The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-10
CHAMPION WOMAN CRAp-sHooTER.
Wins From 5000 to $500 "a Night.
when She Loses She BOrrows.


When She Loses She BOrrows.
From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
A woman crap-shooter Is a novelty but
the deputy sheriffs who raided the game
conducted under the saloon of Luke Lamb,
at the foot of Jefferson street, state that
the dice game in that place is patronized
by women as freely as by men.
The deputy sherffs who participated in
the raid on Lambs dive are congratulate
ing themselves that they were enabled 10
arrest any of the negroes, as it Is claimed
that the proprietor of the place has pick
cts stationed night and day TO give warn
ing in the event that the resort Is ap-
preached by anybody resembling an Off
Ger. The deputies say men are stationed
along Front street for several blocks, and
that approach to the place In daytime Is
simply a matter of impossiblity without
the inmates of Lambs place being warned.
Inside the house there is conducted sa-
loon, a restaurant, a dance hall and
gambling dive. The latter is located In
the cellar and when the trap door IS
sprung It is next to impossible to locate
where the entrance below is situated. on
the upper floor there is saloon and res
taurant. 1t is under the ground that the
dance hall and gambling tables are the
attractions.
A remarkable thing In connection with
Lambs place is the entire absence of
fights and cutting ana shooting ARRAYS
that generally characterize resorts of this
character When negro enters the place
he is searched, mad before being allowed
to go into the cellar he is relieved of any
dangerous weapon that he may have on his
person. 1t is owing to this fact that no
fights occur. or IL they do they are only
fisticuff affairs, and are never heard of
by the police.
In the cellar below, where the festlvi-
ties are generally at their zenith about 2
o'clock in the morning, negress, Lena
Lowry, who enjoys the sobriquet of Long
Lena" Is the dictator and chief enter
taner of every assembage. Other me-
crosses frequent the place, but Long
Lena" rules with an iron hand, notwith-
standing this fact. She Is a rather pre-
possessing mulatto, end possessed of more
intelligence than the ordinary negress,
she uses ii to good advantage. Her sway
is complete and what she says goes.
Although quite young, the negress is
thorough woman of the world, and the
daredevil spirit she displays and her die
tatorial manners fascinate the negroes
who patronize the dive, although they are
the toughest of the tough. Lena dances
divinely, so they claim, losses off brandy
and soda like man, and can outswear
the toughest rouster that ever went into
Lambs cellar.
Her chief occupation and pleasure, how
ever is rolling the worries. She is not so
proficient as "Dago Sam" who broke
several gambling houses In New Orleans
several years ago by his ability in ma
npulating the dice, but she is as lucky
as a person we'll could be at gambling
and when she makes three or four
passes in succession the chances are that
she will break up the game for the time
I IL
and when playing with good luck the cell
ing would have to be removed If she were
allowed to stack up her chips as high as
she desired. The woman has been known
to emerge from the place, after a good
night at the gaming table, with 800 or
$500 in her pocket, and this she spends
lavishly as she knows where and how to
procure plenty more when she so desires.
Some of the veterans around Lambs place
won't gamble against Lena's money, as
they know her game, which Is conducted
on the principle of "heads ] win, tails you
lose" Whenever it happens that Long
Lena" loses her coin she proceeds with
great alacrity to borrow back all she lost,
and the winners are made to deliver the
lucre, whether it Is their desire to do SO or
not. When the deputy sheriffs visited
Lambs place last Saturday night Long
Lena" had not appeared on the scene, as
the hour was rather early. She seldom
the midnight hour, and with the first
streaks of dawn Long Lena" takes her
departure.
Unlike various other gambling houses in
Memphis Lamb does not bank" the
game that is continually going on in his
place. His employees handle all the money
that is put upon the table and direct the
| play, but Lamb never loses. He simply
| takes out a percentage of the stakes
played for A conservative estimate OF
the receipts of a crap table conducted or
this principle would figure to net the pro
prietor Of the same SO per hour, which Is
not bad income for an ignorant negro.
-e-e-s-
SO you want me to give you some
money to buy Christmas presents, eh?'
said Uncle Tom. Yes said Willie 1--WE
| isn't that enough2" "Oh, yes, that is. !
! said Willie. But you see, I'm not going
| 10 spend my principal and the interest or