The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-08-23
WHY HE SUCCEEDED.
A SENATOR'S GOOD FORTUNE BEGAN
WITH A GAME OF POKER.


tho Country-Membcrs OF the Bar Who
Tried to Feat the Pet Law of the Town.
My scat i'll the senate and all have
besides had root i'll game of poker. >"
Here the senator gazcd benignantly
about his small audience He was in !,
reminiscent mood. He was wise, deep
sea little senator, as sapicnt as ever
went into executive session Now and
then he liked to talk about the past.
cit sounds queerly to say it," tho
senator continued, but it was n poker
game which lost me to the east and
gave me to the west, to become in time
senator. This is the story:
81 was born alld brought ND in a
town i'll Kentucky. 1t was q small
town. You could throw lariat about
the whole outfit and drag it with
pony But it was highly moral town.
AS community it had pet law It
mado n speciality of enforcing the stat
utes against gambling. No games of
chance could thrive i'll that community.
And no matter what the position in life
of an offender, We're he guilty of gam
bling ne would be dealt with. Such was
the impartial boast of tho town. Indeed,
rs one citizen Observed:
They would admire to catch q
Judge or prosecuting attorney violating
the law merely to demonstrate tho Pur-
itan fairness of local sentiment
1T was the June term OF the circuit
court. There was IL crowd of lawyers in
town. The judge himself was from
down the Ohio river During the noon
hour quiet game of poker was talked
over rs ono of the happy methods of
passing the pending evening. The town
had Il habit of going to bed ut O'Clock,
and it all promised to be graveyard dull
to the visiting lawyers and tho Judge.
Whispered word went about, therefore,
that game of cards, with Il meek and
lowly limit, would be good way to
ward off care. But there was no place
to play.
Tho hotel would never do. A light
i'll any room after 10 o'clock would have
provoked the most baleful surmises and
investigation as well. The prosecuting
attorney was one Of the foremost in ar
ranging the coming speculation. 1t was
he who, i'll the fertility of his nature,
suggested the fiatboat. His father was
proprietor of IL flatboat Of ample cabin
accommodation. Just then it was moor
ed, bow and stern, at the foot of the
levec. a couple of games were pro-
grammcd to come Oft that evening in
the cabin of the fiatboat. 1t would be out
Of sight and hearing of the testy little
burg which made IL speciality of punish
ing gambling.
1T was 10 o'clock. Tho night was as
dark as the interior of Il cow. Two
games were going on i'll the cabin of tho
flatboat. Tho judge, the prosecuting at
torney and some nine members of the
bar were engaged. 1t made two nice
tables. Everybody was bending to the
game with all of the native artlor of a
Kentucky gentleman. 1t was about this
time when, in company with ii friend,
/ strolled OH the lcvec III the vicinity OF
tho 1atboat. l was 90 years of age and
had no money. My friend was equally
we'll fixed. Our youth and our poverty
forbade anything like poker so far as we
were concerned. On discovering the old
folks thus charmingly engaged taste
to DO humorous swept over us. We were
law students; they We're lawyers That
was reason enough for the joke. As the
boat roso and fell on the swell and slack
ened the ropes we cast her loose Silent
ly She driftcd away over tie dark bos-
ON of the river. The jovial gamcstcrs
drew and filled and straddlcd and raised
and called, all unconscious. At , O'Clock
i'll tho morning Colonel Stebbins had
won $40. 1t was i'll Mexican money,
and he had sinkercd it about his honest
old frame i'll half a dozen pockets. 1t
was about all of the money at that table,
and Colonel Stcbbins concluded he
might better go. He mprmured some
thing about cold feet and promising his
wife to come up to the hotel early and
arose to go. The rest jcercd mildly and
made invidious remarks after the fash
ion of losers at poker Just as the game
breaks up. But Colonel Stebbins was
intlexiblo. He put Oh his hat, bid cv-
crybody good night, stepped out into
tho inky darkness and carefully picked
his way overheard.
1.-The water was 20 feet deep. The sill
yer all but drowned the colonel, how
ever. AT last he was fishcd out and laid
across a barrel to evict the Ohio river
from his system. The whoops and yclls
of the voyagcrs at last brought Il sleepy
little ting to their aid. They found them
selves II miles below the town For
$50 of Colonel Stebbins' gains the tug
towed the party back.
"They arrived at 2 O'Clock in the aft
ernoon and found the town sullcnly lin
ing the lovce waiting for them. They
were one and all promptly indicted. In
the frank enthusiasm of youth my friend
and | related how we had cast these