al tu6 6SoOuO
Colorado, cavalry and had been q brave In
dian fighter in more than one campaign.
Al one time during the war his command
was stationed at Westport, and some Of tho
old-timsrs Of Kansas City may hsvs crossed
lancss with him over the green table. for
he was an inveterate lover of the seductive
game of draw. He still lives in Denver, an
invalid. but loves to talk Of the old days
when he forced many an opponent to lay
down big hands before his plunRing
methods. Unlike Bowen. Green was
. bundle of nerves that played all
sorts Of tricks with his face, and you
couldn't tell from the tenor Of his profanity
whether he held a pair of dsuces or a
straight flush. Al the time hs was county
Norte. The two had often tent challenges
to each other. but eiRhty-f five miles and a
mountain range inte.voned, n 80 far they
had not met or the green field. The news
papers of the two towns had defended the
skill and staying qualities of their respect
of the two oounties had become keenly in
tsrested in the meeting which was sure to
occur sooner or later.
The meeting was hastened by ohanoe-or
maybe fate. Thu counties of Rio Grande
and Hinsdale had both been recently or
Ranized, and their respective treasures
we're as empty as q cradle whom the baby is
gone. The expenses had for several
months been paid by issuing warrants,
which were worth about 60 cents on the
dollar. These warrants were held by the
various persons to whom they had been
issued. Al tho attorney for Rio Grande
county. Tom Bowen had received $500 or
$500 worth Of these promises to pay, and it
was noticing before he had all the balance
of the warrants in his possession. To him
&hn H~kh ~ 1~,~~k- -
was \ simple one. Meeting the holder of a
warrant, he would challenge him for q
little game of draw. county scrip to be
stakes. In q few weeks he owned every
dollars worth of scrip in Rio Gfande
county. and was signing for more worlds to
conquer.
He soon found one.
Capt. Green had not been permitting his
talents to 90 to seed. He, too. was the pos
sessor of q fat salary warrant and in a little
while the holders of the other issues had
suocumbed to his superior prowess in hold
equally ef1icacious where he didn't hold
fours. Then he cast his eyes towards the
snow-clad peaks of the Saquache range on
the other side of which Gen. Tom held
sway, and sighed YEARLY for more worlds
to conquer.
His wish was also granted.
1t was Gen. Tom who opened hostilitios. |
Placing his big roll of warrants in a pair of
rawhide saddlebags, he mounted q mustang
mule and, Xix Napoleon, crossed the Ame.-
can Alps, and descended upon the valley OF
the Gunnison. He was escorted BY a no.
BILE retlnue of Rio Grande county men, prom
inent among whom was the editor Of the San
Juan Proprietor, Adair Wilson. formerly OF !
Marshall, Mo-; Alva Adams, afterwards !
governor of Colorado; Gen. Adams, Indian |
agent, and common sports galore who came
to make side bets on the issue.
Cant Rill GreAn mat his AdvaYaarv ~ Tho !
door of his cabin and made Gen. Tom his
honored guest. Dake City was af1ame with
excitement. A rich strike was nothing CON-
pared to it. The saloons were in full blast
and big bets were made on the result. The
honor of Hinsdale county was at stake, and
Capt. Bill stood in the breach.
In order to give the game eclat il was de-
cided that the contest should take place in
the Office of the Silver World, and the issue
of that influential paper Yves delayed one
day in order to accommodate tho contest
ants and their friends.
It was decided that they should sit at the
table and play until one or the other had
won all the warrants. their face value being
Sc. 200. about equally divided between the
two counties. A limited numbe of hackers,
ness the game, and the editors of the Del
Norte and Lake City opponents of public
opinion we're unanimously elected to the
honorable and arduous positions of bottle
holders extraordinary.
Gen. ON and Cant. Bill sat down to the
game at eight O'Clock in the evening. They
occupied stools placed on either side of the
g. Washington hand press, the platen of
which made an admirable card table. Cuts
were made for the deal. Capt. Bill won it
and the trouble began. Messengers carried
the news of the game to the various saloons
from time to time. where nearly the entire
population OF the town might have been
found laying wagers on the result. Many
a mining claim, good, bad and Indifferent,
changed hands that night on the result OF
this historic game of draw.
For a time the opponents PLAYED eau.
siously and few winnings we're made. Gen.
Tom wore q SLOUGH hat, which was pulled
we'll down over bis eyes and face, leaving
little to be seen save the long, swarthv
and chin. Capt. Bill, on the
contrary, sat upright. with his hat set we'll
tho back Of his head, and kept a oontin-
nous stream of profanity flowing towards
the silent figure opposite. About 10 O'Clock
Capt. Bill caught a pair of queens and
drew two more. Gen. Tom failed to I'LL on
three aces. As a result he parted with
about $1,000 worth Of warrants, necessitat-
ing extraordinary activity on the part of
the bottle-holders. for q few minutes and
causing the greatest enthusiasm at the
whom the fact was announced,
Gen. Tom did not permit this little dis
nster to discomfort him, however, and about
an hour later he found he had four aces and
mourning in the camp by %recoupinp
h;a Fopupop loso aud dininirhiua Ako .Si, =