The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-09
"A GAMBLERS WIDOW.
FARO KATE, WHO MADE A FORTUNE
OF s25o.ooo.

Now She Has Retired-Many Well known
Men Visited Her Gambling Houses-In-
duced TO Quit by Her Daughter, who Has
just Left School.
Living with her daughter in coy
cottage, handsomely furnished, on q
quiet street Of Superior, Wis, is q
woman whose life history reads like a
romance. Not yet 45 years Of age, this
woman has seen more of life than most
men do in a century. Her hair is white
as driven snow, but her face preserves
her wonderful beauty, which has been
her main stock In trade. Her voice is
soft and Low, and every action betokens
the utmost refinement, but in spite of
all this there is not moro skillful card
sharp In the country than she.
Mrs. Kate G.. Ogden is the woman's
name, or ut least that is the name she
is known by to the people Of Superior,
for farther west she is better known as
Faro Kate on account Of her having for
many years conducted faro games In
many Of tho smaller cities and towns.
Until within the last year her daughter,
a charming girl Of about 10, has been
In convent and until recently did not
know that her mother was one of the
most dangerous card swindlers Of the
continent
Mrs. Ogden Is now wealthy woman,
and every cent Of her money came from
the pockets Of her numerous victims,
who range in the social scale all the
way from lumber jacks" to we'll dress
ed men about town.
Tho woman is the widow of q gam
bier who died in the west some years
ago, leaving as legacy only the knowl-
edge OF how to win at cards and few
braces of faro dealing cards. How well
Mrs. Ogden has made use Of the knowl-
edge and the boxes may be judged when
it is stated that she is worth anywhere
from $250,0OO to $500, 900, ali Of it
made in gambling with cards
Up to the time Miss Ogden returned
from tho convent Mrs. Ogden's home
was favorite resort for young men
with moro money than brains, for the
woman was an excellent entertainer,
and would open a faro game any hour
of tho day or night for the aocommoda-
ton of her visitors
For the past year not card has been
turned in Mrs. Ogden's home, and it is
understood that she has abandoned the
life Of gambler forever on account of
her daughter. So far as known, Mrs.
Ogden's private life has been strictly
moral one, and never has she been
known to touch drop Of liquor. She
made gambling business, the same as
Othpr XvO1nay, To ~. <l,o.,
making n business.
Her first stand was at Deadwood sew
eral years ago, soon after the death of
her husband, which left her without a
penny in the world. Then she opened a
private gambling house and made mon
| ey rapidly. From Deadwood she went
to Pierre, s. D., where she remained for
some time, running openly on Missouri
avenue, the tough street of the city.
Her patrons were largely real estate
| dealers and cattlemen, and she would
probably have been there yet had not a
desperate quarrel taken place in her
house one night, during which cattle
| man was shot in the shoulder. This
ended her career there, and she came to
| the northwest, where she has been ever
| since
] A few years ago Mrs. Ogden owned
the finest private gambling house in
Bismarck, N. D., and strange stories
are told Of the games played there dur
ing the sessions of the legislature, when
every one had money to burn. Many Of
the men who have achieved political
| greatness in North Dakota know the
woman we'll, and many of them know
| her to their sorrow, for much of their
| good gold went to increase her savings
Not only did Mrs. Ogden conduct faro
game. but poker games, in which the
| white chips were 81 and the blues any
where from $50 to 500, were of night
| iy and daily occurrence at her home.
The charge was made at one time,
| just after one of the best known men
in the northwest had dropped something
| like $40, 900 in poker game one night,
that a prominent state official stood
in with Mrs. Ogden and that they had
been using marked cards and cheating
in other ways The charge was never
pressed, but shortly after it was made
Mrs Ogden disappeared one day and
was next heard Of in Superior, where
she has ever since made her home, liv-
ing very quietly for the past few
| months.
Soon after Mrs Ogden located in Su-
perior she opened q game, but it was
run only short time ON account of q
complaint made by banker, who was
swlndled out Of large sum by means
OF marked cards He in company with
several other prominent men sat in at