The sun., 1896-10-04
YARNS OF AN OLD GAMBLER
REMINTsCENCEs OF LIHELY TIMES
ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
Told by the Man who Was Said by Gen.
Sehenok to he Surpassed In Expertne.s
BY No Poker Player In America a
Tragedy That Turn q a Ort IN II. a, upoosoo

| BY No Poker Player In Americn a
Tragedy hatTurned Dat TO Be u Iloodoo
| From the San Francisco Chronicle
Old Dan Kiinball. who was known up and
down the Mississippi River thirty five and forty
years ago as the greatest gam bier of the river
boats and towns from New Orleans to ST. Louis.
| Is spending his last years amid the orange
groves OF tho Santa Ana Valley. He Is OF years
old, feeble. and bent with rheumatism. He
| came TO southern California with his wife four
| years ago. and has been living on the few thou
sand dollars he managed to save from the tens
| of thousands of dollars that he won at
the gaming tables through thrty.sevon years OF
| poker and faro No less an authority than tho
| late Gen. Robert G, Schenck of Ohio for
| several years United States Minister to the
| court OF St. James, once said that he
knew no moro expert poker player than
Dan Kimball of Vicksburg, Miss. In the
winter season. whom there are throngs of tour
lists In southern California. barely n day passes
that some one OF tho professional gaming fra
| ternity does not call upon the gray. haired old
| man. sitting on the vine-em mbowcred piazza of
his modest cottage; aud nearly every week nil
the year round some one or two persons WIN
have known Dan kimball when he was tho
king OF the knights of green cloth In tho Missis-
sippi Valley and made and lost fortunes in a
single night, visit him.
Yes, I've handled heap of money in my
day." said the old man, reminiscently, as he
chetted under an orange tree the other day.
and I've come out like all the others have
done that Is, with only mighty small fraction
al any wns1 ict nssd TO- 10 MAKE In week sometmes
all the professional gamblers ever since there
were any such persons.
now Ike there used to be when dealt the cards.
Just look at what the folks call gamblers now!
but 2-cent kids. That's right They've got no
MAJ. manners i,, ana no sense. Since I've been living
day of all the old gamblers such as used to
know and deal with, and there's precious few of
ones. so far as can remember them. All but
Two Two. of them are broke and hpstling for meals,
to oSr SaYs o ys BIt What big days they used
the Mississippi River! Take 1t twenty-five |
again in these United states. All. but those
were the days-great days for the town, with 36
in his pockets and lots Of good clothes.
. " guess there was 500 men WHO worked the
boats between St. Louis and New Orleans and
there's no telling how much money they did pull
all the time; Everybody who travelled had lots
Of stun, and every one was willing to bet and
bot high; so that when a fellow did win he won
right out of the hole at once. Those Southern
planters used TO just lose money like fun. and
caught on. and there was a shooting match. but
the boys didn't take much chance on being
plugged I've seen forty gamblers on one boat.
the officers at Natchez cleaned all the gamblers
ont ont OF town; IVY The whole gang met the boat
Captain wouldn't let them on unless they prom
ised not to play card aboard. They promised.
Of gamblers In you life than them. They hadn't
they'd just AS soon jump overheard They kept
,heir rs promise not to play card, but Lord, they
They cleaned out pretty near everybody that
had stuff. We landed at woodpile to take
oank, and the gambler ali rot TO bcttIns about
,unning jumps, and OF course the passengers
md Up to tree jump when the rst saEsnlSSnk
you'd say: Hello. whut's here?" and stop.
3ehind s!nIn the tree one Of the gang had begun
.ot up the jumping scheme. The way those I
ellows skinned the passengers was horrible. ,,
he boat started off up the stream the whole /
anE-forty OF 'em-were just marooned there
ext boat up or down. and work Ted their way up C
his way or down to New Orleans. Il
Tha. IVA, masns mtg Sambling Il was robb!ng; but
,he fellows had to be pretty slick. I'll tell YOU. !
ouple of gamblers would be o, board. TkeS +,
'ere often well educated fellows. and always u
uainted with the men with money and size mp h
ow much they had. This was easily done. be- =
way the time These cappsrs woudnf tnnf WIN I p@ss
ioney; 40, & They were Just TO do inc gentlemen. s
ut u when they got or the boat their pals came 5
lRe OF how much money there was on board, f
hat men had it, and how these men were best Il
nd 1t wasn't hard to get up n game OF euchre a
tter drink. Once the game was on the thing II
ut good poker hand to the mark. but n better "
ne to 2, his own partner who promptly declared;
so have l., replied MIR. Marx; and then they >,
o. b into TOP betting and the stranger got skinned n
l"rked on the back SO that he didn't have any il
nance M AZ all 10 win All the playing was done a
very card in pack and call il without missinS O
nee I've seen them shuttle them, one for one cl
! through ,R from top to bottom, 50 that they
lat they were IN at first. They'd just hutter ii
rem rem up like flight of quail and yet the aces. b.
easy as pie. A sucker had no more chance al
Es'ps5 psd bnt tnese nv. fellows than SNOWFALL has
" Billy Peoples used to work on the lower &C
YER and , he was dandy. lie roped in Judge al
asn't very flush. caught on to his game. He b,
ent to the bartender and got bundle OF Wild OF
u money. wrapped it around with a couple OF Ii
senties and put some tlves. in the middle. I
hey hey started on euchre and the Judge got the fe
F.. The Judge knew Peoples's game was TO- let a
m win; to make his final skinning ali the -
roll and skin of ives to Billy They 70 pnTsd sd n,
y !. supper. and the Judge quit SlS5 winner. NJ
Il the epgef gedrs y nd %adted to up the rnme
cked ,e1 he went ashore and told friend about OF
fellow who had done him. and just as he was "a
lilnR u the Judge came to the rail and Billy sn
nted him out to his friend. ~
Why, you sucker, said the friend that's ~
-ehd-so from st. Louis. He knows every nr nr
mbler on the river or
, Billy offered the Judge $500 suit OF clothes or
u 10 tell the story. but the Judge wouldn't ~
len the Judge got Off the boat. = ~
AnoIher old gambler was Glascock. Atari mi
AVIS was great old boy. Jim McIane's WI WI
other allowed him $40, 900 n year not TO come IN IN
ar her, but he was broke nearly all the time III
r a'i that. and he had to gamble to make lis "a
~. Hank johnson was daisy, a hard player W.
10 meyer wore pair Of boots worth less than u, p
o. Glib Cohern and Tom Macksy were tho u'
essers of the river. All their winnings used IN
40 40 into clothes They'd send to Paris for W.
cir underci0thing, and all that sort ~ ~
thinR. They were great rivals in W
% oae y DAYS, when dress went for something. di ddil
ck Hiii WAS McLane's partner. Then there y.
IS Big Alexander, who work ed out OF. .NatcheZ. w
i Mcdonald, dead shot with the pistol; l..
hlock, who could do more funny work with ou
ck or cards than ever saw before or since / ar
lldn't name them all They were good fcl. bIi
VS.. iree with their money as water after Az