The Elk Mountain pilot., 1900-06-12

ers one evening the past
week Henry NJ. Rice served one term
as United States senator. and l. being a
resident of st. Paul when he was elected
by the legislature, and taking part in the
hKht, concluded to come on to Washing
ton as in those days. 1883. Washington
was q wide open town and faro was as
free then as beer Is now. OF course. I
had an Acquaintance among the sports,
| and shortly after I erected my tepse in
! the capital tho senator invited me to
| visit him. While making the rounds one
| afternoon we got hungry. and l invited
| him into Pringies'. Pringles' at this time
| was tho finest gambling house In WASH
inston. The proprietor served three sle-
| CANT meals day to his guests and
| patrons without charge. 1t was a rem
dezvous for all manner and kinds of men
with money. You could meet there in
group a foreign ambassador 4 United
States senator, Judges. genei ais, and. Of
course. men like myself. who followed the
green cloth a profession. was then
in or about my thirtieth year. and
thought no moro of win or lose 5000
than I would now of single IS bill.
There were no 10 or 25-cent chips in those
days The whites cost 81, the very low
est price for them Nobody thought of
buying a stack OF chips under $50. and
sure, as high a roller as the best of them
for Just previous to my arrival in WASH
ington l had lost. as banker in two
nights over 10000.
well, Senator Rice and myself enjoyed
Pringles' fine spread I introduced the sem
ator and as he had never played a card,
like old Matt Carpenter. he know all the
boys and was gracious and democratic
in his associations with them: he felt en-
T. ~
meal and not having to pay for it. Pass
ing a faro layout in the next room. he
threw down a S5 gold piece on n card,
expecting to lose it. To his surprise and
chagrin. however, he won. This made
the matter worse than ever, as he did
not want to win. but to lose the So in
indirect payment for the meal he had
eaten. While he in a quandry. l
bought a stack of chips and soon became
absorbed In the game.
'"The senator's bets were placed hap
hazard he not knowing whether they
were placed right or not and not caring.
except that he wanted to lose, and get
out of the place But lose he couldn't,
and I soon dropped out. being broke. to
watch the play and marvel at his ever
increasing pile. He soon had a crowd
around him. which added to his en-
barrassment. and he appealed to me to
help him get broke. he wanted to get
out and did not want to take any of the
banks money with him. Well, this was
the funniest snap I have ever expert
enced in my life OF over seventy years.
There sat the senator and myself playing
for all we were worth to reduce his win
nings. and play any way we chose the
piles Of chips increased. 1, who had been
so unlucky caught the fever of the sena-
tors good luck, and won in a streak.
'.The senator's face was as white as
his shirt. and he was scared a man
as ever I saw in my life. But the play
went on. and owing to the fact that at
that time there was no limit at Pringles
the bets were SO high that the modern
25-cent chip-player would get the grippe
II should mention the size of the bets.
Finally. Mr.. Pringle called me to one
side and told me that his partners OBJ
jected to the game without a limit. He
was willing himself to play the bank
without 1t. but he was compelled to defer
to the wishes of his partners. and would
place the limit at $3.50 bet
He said It was all right to have mo
play on. as he liked me and all that, but
1 was the first man who ever forced him
to put limit on the game. When I re-
turned to the table quietly informed tho
senator and he looked distressed. as he
getting rid of his winnings at a $3.50
limit. We played until midnight. and the
senator at last yielded to fatigue and or
dered me to cash In. When he counted
the roll in his room, our joint winnings
were just S31 300. of which sum he stalk ed
, me. as my share, to $4,000. Said he,
| when he gave me the money:
MARTIN, never played a card in my
life before this afternoon, and will never
play another one as long I live. This
| money will do somet th.Eg with. which
shall. not Immediately benefit myself or
my family.
IT visited St. Paul twenty years after
this occurrence and met the senator.
| True to his word. he had never touched
q card. and 1 learned from others, who
! got wind of the play in Washington, that
the senator's winnings were expended in
helping struggling young fellows to get
a start In life, accompanied in every case
by the condition that they should never
play card in gaming house.
II venture to say that this Is the most
remarkable case on record of a mans
unexpected and undesired large winnings
turning him against gambling and card
| playing and soaring him almost to death.
| was then so reckless with money that
| 4 made no sort of difference to me
whether I won or lost $40. 600. so you can
imagine how 1 regarded the senator 8
squeamishness. But you see he was right
after ALL and took the proper view of the
matter. for money which comes easy in
a winning at faro goes easy the same
way; in a week had lost the $1O,SOo and
| thought no more of 1t than 1 do now of
losing a $40 bill.
previous to my removal to Washing
ton in 1858 I lived in ST. Paul and ran
ono of the biggest places In that then
frontier town. If had kept the real es-
tate L took in payment of small gambling
debts would to-day be millionaire ten
times over. Indeed, one piece 1 turned
over to Senator Rice for a small loan
could not be purchased to-day for a quar-