The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-09-12
LAND OF CRIPPLE CREEK.
=. Y.
CONTINUED from first page.)

taken by a Chautauqua circle, a tall, thin
lgentlemanly young man, with a brown
mustache and cold blue eyes, came In.
was introduced to him as the manager OF
the Chautauqua. He gave me words OF
welcome in a voice like oil, and asked me
TO step into the next room. did so, and
there saw the biggest and most popular
social circle in Cripple Greek. 1t was a
literary circle to some extent, and its
members were hard at work. They sat
about little tables; leach with several
leaflets in his hand. AS looked saw
that the leaflets were Illustrated. They
we're covered with red and black, spots
and with pictures of kings. queens and
knaves. 1t was a poker Chautauqua, and
the chips on the table represented many
dollars. In another part Of the room was
what l thought at my first entrance an
object lesson class standing around what
seemed to be model of Jerusalem Jr
some ancient city. The professor sat
down as he lectured drew nearer. The
professor was a croupier and the wheel
he was turning was not a model OF Je-
Frusalem, but that which has lost SO many
greenhorns so much money in the game
of roulette. The scholars were the play
ers and the money ON the table showed
me that the game was a high one. A
young fellow came into this Chautauqua
one night. He had but q few dollars but
he began to bet on the red and black.
Luck was in his favor and he doubled his
stakes He left the money on the table,
changing it from one color to the other
now and then. It was doubled again and
again until he had at last won $4,000.
This was all the cash the bank had on
hand. The croupier stopped the game
and went out and got $40, 900. He brought
this in and dared the young man to put
up his $751; 900 on "a single: turn Of the
wheel and to double it or lose. The Phil
adelphian, however, replied that he had
got enough, and that he did not care to
play any longer He took all his money
off with him to lose it, in all probability,
In some future game. The majority of
the gamblers lose in the end. The per-
centage of every game played here is in
favor of the bank, and the most of the
games are swindles out and out.
And still Cripple Creek is, in some re-
spects,a an orderly town. You can keep
out OF all this vice If you will, or If you
cultivate it too much it may possibly land
you in Jail. There are better jails than
that of Cripple Creek. The visit that /
paid to the prison was just before the
fire. The marshal took me to the police
station, a building which looked for all
the world like the tower of a windmill
boarded up. We passed through this,
and at it's back, in a little, she'd / found
the Jail There were at least a dozen pris-
oners, who were Gagged up like so many
wild animals. The whole twelve were
kept inside Of an iron framework made
of two-inch bars crossed like lattice
work and bound together SO as to form
two tiers of cages, and so that you could
look through. all of the cages at once.
Each cage was just about high enough for
man to stand upright within it and
each contained from two to three men.
There was no. chance for seclusion or
privacy for any one. All were housed
in together and a burglar and a MUIR
derer slept side by side with two foolish
drunken boys who had raised row at a
dance hall the other night. 49,