The herald., 1894-01-14

|
held by the dealers who conducted
them.
At this period, Colonel Gambill was
one of the handaomest OF men. His hair
and beard were black as crow'e wing
and he stood feet inches in his stock
ings. and straight as an arrow. Eor
symmetry OF figure ! never saw man
of his sze that equaled him. He was
as finely proportioned az Joe Hooker
and at least GO pounde the heavier man.
! He dressed very plainly and very neatly,
remem bering that the best dressed man
is he whose clothing was what no one
could remember. His wife, who was as
fair as he was dark. WAS quite as tail for
a woman as he was for man and no
handsomer couple walked those streets,
in the beat Of my belief. They boarded
at the old Oriental hotel. at Bush and
Battery streets and, as their behavior
was irreproachably modest and correct,
were visited by the wives OF all the
prominent lawyers and politicians in
the state. One day at the table, man
named B. sat nearly opposite the Gam
bills. He had forged note in Boston
and escaped to California. In those
days the voyage was 60 risky that no
one thought OF sending an officer after
him. The story had got out, somehow
or other and Jack WAS quite well aware
oil it. This man said TO gentleman
alongside of him:
"Who is that tall, dne-looking lady
across the-e?"
THAT is Col. Jack Gambill's wife,"
eaid the other, in low tone.
"Col. Jack Gambill? Why, they tell
me be can't write his own name"
Jack laid down his knife and fork, and
said:
"Your name is B., I believe"
eyes eir," replied the man from Bos-
ton
"Wsll. Mr.. B., my name is Jack
Gambill, and it is true that l cannot
write nv own name. One would think
you could not write yours either, from
the fact that you left Boston for writing
nearly every body else's name but your
own; and cannot help thinking that
it would have been a good thing all
around if you had never learned to
write at all"
Stephen B. Whipple. who kept the
Diana, across the street from the Arcade,
was shrewd, dry-spoken Yankee. One
day he met Jack in the street, and said:
swell, Jack, we We got another boy up
to our house."
"You don't say so That makes two
boys and three girlsP"
Yes"
"Well, Steve. that's full hand and
you'd better stand pat on il"
The passage of the gambling act of
1866, drawn by Judge Hugh G. Murray
out of revenge upon Mr.. Cabaniss, who
had refused to let him gamble on
credit in the Arcade after all his cash
was gone, made it penitentiary offense
to deal faro or any other banking game.
Colonel Gambill had then $40, 900, and
bought the old -four mill at North
Beach for $35. 900. No one had ever made
dollar in it. Jack hired man
named Stephen Hobbs az head miller,
at salary of $3.50 per month. One day
he went into the mill and asked Hobbs
why they were not at work.
why, Colonel. you don't expect peo-
pie to come here with grists in seaport
town like they used to where you were
raised. You'll have to go out and buy
schooner load of wheat and grind it.
up, and then get some firm to sell the
-four for you on commission"
How much will it take? ?" asked the
colonel.
"Oh, about ten or twelve thousand
dollars"
well, You wait till go the bank and
get it for you" Andsin an hour after
wards Hobbs locked $4,000 in the safe
at the mill. That night Mrs. Gambill
was taken i'll and the colonel took her
up to White Sulphur springs, near st.
| Helena. He rema ined there month
and when he came back he drove down
to the mill. Everything was as silent
AS when he left it. and not sack OF
| flour in sight. On stool near a win
dow sat a fat boy with shock of red
hair.
"Where's Hobbs ?' asked Colonel
Jack.
Dunno" said the boy.
"Who.o-o the h-ll are You 2" inquired
the capitaliet.
''Tm the Waterman" replied red
head.
"You say you don't know where
Hobbs is. | wonder where he went"
! The colonel took key from his pocket
and unlocked the safe, which was empty.
He turned to the boy again:
"What did Hobbs do with all that
money gave him to buy wheat with ?"
He bought wheat with it, answered
the boy.
and what did he do with the
wheat?"
Ground it up into -four, SIR" said the
boy.
'whar'e the hour!'s
"The rats ate it al up, sir" said the
boy.
! "Wha-a-at2 In FIVE weeks? That be
id"
He Jumped into hie buggy and rode
back to the city. The first man he met
was Stephen b. Whipple.
Look yer, Steve, you're good at fig
gers. How long will it take rats to eat
up ten thou-u-sand dollars worth of
Aour?"
"Well, Jack" said Mr.. W., THAT de-
pends entirely on how many rats there
afe."
"All the rats in ths world, by -"
roared Gambill. when said rats l
meant all the rats !"
Barry s. Patterns saloon on Montgom-
cry street, near Sacramento, waG the
fl rst place on tbA coast where the native
| oyeters were served up, and the oyster
cook was ''Billy" Wainw right Ons
night Ward Eaton, now 25 years dead i,
went in there to Get some oysters and
waa told they were ''all out"
well. get come of that cheese and
make Welch rarebit and get me a bot
tie of Guinness' porter with it,
IL Al