Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-06-22
AN ISLAND AT STAKE.
Malietoa's Last Game of Poker With
Navy Paymaster.

These stories about Speaker Reed
| indulging in poker while crossing the
| pond" said an army officer, remind
me Of a stiff game played by a pay
master in the navy with King Malie-
| toa of Samoa several years ago.
guess this was about the healthiest
game ever INDUCED in by a foreigner.
Malietoa had heard of the great games
| played by Kalakaua, King of Hawaii,
and the Samoan thought he'd like to
| take little brush on this line. l sus-
! pect that Kalakaua had done just as
many American poker fiends-had told
| almost unreasonable yarns about his
winnings-and his boosted good luck
made others think that the average
American poker player was easy to
so against. Well, Malietoas oppor-
tunity to test his belief came one day
when an American man-of-war-never
mind which one-sailed into the har-
Dor Of. His stern determination to
take the thirty-second degree in the
mysteries of the great American
game was satisfied to the fullest eX-
tent, and for years afterward he was
going around trying to get some one
to kick him off the island and de-
claring that he was an eighteen karat
darn fool with a French roof. Among
the officers aboard the man-of-war
were a paymaster, a lieutenant, and
an assistant engineer, who had burned
the midnight lamp studying poker at
Annapolis, and had prosecuted the
study in season and out of season ever
since they left that place. In a word,
they were all three just about as
smooth poker players as you could
find in a months travel.
There was a trader among the
white residents Of Apia who was
known to come to the front with a
pretty stiff game, and Malietoa soon
arranged through him a game with the
officers. By invitation and appoint
ment the King and his friends met the
officers in the private parlOrs of a
European, and before the evening was
half gone Malietoa began to feel his
oats, and requested that the limit,
small one, be taken off. The old
codger had won several pretty fair
jackpots and felt his Importance and
ability to clean up the whole crowd.
Off the limit came, and for several
hours Malietoa had almost phenomenal
luck, winning jackpot after jackpot
The more he won the more reckless
he became, and when something was
said about closing down he entered a
large and emphatic protest.
THE game proceeded, and the health
lest jackpot Of the night was on the
table. Several hands had been dealt
around without anyone having ex-
pressed his ability to open the pot,
when the King, with a look of sur
prise and smile Of pleasure and
triumph combined, announced that |
he would open it $40 worth Every
player stayed. The paymaster drew |
three cards, the lieutenant the same |
number, the assistant engineer took |
two, and the trader one. Malietoa |
showed his blood by standing pat and |
putting SO more into the pot. The
paymaster saw this, and raised him
s25, while the others stayed. Then
the King raised again, and the pay
master threw in s25 more 1t was
becoming too interesting for the other
players, and they dropped out After
the Kings last raise the paymaster
hesitated a moment, put his cigar to
one side, and showed $50 to the middle
Of the mahogany. The King nut up
the equivalent in Gillian silver dol
ars, the currency Of the islands, and,
drawing a small sack from his pocket,
emptied it's contents before him, and
placed in the pot the funds