Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-08-06
PRINCE Or GAMBLERS.
TIE STORY OF A LIFE WEIGH READS LIKE
A ROMANCE.
Fortunes Siaksd on Cards-Ths "Black Primes
Tells Of Some Of the Big Games he Has Played.
Men Who Wager Big Money Are The Ones Who
Generally Win-SupGsidOns Among Gamblers.
The 7Tmss.

ZHe Iu7lsts
COLUMBUS, o., August 4.-"They call
me The Black Prince because l never
gamble except for high stakes. II g
man is going to wager his money he Is
foolish to play in small game. BE does
not stand 10 win much, and be is liable
to fritter away what he starts with.
Playing a system against faro bank is
the fad OF most weak and small gam
blers. Men who wager big money sell
dom play by rule, either around the
table at poker, or before the bank. I've
seen more and bigger cards played than
any man in this country, white or
| black.
II was born some fifteen miles from
Cincinnati on the farm owned by Will
lam Henry Harrison, grandfather OF the
late President Of the United States. ]
used TO play when boy with the man
who beat Cleveland in 1888, and dived
In the same stream with him many q
time. Often have divided my dough-
nuts with him, and the homely condi-
tions Of life then come back TO me often
now. | am a colored man and remem-
Der the days when life did not mean
much TO my race, although l was born
free.
"My frst learning was caught at
Sunday School from good woman who
afterwards went as a missionary to AZ
RIGA. Years afterwards she returned,
when was making fortune over tho
gaming tables. She had not forgotten
me, nor did she shun me. 1t was In
Columbus, Ohio, that she made speech
to the congregation OF which l was
one and afterwards came over and
wished me well, although l was dealing
big game.
"The real story OF this life is q strange
one. 1t is a big game. Men and wo.
men are merely players, and lay
wagers as to what they believe will be.
Look IT. the race courses and see the
people who play their money without
stint in chances far more dangerous
than a faro bank. Most OF the race
tracks are q big bunco game. / never
mnrallze. have studied human nature
too long not TO know that in all life most
women and men are ready to take
chances on anything that turns up with
money In 1t.
at took two old niggers to call one
young one at a game OF poker In the
days When / first recall my gambling
experience. These were the times
when a cargo OF cotton was staked on a
hand, and / have seen the ownership OF
fifty negroes depending on the result OF
a Jack pot Am gambler? Well,
should say so. ] am willing to bet
any amount on anything from the num-
Der OF people in q street car to the
shingles OF house.
"I'l tell you how got the name OF
The Black Prince was cabin boy
on the Mississippi river before the war.
/ used to watch the poker table when
men played big games. / looked and
concluded that I'd DO q gambler, and
play the limit just like those planters
and slave traders did; and have wa
gered all the way from s100 to SEQ, 900.
81 have been dealer for many years,
and have played the $1,000 limit. The
nerve which ! showed early In my ca
reer as a gambler earned for me my
title OF the Black Prince / never
considered the returns. was will
ing TO gamble just like the planters
and slave-traders from whom | learned
my business. never stopped to think
about what was TO come on the next
turn, but made my play for the moment,
and / have won. There is no other
gambler in the United States who has
had the phenomenal success that has
followed me.
81 am fiity-six years OF age, and the
story OF my life goes back TO the time
when the negro had little chance. II
was In these days that learned how to
be cruel. Perhaps II would be better
to say mindful OF myself. / watched
the gambling table with care, and l saw
that the reckless man usually won. II
takes nerve to wager money, and while
| was q boy, L discovered that q man
that was willing to put up like hero
usually caught the pot.
"There is nothing IN money except
what you get out OF II aud when / be-
gan to deal in dollars and cents never
stopped to consider q thousand or ten
thousand dollars. The one meant the
| same thing 10 me as the other. A man
70 succeed in gambling must DO abso-
lHtely blind 10 the value OF money. To
| illustrate this fact, | was dealing one
| day for the biggest gambler In CincIn'
natl. he put a thousand dollars on the
ten spot. / pulled the cards and be
lost. Turning 20 me in very noncha-
lant way he said: Black Prince, what
IL the limit OF this gamsT replied: i
did not know that you had been bet.
ting. There is no limit.
az don't like to deal for the poor.
Where a man is able 70 stand IL / want
the limit. When know they are not.
I'll call 'em down, and many time
have given o poor man back his money
when knew be could not afford TO lose
&.
"Let me recall my life on the Missis.
sippI. 1t IL o romance. wasn't 9
gambler In those days, but looked on
and saw how men wagered their money.
I caught q tIp. saw one planter put
down 3O,000 worth Of cotton on q
single hand and win IL. said TO my.
self that Is the very essence Of gambling
and am going to play like that planter.
I followed my inclination and have
made . fortune.
They won't allow rs to play here
noul else / would have q game. en-
simply playing the role Of . MAJ Of