Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1899-10-26
GAMBLING IN ANACONDA.
Some stirring stories of Period
which Ended More Than
Year Ago.

the legislature of 1897 is rigidly OBJ
served it is Anaconda. Reports keep
coming that games are running in
| Butte, in Helena, in Great Falls, and
other places in the state, says the Ana
conda Standard, but in Anaconda not
a card has been turned in many, many
moons.
| Anaconda has never been a sporty"
town in the popular acceptation of the
word-even in its palmiest gambling
days most Anaconda men who wanted
to play big money" went to Butte.
Yet there have been plenty of gamblers
and gambling here. Anaconda saw its
best faro days during the races in 1SSo
and 1889. During the 1888 meeting all
chips were worth $25 apiece. You
couldn't get into a game-at least it
wasn't worth your while to get into
a game--unless you had several hun
dred dollars in cash. There were gam
| bling giants in those days. One night
| Jack Dearing came over from Philips
burg. He spent two nights and two
days at a faro table, and when he quit
he was $4,000 loser.
| There were several celebrated gam
! blers in Anaconda about that time. Oc-
casionally one would die and the boys
would always make it matter of pride
and Il duty to see that he got a first
class funeral. There was one of prom
inence known generally by the name
| of Red" who, when he died one day
| in 1891, was found to be without any
visible estate. The hat was passed
around for the funeral expenses, and
all hands Clipped in freely. Jimmie
johnson, who was passing the hat, hap
pened TO meet Col. Estes on the street
and asked him if he would like to con-
tribute. The colonel it seems, had
dropped $500 at faro the night be
fore.
go to my cashier" said Col. Estes
to Mr.. Johnson, land get all you need.
And the Lord knows / would put up
the cash to pay for the funeral of every
gambler in town."
One bitter cold night in February,
1898, 'Si'' Murphy died in his room up
over Barney McGinley's place. He was
one of the best known and most re-
| spected gamblers in the west. He was
always on the square; "A man of gener
Gus impulses and many fine traits of
character. He caught cold and died
of pneumonia. When it was known that
he was dying, all the games downstairs
were stopped, and all the dealers and
lookouts went up to bid Murphy good
by and see him die. Then all hands
went back and got drunk.
Barney Mckinley and one or two
! others went back after awhile and de-
| liberated how to remove the corpse into
| a front room. IT was a difficult task,
| for the room in which the body lay was
reached by means of short. narrow
| bend in the hall. 1t was impossible to
! carry the body horizontally-it would
have to be either doubled up or car
ried in a perpendicular position. The
latter plan was agreed upon, and the
| boys were anxious to offer no indig-
mites to poor 81 Murphy's body. But
| suppose they tried to carry the corpse
| out in a perpendicular position, how
could they do it without its falling all
over them. The boys were pretty full
and they were not sure of their ability
to carry 81 out in any position.
Lets open the window and freeze
him stiff and carry him out in the
morning. said one.
This plan was unanimously adopted.
1t was 30 degrees below zero and still
growing colder. .S'he window was ac-
| cordingly opened. At II o'clock next
morning the boys went to the room
and found the corpse as stiff as board.
They lifted it out of bed and stood it
against the wall. One man begged to
be excused from his share of carrying
it, as he said he had horror of touch
ing corpses. At this the others insisted,
and during the alteration that ensued,
it was regrettable to state that the
corpse fell over, and in falling knocked
one man down with it. But the body at
last was safely carried to the front
room and properly cared for. ST Muir
phys funeral was the largest a gam
bier in Anaconda ever received. All
the gamblers and their friends engaged
hacks and accompanied the hearse to
the cemetery.
Speaking of "hoodoo' faro fiends.
there was Carr. Carr was telegraph ed
itor of the Standard from 1891 to 1894.
Carr was good telegraph editor and
good fellow, but the poorest faro
bank player that ever bet chip. But
he was Il hoodoo to himself and the
house, not to other players, for they
coppered his plays with regularity and
success. His appearance in gambling
house created CONSERVATION among the
proprietors and dealers, but JOY and iu-
bilation among others. Carr would go
to table and play, say the king to win.
Instantly there would be a dozen plays
on the king to lose. The king would be
buried under mass of chips as big as
a dinner bucket. OF ccErse Carr would
win sometimes, and when he did he
would get back at his copperers with
irony and eloquent profanity, for he
was as fluent and vigorous a swearer
as ever condemned q mans soul to eter-
nal torments.
But as a rule Carr was unlucly, ard
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