The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-16


my boys-great days for the best river
towns, with thirty-six steamboats, at
the wharf all at once, the levee covered
with drays, and every sport with stuff
in his pockets and lots of good clothes.
II guess there was Ave hundred men
who worked the boats between St Lou
is and New Orleans, and there's no tell
ing how much money they did pull off
the travellers. 1t was dead easy mon
ey, too, all the time. Everybody who
Travelled had lots of stuff, and every
one was willing to bet, and bet high, so
that when fellow did win he won
right out of the hole at once. Those
southern planters used to just lose
money like fun, and were skinned right
and left. Occasionally they caught on,
and there was a shooting match, but
the boys didn't take much chance on
being plugged I've seen forty gam
blers on one boat, the John Dickey.
That was in 57, when the officers at
Natchez cleaned all the gamblers out
of the town. The whole gang met the
| boat at the wharf and started to come
aboard, but the captain wouldn't let
them on unless they promised not to
play q card aboard. They promised
and he took them on, and the boat
came on up the river. You never saw a
| tireder- looking lot of gamblers in your
| life than them They hadn't anything
| to do, and some of them looked like
| they'd just as soon jump overheard as
not They kept their promise not TO
play cards, but they did skin passen-
gers on other games.
George Divoll got a little piece or
tin-foil, wrapped it around some salt
and sitting down near the stove
| warmed it and put it UP against his
| cheek. He'd hold it there awhile,
warm it again, and put 1T back Fres-
emily passenger, who mad got ac-
quainted with one of Georges pals, OBJ
served his actions and inquired what ne
was doing. George said he was curing
| his neuralgia. and he explained the
cure. After he had done so he kept UP
the thing for awhile, and then he left
the cure on the stove hearth and went
out. Then Georges pal marked the
package, and suggested that 1t. would
be a good joke to change the SAT- lor
ashes. lust to observe what strength
Divolrs belief had in curing his neural
gia. The passenger planter, fell in,
and changed the salt for ashes and left
ii on the hearth. .Divoll comes back
and begins his monkey business over
again, and the planter comes around
and guys George about the cure being
no good and finally George IS so DEAD
sure he's curing himself that the plant
er gets hot, and says he'll bet there
amt any salt in the tin-foil George
| puts him off, and his pal shows the
planter what dead sure thing he's
got and works him up for George in
great shape. They finally bet-three
hundred dollars was the money-and,
of course, George shifts duplicate OF
his first package on the planter, and
| shows UP the salt. The planter was
clean 'cornered, but he was working
| George on dead sure thing, and
| couldn't squeal.
| Billy Peoples used to work on the
lower river, and he was dandy. He
roped in judge from the city one day
| to little game, and the judge, who
| wasn't very flush, caught on to his
| game. He went to the bartender and
cot bundle of wildcat money,
| wrapped 1t around with couple of
| eos, 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
i PEOPLES game was to let him win to
make his final skinning all the surer,
He lost a couple of times, just to flash
his roll and skin off fives to Billy
] They played till supper, and the judge
quit one hundred and eighty five dol
lars winner. After supper Billy want
ed to open up the game, but the judge
wouldn't have 1t, and Billy kicked
He went ashore and told friend about
the fellow who had done him, and just
as he was telling 1t the judge came to
the rail, and Billy pointed him out to
his friend.
"'Why. you sucker said the friend
| that's so and So from st. Louis. He
knows every gambler on the river.
'Billy offered the judge three hun
dred dollar suit of clothes not to tell
the story, but the judge wouldn't heaI
of it. and all New Orleans heard the
story when the judge got off the boat
Another gambler was Glasscock
| b
| McLane's mother allowed him ter
thousand dollars year not to come
near her, but he was broke nearly al
the time, for all that, and he had te
gamble to make his way. Hank John
son was daisy,a hard player, Wht
never wore a pair of boots worth less
than twenty dollars. Glib Cohern ane
Tom Mackay were the dressers of the
river. All their winnings used to go II
clothes They'd send to Paris for thell
underclothing and all that sort o.
thing. They were great rivals in those
DAYS. when dress went for something
Dock Hill was McLanes partner
Then there was Big Alexander, wht
worked out at Natchez; Jim Mcdonald
a dead shot with the pistol; Ashlock
who could do more funny work with
deck of cards than ever saw before o.
since. l couldn't name them all. They
were good fellows, free with their mon
ey as water, after scheming TO pus
their heads to get 1t. A few hundref
didn't bother them any more than
chew of tobacco would you. VIVA
drunks they used to get on after the.
came in off trip. And clothes! The!
were all dressers. They wore sof
black clothes, high-heeled boots, low
necked shirts, with big loose collar
and ties, and frilled bosoms. Each ha'
solitaire breastpin and big solitair
ring, and one of those big, loud gol'
chains going round the neck three o