The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-07-31
the GAMBLER
KING TALKED.
Some Features From Life Of
doc" Brown Of Spokane.
Ne IS WELL KNOWN IN EAST.
Tod Sons Wonderful Stories IN
Wa|dof- Astoria, New York.
THEY RIVAL DREAMS OF FICTION.
RougAed II With Cowboys and Miners Of
the Far West When Lite Was Not
Worth Drink Of Whlsksy.

New York. July 31-For two weeks
big, handsome man In faultless dress, and
comporting himself as Ito the manner
born" has been a guest at the Waldorf
Astoria, and not soul among the many
hundreds in the place knew that he Is
the gambling king OF the great North
west"
Now that he is again headed westward
there is no harm in establishing his iden-
tity. He is the famous Doc Brown.
proprietor OF the Owl Club and cafe In
Spokane.
None of those who looked at this man
with the quiet air of self-possession and
most alert eyes ever set in human head
knew that he had "roughed it, with the
cowboys and miners OF the far West at
a time when life was to most of them
not worth much more than a drink OF
whiskey.
He wore red flannel shirts, had his
trousers tucked in the tops of his boots
and was proud of a belt holding two big
guns and Green River" knife for many
years before he settled down In Spo-
kane to become I'm few years the best
known gambler In the far West
A MAN OF AFFAIRS NOW.
Now he is man OF affairs in
washington, notwithstanding that he
openly runs the SWEETEST" gambling
house west of he Alleghenies.
He is one of the most charitable men In
the world, the sums he and his wife give
annually and unostentatiously reaching
into the tens of thousands OF dollars.
Bffxxzris don't keep them within doors
when they hear OF case of deetitution
IN Spokane or vicinity.
That IL one thing which makes him and
his resort so popular In the state of
nation about the ears OF those who try
to interfere with the Owl Cafe and its
proprietor.
Among other things doc Brown has
An his cafe q museum containing loads on
loads OF relics or the old days In the wild
West. To doc" Brown one of the most
interesting OF these relics is a knife, of
which he tells TINS story:
1T n an orulnary Green River hunters
knife, with a horn handle and blade
about seven inches long. On the back OF
the blade are filed nine ~eep notches. The
knife was presented to me by an old
trapper, James Foster. commonly known
around there as Shorty
About 0s years ago Shorty who is
= half-breed. was trapping up the upper
Missouri river in Montana. While he was
away some distance from his cabin
band OF marauding Crees from across the
border came along stole all his pro-
visions. set fire to his cabin and departed.
STARTED IN THE TRAIL.
% Shorty is small. but whole regi-
ment when he gets riled up; so when he
returned to his cabin In the evening and
found nothing left there but the ruins. he
went 10 the nearest supply point, loaded
up and started on their trail.
And he camped right on II. too. for
when he got back to Helena ne brought
with him nine as fine Cree Indian scalps
a. ever adorned a trapper's belt. So each
notch on the knife represents an Indians
scalp taken by Shorty alone and single
handed.
. shorty was in Santa Fe. N. NJ, in
the spring OF 1881. Shorty sober and
Shorty drunk are two altogether differ
ent propositions.
He was pretty we'll Jagged up with
sred-eye' in one of the dance halls of that
town one evening, when he bumped up
against bull-whacker named Slim Jim
shorty was on one OF his periodicals.
and he was surely looking for trouble.
''The minute he saw Slim Jim he began
20 roast him to a turn. The latter took
Il good naturedly, and this aggravated
Shorty all the more Shorty wanted to
nght duel with pistols at thirty PAGES.
but Slim Jim would not accept the chal-
lenge.
HE slapped Shorty gently with his
open hand and said: You are too small
for me TO fight This made Shorty all
the more furious. He shouted: I'll cut
you down TO my size. then Out came his
trusty Green River knife. and he made
leap and lunge and caught Slim Jim
nearly on the jugular vein
He was laid up for several weeks IL
might have been better II Slim Jim had
been caught on the jugulsr at that time,
for month or so later Jim got on a tear.
shot up a man a whole lot was Jailed.
later taken out by mob and riddled with
bullets.
Shorty took charge OF the body and
gave It burial which cost him all OF
500.
KETTLE BELLY" A CHARACTER.
Another well known character who
hangs around the Owl Cafe is forty
miner whose name Is X. B. Brown-'Ket-
ue Belly, they call him, on account OF
his queer shape
TO his rugged constitution and hearty
appetite is still as good as the average
man st 40.
Kettle Is. or at least says he is the
man who I'm a match ate 100 oysters of
the half shell and then offered to bet
hts opponent that he could eat the shells.
'z<ettle In nothing II not a high roller.
when the excitement broke out I'm vir-
ginia City Kettle was one OF the first
on the ground. and got In on some OF the
good locations. In fact, he was right I'm
the push. and. OF course, n favorite di-
81 draw.
'KettIe'claims 10 have lost the big
Gest Jack pot on record. He was In n
game with Flood. OBrien and others
Who afterward were known as Bonanza
kings'
" Kettle picked up four Jacks. Flood