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

the deck hands were loading the boat I'D
with fuel, the gamblers would get the
moneyed passengers off on the bank to
engage in various skin games. The gam
blers artfully got to betting among them
selves about running jumps, and, of
course, the passengers dropped into it.
So they'd run off a gang plang and up
to tree to jump, when the first gam
bier would say, Hello, what's here?' and
stop Behind the tree one of the gang
had been throwing three-card monte
While the others got up the jumping
scheme. The gamblers won just to make
the game good, and the way those fell
lows skinned the passengers was horrl-
DIE The captain got on to the scheme,
and when the boat started off up the
stream the whole gang forty of them
were just marooned there in the woods
on cold night. But they took the next
boat up or down, and worked their way
up this way or down to New Orleans.
Once the game was on the thing was
smooth; the dealer fixed the deck and
dealt out good poker hand to the mark,
but a better one to his own partner, who
promptly declared:
I've a good hand I'd like to bet on
so have l. replied Mr.. ; and
then they got into betting, and the stran-
ger got skinned right and left. The
cards were stacked and marked on the
back, so that he didn't have any chance
at all to win. All the playing was done
with old star backs. I've seen fellows
pick up every card in a pack and call it
without missing once. I've seen them
shuttle one for one all through from top
to bottom, so that they were in the same
position after a dozen suffies that they
were in at first They'd just hutter them
up like flight of quails and kept aces,
kings, queens, jacks and tens all together
as easy as pie. A sucker had no more
chance than SNOWFALL has in a red hot
oven. Every deck was marked 1t does
not seem possible now that such simple
games were not exposed.
THE most adroit schemer In those days
was an Alabama man named James w
Streeter. He was the originator Of many
confidence games that have been worked
threadbare. He was the most ingenious
swindler L ever came across. An anecdote
of how he worked his game will illustrate
how abundant money used to be in those
days and how easily the men on the Mis-
sissippi river steamers used to part with
it. He got hold of a rich superior court
judge from Cairo. H., one day. The judge
didn't happen to have d Wad along that
day, and he quickly caught on to Street
err s game. The judge went secretly to the
bartender Of the boat and got a bundle of
wildcat money. wrapped it around with a
couple of twenties and put some f1ves in
the middle. They started on euchre, and
the judge got the usual good poker hand
and Jim Streeter played in. The judge
knew Streeters game was to let him
win, to make the final skinning all the
surer. He lost a couple Of times to hash
his roll and skin off fives to Jim. They
played till supper, and then the judge
quit $185 winner After supper jim
wanted to open the game, but the judge
wouldn't have it, and Jim kicked. He
went ashore and told friend about a fell
low who had done him, and just as he was
telling it the Judge came to the rail and
Jim pointed him out to his friend.
"'Why you sucker said the friend,
that's so-and-so, from Cairo. He knows
every gambler on the river
'Jim offered the Judge a $50 suit OF
clothes not to tell the story but the judge
wouldn't hear Of it, and all New Orleans
heard the story when the judge got on
the boat.
NOTED SPORTS.
"Jack GambfIl used to tell a story of
fellow named Dan, who was most
notorious cheat and couldn't OIay Ialr at
any game in the world. / saw Dan the
other day. said Jack and he was slttlilg
down TO a table all alone and playing a
came of solitaire. And, do you know, he
hadn't sat there five minutes before he
began nudging the leg of the table to
play in with him
s'Eph Horn, the pioneer minstrel WIS
ca infatuated with gaming that he never
could go to bed so long as there was d
light burning over green cloth. he nau
how named Henry Cahan, whom he
supported, and the boy was qulte an a.
Dense to him One day in the old Ar
cade. Horn sat with a solitary white
chip in his hand, the last Of his $50
week. He was hesitating whether to pet
it or not, when up came Henry ana
said:
:" Hurry up, Eph. and make q win
ming. 50 we can go to dinner.
me? Me make a winning with -FOUR
bits? You might as well talk of lower
ing freproof safe out of window
with horsehair
''Star Davis was great old boy. Jim
McI.ain's mother allowed him $4,000 a
year not to come near her but he was
broke nearly all the time for all that,
and he had to gamble to make his way.
Hank Johnson was a daisy, hard play
er, who never wore pair of boots worth
less than $40. Glib Cohern and Tom Mac
key were the dressers of the river. All
their winnings used to go into clothes.
They'd send to Paris for their under
clothing and all that sort Of thing. They
were great rivals in those days, when
dress went for something. Doc Hill was
McLane's partner. Then there was Bib
Alexander, who worked out Of Natchez
Jim Mcdonald, dead shot with pis-
toll; Ashlock, who could do more funny
work with deck of cards than 1 ever
saw before or since 1 couldn't name
them ALL They were good fellOws-free
with their money as water, after schem-
ing to bust their heads to get it.
FIJI ! 40
after boat left st. Louis until 1t reach
ed New Orleans. I've seen a faro game,
a roulette game, three poker games and
monte running in the cabin, and the
deckhands playing chuck-a-luck. 1 once
saw a planter, a relative Of jefferson
Davis, play roulette with S. gold pieces
on the steamer Molly Brown. 1 have
known men to drop $1,000 at faro before
one could smoke half a cigar. I once
saw two Louisville tobacco merchants
bet 800 at a clatter upon quot throwing
On deck l saw a man from Memphis
lose his whole cotton crop in one night
and get up and never mind it particu-
larly.
POKER WAS THE GAME.
"Poker was mostly tho game. They
played bluff and brag Il good deal and
there was generally a good game on
every boat. Many a time I've seen
game player just take off his watch and
rings and studs and play them III. Men
lost their goods playing in the way-bils
I've seen them betting bale Of cotton
at crack, and it wasn't at all uncom-
mon to hear an old planter betting or
his negroes on a good handA Mvery man
who ever ran on the river Knows that
these old planters used to play iB their
body servants, valuing them all the way