The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-06-29
WON BY TWO DEUCES.
AToWN SITE IN NORTH DAKOTA THE
STAKE IN A GAME OF POKER.


IL Is Worth Hundreds of Thousands Now,
but Judd In Moure Took 1t From Enos
stutsman In 1862 with One Little Pair.
This Is Said to he True story.
Back in the fifties, when the northern
portion of the territory of Dakota was
hardly more than bleak waste of uncul-
tivated ground, the town of Pembina was
founded by Enos Stutsman. Stutsman
was O man as remarkable for his eccentric
tiles as he was for his physical deformity.
He emigrated to Dakots from the buckle
berry districts of Connecticut and located
in the upper Red river valley, where he
filed and proved upon $50 acres of land.
1t was the ground on which Pembina now
stands.
He had the head and body of a giant,
but his legs were hardly more than foot
long, and he was unable to travel without
the aid of two short and powerful crutch-
es. He was shrewd, calculating fellow
and soon became recognized leader among
the handful of emigrants who had taken
up their place in his neighborhood. AS q
political diplomat he never had an equal
in the territory. For four consecutive ses-
sions he was chairman of the council in
the upper branch of the territory legisla-
ture, and he was one of the most famous
draw poker players in the territory. He
numbered among his close friends a pio-
neer named Judd la Moure, who owned
line Of stagecoaches running between
Grand Forks and Pembina The advent
of the railroads killed Judd's coach line
finally, and he settled down into profit
able grocery business in Pembina. 1t was
these two mon who played the stiffest game
of poker that was ever played in the terri
tory. The game was played in the old
Levee hotel in Yankton, in 1862, and 1t
lasted from 10 o'clock on Friday morning
20 3 o'clock on Sunday morning.
During its progress the people OF the
town assembled in the hotel and watched
che two men as they fought like bulldogs
over the pile of red, white and blue checks.
The legislature was in session at the time,
and as Stutsman, who was chairman of
the council, refused to leave the game that
branch Of the legislature adjourned until
the following Monday, and the members
watched the game to the finish.
Early in the game Stutsman's luck was
wonderfully good, and he played with
recklessness that surprised every one.
Later on the tide turned against him, and
the chips began to flow in the direction of
La Moure, who sat with his slouched hat
pulled over his eyes, watching every move
of his opponent.
Matters went this way until past mid
night of Saturday, when Stutsman threw
two $50 bills on the pile of chips in the
center of the table and called hundred
dollar bet made by La Moure. Stutsman
held king full on queens, and he felt sure
that the pot was his, but when La Moure
threw down his cards there were four
deuces, and Stutsman, gritting his teeth,
exclaimed:
Judd, tell you what I'll do. You've
won SO, 500 of my money. If you'll put
$500 with it, I'll stake the town site Of
Pembina against you and will play for it
In a lump to win or lose at one deal"
The men shook hands. According to
agreement, the hand was to be dealt by K.
A. Williams of Bismarck, the speaker of
the house of representatives, the cards to
be thrown on the table face up. When the
FIVE cards had been dealt, each man was
to discard and draw, the cards being
thrown face up by the dealer, as before, and
when the cards had been dealt the highest
hand was to take the pot.
Deity Williams shuffled the cards, and
squaring them slipped one from the top of
the pack and laid it down under Judd's
nose. 1t was deuce. Stutsman caught
the queen of spades.
The next card came of, and Judd caught
another deuce. The four spot of spades
turned up under Stutsman's nose, and his
brow wrinkled little. Again the cards
fell, and Judd placed the acc of diamonds
beside his two deuces while the jack Of
iv,to Cfrrfcy 10 for
Once more the dealer laid down the cards,
and Judd claimed the queen of clubs,
while his opponent caught the ace Of
spades. Stutsman's face began to bright
en-. He saw possibility of catching a
flush, but the next card to him was a
heart. However, Judd had not bettered
his hand and held his deuces, drawing
three cards.
Stutsman's friends tried to prevail on
him to draw four cards to the ace, but he
wouldn't listen to them, and discarding
the heart he drew one card, hoping to fill
the flush. The onlookers were wild when
Williams threw three cards to Judd. They
fell face up-the queen of clubs, jack OF
diamonds and ten spot of clubs He had
not bettered his hand, and his opponent
smiled grimly as he saw how severely for
tune must snub him now il she failed to
bring him a winning hand, for IL he pair
ed any of the four cards he held he must
beat Judd's chances; besides there was a
possibility of his filling n flush. Judd had
evidently lost hope, and he rested his arms
on the table and doggedly watched Will
hams as he turned to Stutsman and slip
ped a card from the pack. All stretched
their necks to catch sight of the card. Ii
was the eight spot of clubs.
The game was over. Judd had won,
and as he showed his hand over the table
to Stutsman tho latter grasped it and
shook it as though he had forgotten 1t had
played havoc with his finances
Stutsman kept his word and decided the
800 acres of land to La Moure. La Moure
holds much of that land today, although
he has sold large portion of 1t and real
lied many thousands of dollars The rail
roads have since given Pembina a boom,
and the land that was won in 1862 by two
dcuces is now worth hundreds of thou
sands of dollars Stutsman died in 1880.
He was buried in the lonely cemetery on
the hillside half milo north of Pembina.
The only monument to his memory is the
county of Stutsman.-New York World.