The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-26
BROKE UP THE GAME
ArkanSans Played Draw Poker
With a Joker.
STRANGER LAID AWAY
STARTED TO COUNT BIG AND
LITTLE CASINO.
New York SUM

WV ~cAEN A5OAA-(
TITS RELY amazin'," said old man
Greenhut, "how things is changed in
the world since I was a boy. Some
times it pears like there wasn't moth
in on earth nowadays that folks does
like they used to. When L fust learned
to smoke a pipe we didn't have no
matches to light 'em with. Had to
use a flint an Steel or get coal out O.
the fireplace. An a for red LIQUOR,
We didn't know what that was. Rum
was good enough them days FIR all but
the extremely wealthy an they had
brandy and wines an gin. But as the
good book says, The old order changes,
max n way fer new, an the Lord
fulfls hisself in curious ways They
do say that folks rides round on two
wheels nowadays instead O. walkin' or
ridin' hossback. as natur' intended a
man to do. but that 1 reckon, must
be lie. If they was on'y two wheels
on these here bikes, as they call 'em,
it stands to reason they'd tumble over
sideways"
He stood thinking for a few minutes,
and looked around the room inQUiring-
~, but as nobody made any sign of in
tending to call for a drink, he walked
slowly out from behind the bar. and
lOOht0 OuL DIT Tie uOOI. NO CUSTOMERS
appeared to be approaching, so ne sat
down in his favOrite seat by the win
dow and pulled at his cigar. = had
gone out, as usual so he lighted it
again and smoked for some minutes in
silence.
at length, "that don't show no signs o.
changin', an / don't reckon it'll never
change. Pears like it was a dispensa-
tiOP of Providence. that no man can't
ir11nroxra on NJ %
tryin' 'tbOut he was some god-forsaken
inhdel that hadn't no sense. What do
l mean? Why, l mean the game o.
poker, TO be sure. Thar amt no such
thing as improvin' poker, no more'n
there was o maxim the Ten Command
ments better after Moses brought 'em
out o the bullrushes. They was wrote
by higher power. an folks knowed it
an just let 'em alone. Same with polk
er. There's galoOts now an then that
seems TO think they can improve on
the handiwork O. Providence an goes
a-monkeyin' with the game, an gettin'
up new rules an strange hands, same
as the children of Israel went a-han-
KERN after strange gods an f1eshpots,
but they don't go down. Them flesh
pots, l S'pose, was the old fashioned
play EN- all the time, like some fellers
plays all jackpots nowadays, havin' no
reverence FIR tn app'inted ways
They was a Teller come to Arkansas
City long about four years ago that
was one o them kind, an he had an ex-
perience with some o. the boys here
that ought for tove cured him o. SIGH
unrighteOusness. 1 don't know whether
it did or not, for he kind o. dropped
out O. sight one night after he'd tried
the boys patience a little too much, an
l never herd no more about him. But
he certainly did give us considerable
excitement FIR one evenin'.
1T was a pretty small game, or
don't reckon 'twould ha' gone on as far
as it did. for the boys wouldn't ha
stood f'r no such nonsense if there'd
been any important money up; but
beln' as twas On'y a trifiin amount,
they sort O. humored him FIR awhile,
till finally he went a little too fur, an
got called down hard.
Nobody knOwed his name nor where
he came from. but he Just dropped off
the boat one day an kind o. wandered
round for a spell lOOkin' at things, till
finally he dropped in here. Some o.
the boys were settin' here, like they
do. an he asst 'em all UP to the bar
an treated like gentleman would
Here the old man paused little and
looked around inquiringly again, but
nobody spoke so he went on talking.
He treated all hands, like gentle
man always does when he has the
price, an then sot round FIR an hour
or two. chawin' his tobacco sociable
like. but not sayin' much, till toward
shutdown he says. Don't you people
play poker here sOmetimes?'
Pete Barlow, he was here, an he
saws Yes an q couple of other men,
Jennings and Small; think it was,
they said they had no objections, so
got the cards an chips an they start
ed in.
1.-THE stranger. he pulled out a two
dollar bill an he says, Gimme that
worth 70 me, for I was sellin' the
chips. as usual Well, I was that sur
prised that I almost dropped the chips.
an the boys looked at each other like
they'd took a drink o water by mis-
take. Then Pete said. kind O. smilin'-
he were a great hand for a jOke-he
says: Excuse me, stranger, but
thought you said sOmeth'n about polk
er. Mebbe it's pinochie you play, or
some kind Of Sunday school game But
the stranger, he looked as surprised
as anybody else. an he says, No, he
says: I don't play pinOchle myself
What's the matter with poker? Don't
you play poker here? he says.
Well says Pete. we do play it
sometimes, an he winked at the other
1tllOMS LiAdL W dS ulOSl DuSliu OUT
laughin' an ne pulls a twO-dOllar bill
off IA his wad an he says, I think I'll
take two dollars worth myself an
the other fellers they each take two
dollars worth and they call for a deck
You see the joke was they never play
ed nOthin' less'n a dollar ante. an for
q small game they made a ten dollar
limit
''Well, brung out a new deck an the
H., =
fed. l don't know how twas, but they
didn't seems 10 none of EN- notice
that he didn't throw out the joker
Anyway they didn't nobody say moth
in an the game went on. It's "a quar-
ter limit. l s'pose.' said the stranger,
an Pete he grinned an says "All right,
psrd, unless you'd ruther have it
dime oh, no. says the stranger a
quarter amt none too high for me-
Thar they sot and played away as
solemn as If there was real money up
for ten or fifteen minutes before any
think queer happened, an Pete he call
ed the stranger after one OF TWO raises
an showed down two pair. Jacks up.
1.-THE stranger he looked at Pete's
cards an he says. No good Then he
throws down three, four, five and six
an the joker an reached for the pot
Jennings. he was iabbergasted for
fair, an he bust out. What he says,
but Pete stopped him. One minute
he says. Excuse me, pard,' he says
to the stranger. but what do you think
you've got there2 An the stranger he
looked up kind O. surprised an he says,
It's d straight, o course, seven high
"Oh, says Pete, very polite like, so
that there joker card stands for a seven
spot, does it?' Why, cert'nly, says
the stranger. 1T stands for anything
you want 20 make Up hand. Didn't
you know that? An he looks round
kind o. bewildered an says, Don't you
people know what the joker is?'