The Holly chieftain., 1897-09-03
HARRIS LOVE OF POKER.
WouIdn't Quit the Gnm- to Insure
III. Return to the scnnt..


The best poker player Tennessee
ever developed is dead said Maj. \. l.
Treadway. of Memphis. Il refer TO Sen
aior Isham Green Harris. who died iu
Washington the other day. knew the
old statesman intimately for more than
10 ycars. and ] have never heard of him
getting up from poker game a cent
loser. He loved the great American
gnu as much as he loved politics. Few
evenings slipped by during the last &C
years when he didn't indulge his fond.
ness for the sPoTs If it was at all pos
sible to make up a game. He never
played for high stakes; p cents waS
usually the limit OF his games. and he
was never known to go over 80 cents
He used TO declare that poker was es.
scntially a gentleman's game. but that
when it was played for high stakes too
severe a strain was put on geniility for
the good of both the players and the
game.
Senator Harris, you know, looked
| more like a Chinese mandarin than a
| Caucasian, and he seemed to be proud
| of ii. II was probably his wonderful.
| ly immobile face that made him such
successful poker player. | haye
watched him by the hour playing. and
never once saw the least change of ex-
preston on his face. When he was last
| elected to the senate in January, 1895
the opposition made a big demonstra.
tion to frighten him. He hurried from
Washington to Nashville and assumed
personal direction of his forces. The
papers said so much about the fight be.
ing made on him that became fright.
ened, quit my business and went up tc
Nashville to help him out When ar.
rived there | hurried to his room in the
Maxwell house and found him PLAYING
poker. | tried to get him to quit the
game long enough to tell me what the
situation was, so | could proceed intel.
ligenuy and with some system. H
dismissed me rather curtly with the
assertion that he would Sc me in two
hours. When the two ..ours were up /
went back to his room and he was open.
ing jack-potS ''ith the same interest he
displayed At first. | sat behind him no
told hira of what appeared to me to
Ss some dangerous inroads the opposi.
ton was making on him and urged him
with all the force at my command tc
get TO work and checkmate his enc.
mics.
Finally he turned on me impntiently
| and said: 'Treadway, these fellows are
the best poker players have run uI
against since the war, and would moi
quit this game while am loser to be
sent back to the United States senate.
How much are you loser?' inquired
lhe senator counted his chips careful.
ly, and then said: lam 35 cents behind
now and was only 90 cents behind wheu
you came back. You have bothered m,
so much with your talk that | haven't
been able to keep up with the game a.
| ought to. The sooner you get out q,
here the sooner III get even. Then II
see what my enemies are doing
The game went on allthat nightwith
out Interruption, and ii was nearly
breakfast time before the senator got
e@en. He showed up In the dining.
room looking as fresh and vigorous a.
If he had had a good nights rest. ant
devoted the entire day to strajphten
ing out the senatorial tangle. Al n;gb,
he got the same party in his room again
and they resumed their play with the
eagerness of gamblers playing for high
stakes. l learned afterward that dur
ing the entire series of games not a.
much as IS changed hands. st. Loui,
| obe-Democrat