The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-25
SOCIETY IN CRIPPLE CREEK.
ITS LEADING FEATURES AS THEY
APPEAR no a TENDERFOoT.
Gambling Dens, Dance Houses, and
HoteIs-Some stories of Nolan,
Professional Gam estcr-How Re-
form Was Achieved.

From the SpTlDSlClu INtluHiiSeAAs
Cripple Creek.-The life of mining
camp like this can be summed UP in the
one word. gamble. The spirit is everywhere
and il pervades all things. And there could
be nothing more natural, since it is the
gambling spirit that makes men hunt for
the precious metal in the mountains as
Mr.. Stratton did for twenty weary years
before he CHANGED upon certain piece OF
rock in Cripple Creek and from humble
carpenter and inveterate prospector sud
denly blossomed out as a great American
millionaire. To men who are accustomed
to see vast fortunes made from chance
strike there can be nothing immoral in the
poker table And so it happens that gamb-
ling is openly recognized here as lawful
vice and that all the paraphernalia of the
game are openly displayed in almost every
saloon. 1t is perhaps a mark of advanced
civilization that every game pays $40 as a
license fee, which yields to the town $4,000
as yearly revenue from gaming.
Thus it happens that one finds the sa-
looms and gambling clubs the most inter-
estng places in the Creek. 1t is there that
you find society" Making the rounds on
Sunday evening, we enter some finely fur
nshed rooms from the main street and
find Johnny Noan's place" which is &C
cessible only to those having private keys.
In the first room, which is separated from
the larger one by elegant portieres, is a
piano and music and a reading table piled
high with the best magazines of the east,
the leading newspapers, and the comic
Weeklies. In the rear room we dlnd Drill
liantiy lighted space, whose walls are
hung with large oil paintings of the usual
type tables scattered around, and the
equipment of the various games in which
one may indulge. Here is a man playing
the wheel. over there in corner is
group of six games tiers, quiet and repressed
over poker table. Several men stand
around and watch the play in silence.
Some of these are story books in them
selves one man Of small stature and frow-
sy appearance, who is intently watching
the battle of the chips is pointed out as
the luckiest prospector in Cripple Creek.
he discovered the great Pharmacist and
Calumet gold mines and four or five others
of inferior value His next strongest point
was in disposing of bonanZas soon after he
had found them for an Insignificant sum,
and allowing others to reap the golden
harvest. Thus he sold the rich Pharmacist
for the beggarly sum of $50. and within six
months thereafter $4,000 worth of gold had
been dug from it, There are millionaires
alive as the result of this mans strikes,
and here he is with hardly a dollar TO his
name. Unhappy? BY no means. Tomorrow
he may find the richest gold deposits in the
camp.
The group at the poker table that Sun
day evening were for the most part pro-
fessional gamblers. and the king of them
all was Nolan himself, the proprietor OF
the club. Nolan is remarkable charac-
ter. He is the ideal of the professional
gamester in appearance. OF medium size
and quick nervous motions, his smooth
shaver face displays wonderful will
power in the square massive jaws ard
thin, tightly compressed lips. His fore
head is high and full the eyes a steey
gray in color and somewhat prominent In
their setting, and the nose large, straight
and with such nostrils as culver and d.
late only in the genuine thoroughbred.
This extraordinary face, over which kind
~ smiles may play, becomes an impens-
trable mask when Nolan sits down at the
gaming table. Apparently possessed of the
most ample Elasticity for the expression
of feeling or emotion, this countenance re-
Veals absolutely nothing to an opponent
at cards. And Nolan has infinite sand"
The other night a quiet-lOoking chap came
in and began playing the wheel Before
midnight the fellow had beaten the game
TO the extent of $4,000 and had busted"
the bank. Nolan went out and soon re-
turned. Placing 10000 before him, he
coolly offered to continue the battle. The
stranger paused, looked at his $4,000 won,
gazed at the $4,000 in front of Nolan, ana
then, slowing the $4,000 in his pocket,
sensibly went away. And Nolan only
smiled and said not a word.
Another side of NOlan's characters f.
revealed in the story of an episode of re-
cent occurrence which impressed all who
witnessed ii. Besides this elegantly fur
nished club, he also runs an adjoining
saloon, where the various games are
played. This is open to the general pub
lie, as was demonstrated the other day
when two bad men from the hills tried
TO ride through the front door on horse
back. One night Nolan sat in this saloon
at poker table, making up hand with
some patrons of the place. One of the
players was a miner of no special skill
at poker, but who was nightly absorbed
IN the game. The limit was ST. The plav
mad been pretty tame, but soon began TO
snow some lightning. The miner had been
losing and was gradually getting atire
with the fever of the gambling spirit The
cards were dealt. After the usual byplay
several dropped out, leaving Nolan ana
the miner in the game. The miner had
hnaliy got hand, it appeared, that suit
eo MIN, and he proposed TO play It for all
II was worth. With the pot already az
80 the miner made it $50, and Nolan, i'm
mediately catching his opponents fight
ing mood, made II 500. The miner paused
looked at his hand again, and. laying the
NBOh INC ldples pulled from his
pocket large roll of bills. His face flush
ed as he counted out $780, Nolan COW
cred him and raised him 500 more. rho
other now threw into the heap every dol
lar he had, and rising Historically TO his
feet, shouted: 81 call you" The profess
slonal smiled and laid down his hand in
the sight Of all. 1t was a straight flush
against four aces, and Nolan had won
Inc 500, the miners little fortune.
me ruined man sank back from the
taole with a CHASTITY attempt at bravado.
NO one paid the slightest attention 10
MIN now, and he quickly disappeared.
Inc play went on, for others came I'm to
take hand, and some two hours passed
Al an interesting point the Spectators
clrcilng the table suddenly turned to-
ward the door, whence came the sound
OF a woman's voice A great novelist
would write up what followed with now
ertul effect, but all l can say is that the
woman was the miners wife, and thar
she wanted TO see the man who won
that 800 She had been crying, as might
nave beeen expected, for she had been
counting on that money to make life a
little cheerier in the little cabin home on
the hillside for herself and the babies