Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-08-18
"eUcKsKlN ALICE"
i. IInIoue and Picturesque Personality
a western Woman Gambler.

49, 4fnIoue and Picturesque Personality
M a western Woman Gambler.
aI.nekskin Alice" is the picturesque
Is thame of Mrs. Alice Ramsey, a breezy,
,,.t..Eentional western woman who has
~, thars made living at the gaming Ia
IA khe received her title from the miners
II I4Adville when the city of the clouds
~aa N its zenith of prosperity ON nc
IN n suit of buckskin in which she
~,4,.tk appeared. Alice arrived in Denver
.1bc nlber day and completely captiyated
,b.ttlatile George +. Kerr, who thus de-
.,,,f'ts her in the st. Louis Republic:
tff4 Ramsey is triae below medium
t5f,.i.L Lnnd possesses n handsome figure. The
h.ad pn which grows wealth of beauti-
III bhcl, hair, is nicely poised on a full,
,ehitaheck, which is just a trfle short. The
fora n entirely regular in its formation.
9TH biz brown eyes, soft, delicate e4.
,,1oeelbn and a rich, creamy complexion.
eha * vitbal woman of beauty and cul.
tufe
aIIte ~ confirmed gambler and has ac.
tunlsp lnade living, and good one, too,
AZ ibB precarious calling for years. She is
hnflrc,y free from the disagreeable procliv-
itiee of the ordinary female with sportive
turn But she has an uncomfortable pas
sion for risliing her cash on the turn of the
eafd. Which she does with as much nerve
an,i In as the most accomplished male
nltntber of the fraternity. To her the
merry chink of chips as they are deity
stact4d on the nine spot of faro layout
or ere ncryously fingered by the excited
piaftt is sweeter music than the most de-
liQhtfnl strains born of Paderewski's
magic touch or drawn forth by Sousa's
wondfous band. The dull whir of the
roulette wheel as it spins about, with the
aropping of the ball which decides the
fate of the money on the board, in itself
nonotonous and disagreeable, is to buck
skin "A lice" most entrancinG melody.
Aiicc il distress of almost every kind of
Rafne, but h.r chief source of pleasure is the
festsge draw, which she plays with the
knoHledCa Of the fine points Of q Hoyle and
heiash and spirit of a Billy Deutsch. She
cln sit in game of draw as long as the
bestof titm and has dealt this game as
we'll Is fro many time in the mining
camps and frontier towns.
During tie ups and downs of her varied
carter Mrs. Ramsey has come in contact
witn every class of society, from the most
excltssiye circles of St. Louis, in which city
ehe was born, to the monte players in the
wflds Cf New Mexico. She is known the
west oycr rs a nervy, but square gambler
Fer HEX has been as varied as her career
and she has Ueen compelled to relieve finan.
cial stringency by way of negotiation on
more than one occasion, but it was always
d temporary one, for she never borrowed a
dollar she didn't return.
Born of cultured southern family, she
was reared in wealth and atfluence in the
me1ropolis of the Mississippi. Her father
was of ScOtch-Irish descent and colonel in
the Conlederate army, while her materni.
tg was the best that old Kentucky could
nnofd. She had the tenderest care during
childhood, and her welfare and morality
were BOXED after with the greatest solici- |
tude. When 12 years of age little Alice,
with her parents, removed to Virginia, and |
at 10 was most promising pupil at |
Broade's Female seminary at Clarksburg, |
w. Va.
Then came the change which so complete
lg Uttered her life and misdirected the tai |
enfs which doubtless would have brought |
Distinction to their possessor in less igno- |
bic calling. Alice was just 16 when she ran