The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-19

to bet on picking out the cards, say the
packs. He'd bet that the sharper couldn't
pick out the jack of spades, and the sharp
er would miss couple Of times, and com
plain that his head was wrong. He man
aged to go away just then and leave the
deck around him, when his pal would sug-
gest the plan of stealing the jack and then
beating his own game. The victim fell in.
of course, and they stole the jack, and he
hid 1t in his pocket. Then the first man
comes back and the talk is renewed and
the bets get high. The sucker Is sure he
can't lose, for he has his jack in his pock-
ct, and he's willing to bet on dead sure
thing. SO they go. and the man with the
deck picks out the cards.
There's the jack Of diamonds" and
up it turns. Jack of hearts, and there it
is, sure enough. Jack of clubs, comes all
right, and next he says, And here's your
card. Sir, jack of spades and he pulls it
out face down, and pushes ii toward the
mark, who has his hand on the card in his
pocket. He doubles his bet that it isn't the
card, and the bets taken. The third party
turns up the card, and to his surprise, it
is the jack of spades, shifted in out of an
other deck. / see a man lose 81 500 on that
game to an old gambler named BIZ Vose
and he never said a word, just got his grip
and left the boat at the next landing.
BILLY Peoples used to work on the low
er river, and he was a dandy. He roped
in a judge from this city one day to
little game, and the judge, who wasn't
went to the bartender and got a bundle
of wildcat money, wrapped il around with
a couple of twenties and put some fives
in the middle. They started on euchre
and the judge got the usual good poker
hand, and Mr. Peoples played in. The
judge knew peoples game was to let him
win to make his final skinning all the
surer. He lost a couple of times just to
fash his roll and skin off fiVes to Billy
They played till supper, and the judge quit
1885 winner After supper Billy wanted to
open up the game. but the Judge wouldn't
have it, and Billy kicked. He went ashore
and told a friend about the fellow who
had done him, and just as he was telling
it the judge came to the rail and Billy
pointed him out to his friend.
Why. you sucker GER, said the friend,
knows every gambler on the river
"Billy offered the judge a $500 suit of
clothes not to tell the story, but the
judge wouldn't hear of it, and all New Or
leans heard the story, when the Judge
got off the boat.
Another old gambler was GIasscock.
Starr Davis was great old boy. Jim Nc
Lanes mother allowed him $4,000 a year
not to come near her, but he was broke
nearly all the time for all that, and he
had to gamble to make his way. Hank
Johnson was a daisy, hard player, who
never wore pair of boots worth less
than $40. Glib Cohern and Tom Wackay
were the dressers of the river All their
send to Paris for their underclothing and
all that sort of thing. They were great
rivals in those days, when dress went for
something. Doc Hill was McLane's part
ner. Then, there was Big Alexander. who
worked out at Natchez: jim Mcdonald a
dead-shot with the pistol; Ashlock, who
could do more funny work with a deck of
cards than 1 ever saw before or since
/ couldn't name them all. They were good
fellows, free with their money as water
after scheming to burst their heads to get
it. A hundred didn't bother them any
more than a chew of tobacco would you
What drunks they used to get on after
They were all dressers. They wore soft
black hats, black clothes, high-heeled
boots, low-necked shirts, with big loose
collars and ties and frilled bosoms. Each
had a solitaire breastpin and a big soli-
taire ring, and one of those big, long
gold chains going round the neck three
or four times and hanging down over
their breasts. They didn't drink anything
but wine, and they'd ride across the
streets in hacks, rather than get mud on
their shoes. They were fine fellows; edu-
Gated men, who could talk to anyone about
anything, and as polite as anything you
ever saw. There used to be some big
games on every boat. Poker was mostly
the game. They. played bluff and brag
a great deal and the betting was high
81 saw a man from HopkinsVille Ky
lose his whole tobacco crop in one night
and get up and never mind it particularly
Many a time l see game player Just
skin off his watch and ring and studs and
play them in. Men often lost their goods
playing in their way bill I've seen them
betting a bale of cotton at a crack, and ii
wasn't at all uncommon to hear an old
planter betting off his niggers on a good
river knows that these old planters used
to play in their body servants, valuing
them all the way from $500 to 81, 800. l saw
a little colored boy stand up at $500 to
back his masters faith in a little flush
that wasn't any good on earth. The Mig
gers, didn't seem TO care particularly
about it. and it was so common that no.
body noticed 1t particularly. Gambling
was commoner then.
why. it wasn't nothing but gambling
from the time a boat left St. Louis till il
raaohed New Orleans I've seen faro
game, three poker games and monte rum
ming in the cabin and the deck-hands play
ing at chuck-a-iuck. The gamblers would
come in disguised in hayseed clothes TO
skin the passengers. Maybe there'd be
four or five on the boat. When a passen-
ger would squeal, the captain would ask
him TO pick out the man who had robbed
him and the gambler, II nabbed. would
have TO give up the stuff and get of the
boat anywhere the captain chose to run
her in. The boys used 10 have false whis-
kers and WIGS Tor these occasions, so that
when the kick was Inade they couldn't be
picked out under their DISCUSSES. Many