The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-22

some, brave and not snowy. He desplsed
| the tricks Of the tin-horn gentry I have
! been telling you about. He had known
Andrew Jackson personally, and had de-
| cltned a nomination to congress from a
Missouri district We younger fellows
used to envy Powell, and we aped all his
/ sets and talk for We saw that he was
| the greatest all-round gambler that ever
drew breath. He was about fifty years
| old in 1858. He owned then the Mccall
! opera house in New Orleans, and had a
| fine 100000 stock farm and negroes in
Tennessee. 1t seemed as if everything he
put his hand to turned to gold and he
was courted by such men as Sergeant 3.
| Prentiss, Stephen A. Douglas and whole
raft Of big politicians in Louisiana.
TRAGIC SUICIDE.
lone day we were coming down the
| river, and had made a gOOd wad OF
money. Powell was on hoard. and he
| got into a private game with a hand
| some, fresh-faCed, blue-cyed young Eng
| lishman, who was going down to Texas
to go into ranching. We all took a fancy
| to him because he was - well dressed
just out of a university. so he told US
and had such a clean-cut, square way
| with him. Powell and the young Eng
lishman played together two days and
two nights. and although Powell played
a square game the young man lost all
the money he had VITA him. He turned
over his bank checks and drafts 10 Pow
ell, one after another, and then went
down to his stateroom and brought up
his baggage. He would play, and then
he gambed away his grlpsacks. with all
! their contents, and finally his watch
and jewelry. We fellows never sald q
word, for that might have caused a duel,
but you can bet We kept casting shcep's
| eyes over toward Powell and the young
Englshman as they played. It was late
one evening when the two quit playing
! because Powell had won all that tho
| young fellow had.
Well, I'm about busted said the
| young Englishman with a forced laugh
when he got up and walked up on the
deck
Powell laughed, too. ana began to haul
the gripsacks he had won to his state
room.
guess I'll have to give that young
fellow back his clothes and watch to-
morrow, said he to me quietly. while he
was loading up the stuff I've got about
$1,000 from him now
We'll, the next morning we were all
standing in the barroom OF the loaf
laughing and chatting over the luck Of
the trip when in came Mr. Young Eng
nshman. looking as slick as n daisy and
with jolly smile. lie shook each Of ia
Dy the hand, and joked moment about
now he had paid dear to learn American
games, when, quick as a flash ne vvbtrI-
ca around and, drawing a pistol sent q
pail through his heart. lie staggered
back In PowelIs arms and turneI Ma
eyes so beseechingly on Powell a., he died
that can see them yet. You can bet
your lie that none Of Us touched an
other card that trip and it was weeks
before dared risk my luck with bia
stakes. WIN Oi5
AS for Powell. why, he was almost
cray he would sit for days at a time.
uoliB nothing but smoke. He seemed TO
De IN a daZe, and we Could NOT rouse
MIN to any enjoyment He cot some
banker IN New Orleans TO send ell tIyit
young Englishmans stuff back 10 ne
1ld nome In England. and ne was rover.
MI TO speak Of the affair afterward
ne SUICIDE hoodooed him bad, for when
ne urea gambling a year later ne had
lost his grip. He made foolish pIavs ami
Iost all his big property in a few venrs
lie llved until about 1870. and died in nov
cry IN Seattle, Wash The last dime T
%" INN ne was a wreck in every WAY,
re, te borrowed 30 OF me and said that he
iIdu Deeh sleeping in wagons alonp tho
streets or st. Louis for a week. II yvos
four years before l dared play poker or
faro on that boat, and then I did II AZ y
ioSS. mat only shows how gamblers are
Inoouooed and can't get over It. You
, ,,dio" SAMPLERS are said to be very stI-
AWO Big BLUFFS.
one night in 1866. when I was PLAYING
Di+,' oiItUehden q Gentrys. in Virginia
CITY, made the two grea fest btuff 7
ever made. 1t was a royal game e;e',e.ai
very rich Ophir and BeIcher minfne, mac
mates sat at the big round table We
Hau prayed Tor hours, and 1t was getting
onS ABOUT dawn. l grew pretty gay
at my luck, for was some $500 ahead
at that stage Of the game One of tba
! mining KINGS
said he must soon quit. Another miner
proposed that we double the jackpot we
were engaged in, and that We close the
game with that. We all agreed. we
| doubled the Jackpot and with tho sis,
payers ABOUT the table we had a lack
pot or $500 A man third from nv right
opened the pot for 5000 The next two
! stayed In. / was never more nervous
l evidently showed my nervousness. A
lew seconds of elaboration and | stayed
with the jackpot. Two men on my left
dropped out. An Ohpir mining king
raised S6OO as quick as flash. Then the
! active work began. There was 81 100
In the pot at that stage The opener
got out stack Of golden eagles and saw
| the raise The two men between him
and me dropped out I was all perspra-
| ton. resolved to risk it, 50 L dug
down into my inner pockets and stood
! the raise. There We're three players left
in the game, and there was 1920 in the
| pot. We all drew cards in breathess 81
| lence. The opener on my left drew two
cards. 1 started to draw one, but while
1 bit my lips and tried to be calm I drew
three The dealer dealt himself one
card and then slowly dealt himself an
other.
THE air grew thick and heavy 7 felt
in dizzy whirl 1 knew the moment
was to be a memorable one in my life
I never scanned my cards so anxlously
as 1 did that night. I lnsunctiyely
knew my two opponents each believed 7
| had drawn pair Of aces / had $50 in
the pot, and I meant TO stay with it un-
til the Showdown. After reliberation
! that seemed an age the opener bet $500
| 1 deliberated and called. The dealer
saw the $500 and went back over and
above that. The opener saw the 81 900
! and went it 81 900 better I thought again
and acted artfully Then I just called.
The dealer saw the openers s, 900 and
raised it to $500. The opener called
the $500. They were 50 excited at each
others playing that they had for a mo-
D., ment forgotten all about me. 1 sat be-
| tween them, you know. They were just go
ing to show up their hands when l ex-
claimed: Here, I'm playing here too
/ Then called the 81 500 myself. You ought
| 20 have seen the mining kings look at me.
| Well, the opener had three tens, the
dealer had three jacks and had but a
| pair of kings