The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-12
HANGED ON CAT ISLAND.
Fate of Crooked Gambler in the
Early Days on the Missouri.
From the St. Joseph News.


From the st. Joseph News.
There used to be a place on the river
north of here that was called Cat ISLAND"
said Billy Afford to a St Joseph News
man the other day. He was an old-time
engineer, and many years ago was fam
liar with every mile of the Missouri river
He was assured that an island bearing
the same name was sill in existence. TT
may be the same place and may not"
said Afford '"The river is SO treacherous
that it may nave washed that island away
and formed another one in its place since
l knew anything about it. There was
a big tree on the island as 1 remember
il, and we used it once to hang the rank
est gambler on the river. We tolerated
that man three seasons, because the river
men did not want to resort to violence.
Al first he seemed to be square, but we
began TO hear whispers about him. 1t was
in SO that he fleeced a young fellow out
of S5,O00-just a plain case of robbery. He
had let the young fellow win just to get
him interested, and then aimed to rake
in the whole thing. Somehow the young
fellow got hold of the wrong cards when
there was 5000 In the pot The youth
reached for all the money on the board,
but the gambler made a grab for it and
took all his hand would hold. Stufiing
it into his pocket as he ran, he jumped
overheard and made or the shore. By
the time we realized what was going on
ne was far astern, out the captain sent
a boat after him, loaded with armed men;
They had to shoot him and break his arm
before he would stop. That was near
the place known as Cat Island, and we
headed the Henrietta-that was the name
of the boat-for the shore. The mate
and a dozen men did the job and the
Inexperienced young man from the east
got his money back. The young man
left the boat at Omaha and came back
down the river ahead of us. When we
returned the body of the gambler was
still hanging to the tree.
The other young man who had been
heeced came to st. Joseph and committed
suicide on account of remorse. His body
and money were sent back to his father,
and l heard afterward that the old man
said the boy was worth more dead than
he was alive. He said the youth had left
home with $40 and new suit of clothes,
1t seemed that he knew the cards himself
and that he had got the best of the man
we hanged in a former game at Cincin-
natl. We used TO feel mighty queer after
that when we passed Cat Island in the
night l never knew why it was called
Cat Island, but imagined it was given the
name because it was inhabited only by
cats I know l could hear their cries
every time we passed the place after that
hanging and it made the cold shivers run
down my back. There is a close connec-
ton between cats and murders and ghosts,
anyhow. l have wondered a thousand
times who the man was we hanged on the
island that night with so little ceremony.
He was not young man, but he was a
handsome fellow, and might have had a
family somewhere. have wondered If
some woman and little children did not
wait years and years for him to come
back and wonder what had become of
him. They might have believed him to be
an honest man, engaged in a legitimate
business, and even if they knew he was a
gambler they might have loved him just
as well. l don't believe the body was ever
taken off the island, but 1 don't really
know what became of it. I never heard
anything more about it."