The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1895-02-16
BIG POKER STORIES.
:HEiR TEXT THE REMARKABLE VA
carries OF LUCK.

CARRIES OF LUCK.
benator Wolcott's Lucky Draw In tho
"Brace" Game-The Old Red Ear Story
Retold In Condensed Form-The Person.
al Confession Of One of "the Company"
II suppose Senator Wolcott is one of
the coolest men living when engaged in
game Of chance" said Albert Watson
of Denver. Like most men whose early
manhood has been spent on the frontier,
he learned the value of poker hand and
the best way to keep cases as soon as he
learned law. and he was known as lin
it. player all over Colorado before his
fame as a lawyer had spread outside of
Denver. When playing faro, he always
did and does yet bet as much on the
turn of card as the dealer will allow
him to, and when he sits in a poker
game the other people want to keep
their eyes wide open and play their
cards mighty close up to their chests.
"Wolcott once found himself in
game of poker where three Of the other
players were playing sure game. They
were professionals and were after big
bundle of money that he had in his pos.
session as we'll as looking for that which
the fifth player, mining operator
named Durkin, was known to have
Wolcott knew in 20 minutes after the
first hand was dealt that the intention
was to rob him and wearied his wits
trying to find way out of the game
without making trouble, but he couldn't
discover q means to save him. At last
he was dealt pat flush of diamonds
made up Of the s, Z, 8, 8 and jack. He
skinned those cards over and did a
mighty piece of thinking. He felt in his
bones that flush would be no account
in the world when it came to show.
down, but he Clipped in and staid to
draw cards. To his surprise, he wasn't
raised before the draw
''He looked over his bright red dia-
monds and concluded to draw a card, in
order, if possible, to strengthen the Sc
quence. He pondered long time be-
tween discarding the s spot or the pic
ture, and at last tossed away the jack
and called for card. The dealer looked
surprised at his wanting any, but gave
him the card. Wolcott picked it up and
found he had got the 6 spot Of dia-
monds He never turned hair. The
betting began. and he nursed his Sc
quence of diamonds and just staid
along, letting the other fellows do the
raising. At last it got down to Wolcotr
and one of the professionals. Finally
there was call, and the other man
showed four queens. Wolcott laid down
the 5, 6, z, and 8 of diamonds and
swept in the pot. The game stopped
right there. Ireckon that was the great
est piece of luck that any man ever had
in a poker game"
When Mr.. Watson had concluded his
interesting recital and the wonderful
draw had been expatiated upon, one OF
his listeners remarked that he reckoned
it was his deal. "This is a story of luck,
too," he remarked, "but of q different
character from that experienced by Sem
ator Wolcott. A friend of mine who
lives out in Maryland was playing in q
little poker game not long ago. The
paraphernalia of the game was primi-
tive, consisting Of a single we'll thumbed
deck of steamboat cards, with grains of
corn for chips. My friend was followed
by a regular tempest of bad luck, and
his corn was down to a very few grains.
He agitated his mind for minute or
two and then suddenly announced that
he had forgotten to give his horse water
and would have to doit. He went O. Of
the house, and being familiar with the
premises made his way to the courthouse,
and putting in his hand in the dark got
an ear Of corn and put it in his pocket.
Then he went to the stable, after max
ing big noise at the pump to let the
fellows inside believe he was moistening
his animal, and returned in few mil
utes to the house. He sat down and pre-
ceeded to pull out the chips he had
placed in his pocket when he left, ana
which he had substantially added to
meantime You can imagine his con-
sternation when he found that he drew
forth his original dozen white Chips,
with twice that many red. He had man
aged to find in the dark the only red ear
in the cornhouse."
'I'll make personal confession after
that said Henry Miller when the
laugh subsidized. "Some years ago was
prone now and then to indulge in the
delights Of draw, and there was friend
living near me, over in Georgetown,
afflicted with intermittent insanity of
the same sort that visited him at inter
walls coincident with my own. Conse-
quently we usually hunted the animal
together. One night we came over this
side Of the creek together and proceeded
to a place on Ninth street, where pub
lilo game, with table stakes, was pretty
popular. Along about II o'clock we
both got broke and concluded to 60
home. The night had grown stormy,
and it was sleeting like sin when we
left the club, as it was called. A search
revealed that we had but one car ticket
between u.s. The bobtail cars, without q
conductor, were then used on the Met
ropolitan line, and we conceived tho
highly original idea OF splitting that
ticket In half and dropping the two
pieces in the box. We boarded the last
car over and carried out our scheme.
. You may knock me down il both pieces
didn't fall in the box white side up.
! The driver glanced at them and then
started TO open the door, but we both
! made q break and got of the car.
made up my mind there that my luck
was too utterly bad for poker player,
and walking home through that blizzard