St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-01-25
rHe POKER FLAr OF TO-DAY.

THE POKER FLAT OF TO-DAY.
visit = the oceao of Bree Hartsis Wen.
Known Story.
Half An hour Of slow descent and Ne
reach the head Of the canyon by q
sharp turn in tho trail At last we
are in Poker Flat, the wild mining
camp OF 1852, that turned out 500. O0c
in gold bullion in . single month and
then celebrated the event in . triple
hanging. It was Poker Flat, too, that
experienced : spasm Of virtue soon
after the tragic affair, and under its
regenerating influence sent forth the
outcast wanderers of Bret Harte'a
story to die of cold and starvation on
the snowbound road to Sandy Bar.
There are no Oakhursts 1T Poker Flat
now, and Uncle Billy" has no coun-
terpart in the present population. for
the very simple reason that there are
no sluice boxes to rob and no money to
win over the gaming table. OF Moth
er Shiptons." however, there are sew.
eraL
Our greeting was not cordial Mr..
Rugg laid it all to the snowy plants
which he had gathered, and, going into
mountain lore. told of families that
had been separated by taking this bulb
Of evil omen into the sacred precincts
of the home. To carry = snow plant is
to have bad luck. Conceal it as you
will, those with whom you come in
contact will somehow divine your sc.
cret and shun you accordingly. Your
pay streak will peter out, you will
never hold more than one small pair.
the slickens men from Marysville will
catch you mapping over . monitor, and
most likely your wife will run away
with tinhorn gambler. who will turn
out later as a confirmed sluice robber-
that is, if you CARRY . snow plant.
So runs the folklore of the hills.
On the porch of one of the six houses
that now constitute the town of Poker
Flat q large, red-faced woman sat in s
rocking chair smoking q clay pipe. She
wore . short green dress that fell an
inch or SO below the tops of q pair OF
strong cowhide boots Ito which were
attached heavy brass spurs) . paper
collar, cravat and faded straw hat
Tricky covered with chaparral with
here and there patches of wild sun.
flowers and lupine, interspersed with
prospect holes, the slope presented q
scene OF utter ruin. Some Of the graves
have wooden headboards. others are
marked by stakes. while many have
nothing ut all There are eight people
in the town and eighty sleeping in this
ruined ground. Nearly all OF them
were laid to rest without religion,
rites of any kind other than the read.
ing OF q chapter from the Bible by
Charles Pond. Pond was q professional
gambler. but was always selected for
this service on account of his fine voice
and oratorical effect.
1.-THE boys always liked Pond" said
Henry Waggoner, one Of the old set.
tlers Of Poker Flat HE could read
better than any one else, and so he did
the burying. and 1T times business in
this line was exceedingly lively. Twice
. year . priest used to como over from
Downieville. but we could not always
wait for an ordained clergyman.
Things went with . rush in those
days, and the climate Of Poker Flat
seemed to be conductive to sudden
death"
Gold was discovered in Poker Flat
in OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
people had gathered In this rich
canyon There are fifteen stores,
five hotels. three dance halls. AMI
seven gambling houses In 1856 cir.
Gus came to town and sold !, 500 tickets
at $50 each The following year = man
named Joslyn picked up q nugget
worth $4,000 To celebrate his good
luck he got full and offered the whole
piece to his partner in exchange TO,
the latter's wife. The man accepted,
and, without the formality Of divorce
proceedings. Joslyn and the woman
were married and left town. Two
days later he committed suicide ri
Gibsonville- His former partner also
left town aud bought some land near
San Jose. Two years ago, on August
ee, he died wealthy and respected, at 4
good old age, but it is doubtful if more
than half dozen people in the world
knew how the foundation of his for.
tune was laid.
Henderson's big iron safe, over which
the noted faro dealer shed his hearts
blood in defending his money in Sep
TENDER, 1867, stands aruin by the trail.
half buried in the sand, just above the
Bittinger house.
Porker Flat will not last long, and,
when the pioneers have all been gath
cred to their fathers, thi. lively and
romantic camp of early days will Be
. safe and sheltered feeding place for
wild deer.-San Francisco Call