The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-04
RECALLS THE WIDE OPEN DAYS.
AL HanknS' Death Suggests "reminiscences of Gambling
During the Flush Times


death of Al Bamadlns, enc of the eldest
and best known Of the local Fraternity
shat gain 1aeir living by catering 10
slhose who wish TO woo the goddess CT
chance. recalls the old DAYS wlnsn
gambling of every description was
wide open" in Chicago. when iae nIsea
VINO operated the tiger were slesk and
prosperous, and when Chicago was tha
Mecca of every sporting man in tue
united States.
Albert Hanl1fns, known aEnpng Ga.g
associates as Farmer Az was one Of
three brothers vino have been identified
with gambling IN Chicago SINCE tlle
time of the civil war. THE namEss OF
George, JEFF AND ~ IanCzlns are faFll&-
far 10 every gambler and sporting man
ia the country. They made MONEY at
xhIeir vocation ara were known lar ami
wide among the fraternity they repre-
scented as silIewd and SUCCESSFUL gam
bIers and king lbslss in tae profession.
George Y. HaElioias il tlle only oGte of
the trtu leGt. Jeff Hanlp,nG dliad sud
slenay or heart o. seaeA one rlstlt duIes,g
tlle summer OF tlle words fal, and AIS
Terrible ending ON Wednesday, la.-'-,
when ne Wais Stlarylsd to dean in q
gGeavoly- weighted foldhlg bed in enc
of Tire rooms Of his gambling house =.
390S Cottage Grove avenue. rs SIN fr5sia
tGl the minds Of everyone. George, per-
llaps the most successful of t,1a La-eia, Il
still Identified with several gambling
places IN EnicaSO, and is repute,1 - be
a. millionaire He OWNS q, fine rssSisale'e
on Michigan avenue and is popularity
supposed to control most of the siioek
of the Harlem Racing association,
nshboh is Just now conducting sue
ceSful Meeting.
With the Fanl1ins brc'tllsTs have been
a fr171 lima 10
gaanbling Establishments cf trie city
Sllrih Weli-kn0wn knights Of the green
Cloth as Mike McDcaiatd, Harry Ro-
Cnadn, Billy Wigihrmlan, John Condl-'l,
Sanm Dahl, Al Smith, john I. Ger
c0ran. Captain Rounds Billy Fasasn,
Harry Perry and many others. Some of
these men were identified with the
HanGQlns trio in the early davis and
scnls have come 6llbo Tine city's gam
bling history in the last decade car so.
All of the old-Ttr1e gambling mouse
Keepers, coutemDoraTfas OF the Han
kins brothers, just after the civil war
and in the days preceding and directly
after the great fire. all Of bhsln. Win
few exceptions. have either paSrlsi
away or else have Left the gaming ia
bge for gclod and nave applied tnrscn-
selves to other and more legitimate oc
cuDatiCzs.
But 5lle Hanki1s tFto stuck TO their
oiecupatecn as caterers to dl7Ga who
wished TO gamble Through Nl'ek and
thin, through favorable and uTnsavor-
able Administrations, and the CTle of
the three stiIl Giving is today the pro-
pCiiatog Of a gaCnb1lng !housa, just as he
was 50 years ago That IS rhe reason
that the names Of the Hank ans bU1ta-
eC7s are GsCter knoWn. perGa-sS, uA3n
choEe of any members OF the gu7aan-
cbofIa fraternity in TIE country.
The gambling experience of the ta.'o
IL
varied character.
Clad in a red flannel shirt a SOM
lorero and a pair OF top-boots, and car
1ying a brace of orty-eights in their
belts. the brothers dealt faro in the
back rooms of the saloons in mining
camps of the Rockies 80 years ago.
They have presided over gaming estab-
lishrnents in Virginia City. in Salt Lake
Cfty and in White Pine City-ard they
have dealt brace faro to unsuspectirg
miners on a portable Layout in the
Colorado mining camps. knowing full
Urell that if IL were discovered their
game was not ''on the square they
would be Iynched there and then, and
nothing said about 1t. They have
lodged vigilante committees on the
plains, and they have walked on the
floors CT palatial gambling palaces in
Chicago clad in the height of fashion
and secure in the thought that they
had nothing to fear from the law. nor
from bad men" and gun fighters,
and thus at their ease, they have
watched the paid dealers rake in the
sheckels of the misguided ganesters,
who hoped 10 beat them at their own
game
In the last is years there has been
little excitement in the lives of these
men, who have devoted their lives to
the allurementS of gaining their bread
with the help of the goddess of chance
TIRELESS IN QUEST OF GAME.
They were all money makers. as
the tirelesS and energetic gambler who
is always trying to do business is
known among the fraternity. Their
habits are simple and as regular as
possible with men of their calling.
Farmer Az was the simplest of THE
three and also the least addicted to
taking a long chance with his money.
George and Jeff were more like what a
sporting man and gambler is generally
supposed 10 be, but sttl all three were
far from being FOUNDERS or spend
thrifts in any sense of the word.
Their history before coming to Chi
cago can be briefly told
Born on q farm near McHenry, IN.
the trio grew up amid rural surround
ings In 1865 the brothers caught the
western fever and went TO Virginia
City. New. They spent the following
TGlTse years in different mining camps,
both as miners and gamblers and t'hen
came to Chicago They have been
identified with the gambling fraternity
OF this city ever since.
The killing of George TrusseG back in
the Cos marked the advent Of the
western crowd OF gamblers, as the
Haukiu boys, Al Smith, Three-Fin-
gsred" Mccormick and those that came
With them were called.
Trussel was before his death q power
in Local politics, and he and his clique
controlled the gambling privileges" Of
tie town. The king bee gamblers of
those DAYS. Whc. with Trussel. con-
Quoted all the gambling houzes then in
c9le town, were Pete" Page, Cap
Hyman and Paul Peters. The former
Is still living in Chicago. Hynan be-
came insane years ago on the subject
OF religion and died in an asylum.
Peters coraln3tteG suicide.
TI~ussel was known and feared by the
gamblers in the mining camps of the
west who had fey several years before
his death been scheming to gain a foot
hold in Chicago. Txussel. however. as
boss gambler Of the town. had given it
out that no outsider would be tolerated
and the Westerners, knowing his repu-
7ation as a bad man." hesitated to
come here so Ions as ne was at The
helm. enc day IN the early Cos. howev-
CT, Trussel w2s killed by a woman
known as Mollle Trussel. in Prices liy-
cry stable. cl Randolph street. Just cas-.
OF Dearborn and that killing let down
the bars for the gamblers OF the mininS
camps.
BRACE FARO INTRODUCED.