Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-08-20
HE BET ALL NEW MEXICO.
There Were Poker Players OF Might
in the West in Those Days.

Throughout the west Dougherty is
known as the best card player that ever
drew to flush, missed it, and then said
nothing. In 1889 he sat down with
man named Ike Jackson, wealthy cattle
owner and great poker player of Colorado
City, Tex, 20 determine the poker cham
pionship of the wild and woolly west.
1t was in Bowen's saloon In Santa Fe,
N. M. There was no limit to the game,
and both had gone to Santa Fe with sew
eral thousand dollars in gold and green
backs. They played along in desultory
sort of way for hours, when finally both
got good hands at the same time.
More than 100 gamblers and other citi-
zens of Santa Fe had gathered about to
watch the progress of the game. Among
them was Governor Prince, who knew and
liked Dougherty. After about 100000
had been piled upon the green cloth, the
Texas man said to Dougherty that he was
running little short of money, but that
he had ranch and 100000 head of cattle
in Texas that he would like to make a
deed to for another 100000 to bet.
Dougherty said it was perfectly agree
able to him, but asked that the same
privilege be granted him if it became
necessary to put up real estate, ETC., as
collateral in order to play his hand for
what it was worth. jackson assented of
course.
After the Texan had put up all of his
ready cash end Dougherty came back
with another raise, Jackson concluded to
bring thirgs to a finish. SO he raised
the Arizona man 100000, throwing his
deed to his Texas property in the pot.
Dougherty called for pen and paper. He
wrote hurriedly for a few moments, and
then, catching the governors eye, beck
oned him to one side. Then, before the
governor knew what had happened, he
was looking down the barrel of revolver.
"Now, you sign this" as he handed him
the piece of paper that contained about
dozen lines. "Sign it, l say, else 1 will
kill you, like you and would fight for
you, but love my reputation as poker
player more than l do you or any one
else."
The governor, without looking at the
contents of the document, nervously at
tached his signature. Then, walking
back to the table, Dougherty coolly
threw the paper in the pot, quietly re-
marking as he did so, 81 raise you the
territory of New Mexico. There's the
deed"
The Texan, of course, had to clay
down." but as he did so he uttered an
oath that was heard in Lower California.
Then, as he saw Dougherty rake in the
big pot, Jackson gave a nervous twitch
of his mustache and said:
"That's all right, John. Scoop it in,
but it's d--n good thing for you that
Jim Hogg, the governor of Texas, isn't
here. New York Sun.
The above reads we'll, and is quite in.
teresting as far as it goes. There are but
few things about the article that de-
mand attention and while they do not
amount to very NJ uch, still for the infor-
nation of people generally the New MEX
loan will state them. They are: That
there was no saloon known as Bowen's
saloon in Santa Fe in 1889 or at any other
time, that Ex-Governor Prince never wit
messed poker game in his life and never
was within the confines of q saloon in
New Mexico, that Dougherty and Ike
jackson never played poker in Bowen's
saloon in this city, for the simple reason
that no such place existed, that no $780,
600 ever changed hands in any poker
game in this city and that the whole yarn
is a Munchhausen creation from first to
last and that there is not word of truth
in it from beginning to end. With these
few exceptions the tale ls all right, how
ever.