The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-03-14
POKER THEIR SALVATION.
AL THE MEN IN TOWN LOST THEIR
MONEY TO THE PREACHER

Then They went to ITS Revival Meeting. 20
.s TO Ne .s Near ne Possible TO Their Late
C~apitai-Good That Can ne 4. eaOOi
"The strangest episode In the sporting life Of
the Southwest" said tho man from Arkansas.
occurred at a littlo mushroom town that spraDg
into life about forty miles TO the south Of Cam
den before the Iron Mountain Railroad was laid
down in our State. Everybody knew that a rail-
road was going to be built somewhere through
that region, and bands Of grangers from Texas
and northern Louisiana, as we'll as river men
from the Ouachita district, used TO travel about
taking up claims and laying out little VIII
lagos. so as TO sell out at q good round
pront In case they were in luck enough
TO get in the way Of tho railroad company.
There's nothing like the report Of q railroads
going through to start activity in a God.forsaken
district like that, and II half tho land schemes
down there had ever got any further than wind
and paper and a few cabins and tents tho loss By
flood during tho next spring freshets would GER
tainly have been appalling. The town where
Preacher Pellet made his remarkable crusade
against poker and cleaned tho entire male popu-
lation out OF money and wickedness was about
the most hopeful settlement OF this mushroom
class. and while IL lasted made q record for evil
and good that wasn't approached by any other
village In Arkansas.
After stalking out the homo claims and build
ing a fow cabins and hanging a general store
sign over the wagon that carried tho provisions.
we didn't have anything to occupy the citizens
time at first except to sit around and speculate
on which would got TO tho town first. tho rail-
road or the spring frcshets. Eventually time
began TO hang pretty heavy on the corporations
hands, and II was the most natural thing I'm the
world that all the men took TO playing poker to
drive away the blues. For the Same reason the
women took to religion.
There was only about 5000 IN cash In tho
entire outfit, and the way that $500 circulated
In that poker game was something to arouse tho
envy Of n bond syndicate. One day ono man
had most OF the $500 and the next day tho
money lodged In somebody else's clothes. and
and then for a change tho cards would run even
ly and the coin would be distributed pretty
equally. 1t got to be the secret ambition Of
every male inhabitant, from the oldest down to
the youngest, TO get hold OF every one OF those
5000 and have his scat at tho town meeting
vacant tho next morning. Every player at tho
game had been brought up on poker and could
cheat, but a game like that In apt 10
DO pretty square, for one man In likely
to be rs smart as another and afraid OF his
neighbor. and the consequence is that an Arkan-
sas game among Arkansas people is generally
on the dead level. The town ought to have
erected a monument to those 500, for certainly
everybody owed them a big debt Of gratitude
for tho time they killed for us while wc wero
waiting to hear something definite about that
railroad. They would certainly have been
missed II they had taken wings and departed,
and the chances are that the entire colony would
have gone In pursuit OF them. without waiting
TO have TO swim away In the spring washouts.
A. 1T , WAS, they seemed SSn 60 70 be perfectly inexheust.
pots and backed more pairs and got away with
more bluffs than fifty times the amount has
done In other sessions OF poker at which I have
Meanwhile the women in the colony were
about as industrious in their religious exercises
as their husbands and male kin We're over ffty.
two cards. They built a platform near the gem
eral store wagon, about 100 yards from tho
poker game, and testimony and hymn sing
Ing and. exhorting went along like a c~ontinu-
Gus performance, only there was a noticeable
Preacher Pellet came on tho scene. He was very
tai and very thin, and as pale as II he had lived
all sar, his ~ Wife ,its III q SsiI"T ron ne n, had S, a decent snd open
he met you near the general store in the morn
ing that made the men rather like what little
got to bs rather tired OF home talent
at their meetings., and tho way he man
int" their gatherings was Mondfrfui. They be'
gan 10 beg us To 30 Just over and hear him. say
Ing ,h ,Hd i e we sC would G"., only put in an appearance
busy trying 10 get hold Of the 500. Then no
sent us messages asking us 10 come 10 the plat
W W. I"'h l'i- 'i' 'NIih anu tN'u q NJ ~
as to print a handful with n varnish brush and
tack II up on the general store wagon. We
stuck 10 trying every way TO get US, but nobody
paid any attention. and we thought he would
give 1t up as n bad job. But he didn't. One
night, after the meeting was over. he dropped In
at the poker gamo,. and, without saying any
thing, pulled out a handful OF coin and sat
III there's anything on earth moro unpopular
down in Arkansas, than a man from Missouri
rs a hypocrite, and the thought, passed around
The tAhlR ike an electric shock IN rat hold NJ
Preacher Pellet money and treat him to "A suit
OF tar and feathers and give him a ride out Of
'"S 'S over. The sao5 Happened r ? S''s to- i be a Ss%s
evenly divided whon he 50! down, and We made
the deal came round to him. Ho took the cards.
| have seen magicians do tricks with cards
over and over again. but ] never before or after
that preacher. Every one OF the ~ifty.two cards
seemed 70 recognize him, and know him. and
placed his hands on the deck. The way they
sizzled, and whistlod, and tapped, and spun, and
dartod in and out under those long, palo fingers
may DO very sure that his neighbor on the right
gave those cards q good, deep, careful cut before
them UP again with a sort OF an electric jerk,
and began to deal hem so fast they seemed 10
a ny on tho PACK al ths sson own co afS9Ta' The
seen whether they came from the top, bottom,
or middle ,bs dnsI as thy TSe landed SsIo in n a fP.S, 81 q a,s snSh man =
flush of spades, a flush OF hearts, and n flush OF
clubs at the finish. and the men who held these,
OF course, stood pat, The fifth Arkansas man
had only two pair. but on drawing one card
made his full. The preacher also drew one card,
and soon after the pot mad been opened by the
man with the diamond flush all the $500 OF the
home circle were in the centre OF the pine board.
AT the showdown tho preacher produced four
aces. rolled up and pocketed the money, and. as
nobody produced any more, rose from the table
ami walked away.
at wasn't in the least necessary for him to
ssk the men 10 bc on hand Il at the religious exer.
riscs the next day, and the chances are that he
knew it. Inc sudden appearance OF railroad
engineers or of u locomotive at full speed
couldn't have kept u single man In the directory
away from the ceremony. The entire finances
Of the community, which had done such faith
fnl service, were going to DO at tho meeting.
and, although thoy were in the preachers
pocket, they were enough to draw the entire
population.
'Prcachcr Pellet walked past the crowd with
his usual hearty Good morning, boys and
mounted the platform. His opening prayer Just
struck our fancy. because it was so short, only
about two sentences, asking for help. Then he
began "A hymn about being far from home and
wanting TO bo led ON, and sang II so softly and
well that IL was u question whether he was u
saint and didn't belong in Arkansas, or tho big
gcst hy pocriIo ON the face Of the whole earth
and ought to bo in Missouri. All the MGR
we're getting mighty, interested by that
time. When tho hymn was over no