The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-24

P1otOy ldlr IN uhoSe times. l have known
captains TO stand in and take their share
OF the plumber like little men
he barkeeper often came in very
mandy When the party sat down to play
ne would first show up with the drinks
oruered oy the gambler. He'd get there
JUST after the suckers cut the deck,
ana pass around the drinks on the tray
IL wasn't any trouble to Just carry a
marked deck under the tray and drop it
gown while picking up the cut deck.
Inc deal went on and the suckers got
SKINNED. have seen this shift made
orten, and fellow would hardly believe
IL can be done so quickly.
Another scheme was to get the sucker
to bet on picking out the cards, say the
JACKS. He'd bet the sharper couldn't
PICK out the jack of spades, and the
sharper would miss it a couple of times and
complain that his head was wrong. He
managed to get away just then and leave
the deck behind him, when his pal would
suggest the plan of stealing the jack and
Then beating his own game. The victim
Iell In, of course, and stole the jack and
he hid it in his pocket. Then the first
man came back and the talk is renewed
and the bets get high. The sucker is sure
he can't lose, for he has his jack in his
pocket, and he is willing to bet on dead
sure thing
so they go, and the man with the
cards picks out his cards.
" There's the jack of diamonds and
up 1t turns; jack of hearts, and there he
Is sure enough. Jack of clubs comes all
right, and next he says, And here's your
card, sir, jack of spades and he pulls it
out, face down, and pushes it toward the
mark, who has his hand on his card in
his pocket. He doubles his bet that it
isn't the card, and the bet is taken. The
thlrd party turns up the card, and to his
surprise 1t is the jack of spades, shifted
in out of another deck. l saw a man lose
$1,000 on that game to an old gambler
named Bill Vose, and he never said
word, but just got his grip and left the
boat at the next landing.
BILLY Peoples used to work on the
lower river, and he was a dandy. He
roped in Judge from this city one day to
little game and the Judge, who wasn't
very flush, caught on to his game. He
went to the bartender and got lot Of
wildcat money, wrapped it around with
couple of Jwenties, and put some fives in
the middle. They started on euchre and
the judge got the usual good poker hand,
and Mr.. Peoples played in. The judge
knew Peoples game was to let him win
to make his final SHINING all the surer.
He lost couple of times just to fash his
played till supper and the judge quit SlS5
winner.
After supper Billy wanted to open
up the game, but the Judge wouldn't have
it, and Billy kicked. He went ashore
and told friend about fellow who had
done him, and just as he was telling it
the judge came to the rail, and Billy
pointed him out to his friend.
why, you sucker said the friend,
that's so-and so from St. Louis. He
knows every gambler on the river
BILLY offered the judge $500 suit of
clothes not to tell the story, but the
Judge wouldn't hear of it, and all New
Orleans heard the story when the judge
got off the boat.
Another old gambler was Glasscock.
Starr Davis was a great old boy. Jim
McLane's mother allowed him $4,000
year not to come near her, but he was
broke nearly all the time for all that, and
he had to gamble to make his way. Hank
Johnson was daisy, hard player, who
never wore a pair of boots worth less than
$40. Glib Cobern and Tom Mackay were
the dressers of the river. All their win
nings used to go in clothes. They'd send
to Paris for their Undertaking, and all
that sort of thing They were great rivals
in those days, when dress went for
something. Dock Hill was McLane's
partner. Then there was Big Alexander,
who worked out of NatcheZ; jim Melon
aid. dead shot with the pistol; Ashlock,
who could do more funny work with
deck of cards than ever saw before or
since. l couldn't name them all.
They were good fellows, free with
their money as water, after scheming to
bust their heads to get it. A hundred
didn't bother them any more than chew
of tobacco would you.
what drunks they used to get on after
they come in off a trip!
And clothes They were all dressers.
They wore soft black hats, black clothes,
high heeled boots, low-necked shirts, with
big loose collars and ties and frilled
bosoms. They had solitaire breastpin
and big solitaire ring and one of those
big long gold chains going round the neck
three or four times, and hanging down
over their breast. They didn't drink
anything but wine and they would ride
across the street in hacks rather than get
mud on their shoes. They were fine fell
lows, educated men, who could talk to
anyone about anything, and as polite as
anything you ever saw.
There used to be some big games on
every boat. Poker was mostly the game.
They played bluff and brag great deal,
and the betting was high
lose his whole tobacco crop in one night,
and get up and never mind it particularly.
MANY time I've seen game player
lust skin of his watch and ring and studs
and play them in. Men often lost their
goods, playing in their way bills. I've
seen them betting bale of cotton at
crack, and it wasn't at all uncommon to
hear an old planter betting off his mig
gers on a good hand. Every man who
ever ran on the river knows that these
old planters used to play in their body
servants, valuing them all the way from
5000 to 81 500. l saw little colored boy
stand up at $500 to back his masters
faith in a little flush that wasn't any
good on earth.
"The niggers didn't seem to care par
ticularly about it. and it was so common
that NOBODY noticed it particularly
Gambling was commoner then.
"Why, it was nothing but gamble from
the time the boat left st. Louis till it
reached New Orleans. I've seen a faro
game. three poker games, and monte run
ming in the ca DIN, and the deck hands
plaVed at chuck-a-luck. The gamblers
would come in disguised in hayseed
clothes to skin the passengers. Maybe
there'd be four or five on boat all sup
possibly strangers to each other, and play
ing into each others hands. Sometimes
there,d be kick, and the captain would
get hot
when a passenger would squeal the
cantain would ask him to pick out the
man who robbed him, and the gambler, if
nabbed, would have to give up the stun