The labor world., 1900-03-03
A Big pOkER GAME
1T WAS PLAYED BETWEEN LAKE
( CAPTAINS ON sHIPDOARD.

CAPTAINS ON SHIPDOARD.
1t Began at Five Dollars Ante and No
| Limit. Captain Gibson Lost. All
His Money and His Boat on What
He Thought Was Il Royal
Straight Flush. Mistake in
Dlscarding. ..s.
A half dozen lake captains were sit
ting together when the conversation
switched to poker; and then Captain
Miner Davidson told this story:
" ut has always struck me as rather
singular that you seldom hear poker
stories from this region. You hear of
great sums lost in the East, plantations
exchanging hands at a single sitting
in the South and in the West of great
heaps Of gold crossing the table in a
night; but for some reason you never
hear any one tell about the games that
used to be played on the Great Lakes.
I am willing to bet now that some of
the largest, stiffest and longest games
ever played anywhere took place at
lake ports and on lake vessels be-
tween 1850 and 1850. Several of you
must remember it. It was not so long
ago. It was quite natural that such
things should be, too. There were very
few steamboats, and every one was
making money, even the seamen.
More than that, the trip from Chicago
often took as long as two weeks and
sometimes 20 days and the sailors had
to do something to relieve the monot-
ony of the trip. Poker was tried and
fitted to- IT,; and it also made a
lot of lakemen poor and lot Of gambl-
ers rich.
Il dare say some Of you have heard
tell Of Captain John Gibson Of the two
master Will-o'- the-Wisp. He was we'll
known for time. The boat has been
out Of commission for 20 years. Well,
John Gibson was the gamest gambler
that ever shuffIed a card along these
lakes, If you measure by liberal and
careless playing which most people do
He came UP to- Buffalo from Bradford
Pa, some time in the 4O's and took to
sailing. He was q hard worker and in
eight years he was captain of small
boat named the Acorn, which was
owned in Bay City. In few years
more he bought5Aa boat of his own and
named her the Will the Wisp, and
after working her a few seasons he was
able to pay her off and own her clear
of everything. In 1867 he was pro-
prietor Of her and captain, and was
making good money was second
mate for him and in 1859 was made first
mate. Now, the captain was an in
veterate poker player and was known
in the rooms at all the lake ports and
by all the rowing gamesters who spent
their time on the lakes, He often de-
slayed his departure frtfl port so he
could finish a game and it was nothing,
for him to miss three or four meals and
not know it.
In 1859, in the early part of septem-
Der, we left Chicago one afternoon for
Buffalo with a, load Of merchandise, a
crew Of nine and two passengers. They
We're introduced to the captain as Ben
nett and Mcdonald, business men who
desired to make lake trip for the
benefit of their health. We had fair
sailing the first night out, and the cap
tain and his guests sat on deck till late
telling stories and getting acquainted.
The next day was a scorcher, and at
night the lake was as quiet and shiny
as a tub of quicksilver, and there
wasn't a. atquiver in the air. The moon
was full and so; bright that you could
read on deck. The crew lounged on
the after deck, it was too warm to
sleep below, and the captain, his guests
and I sat on the deck aft Of the deck
house, smoking and talking. Some
how the game Of poker was suggested,
a table had been fetched from the cap
tain's office and we four were playing
draw.
There's no use dwelling on the early
stages of the game; no need telling
how I was cleaned out in an hour and
how Mcdonald lost a big pot to the
captain on full hand. The game was
good from the start, and it was better
when Bennett and the captain. each
with a stack Of coin and bunch of
bills in front Of him, began to play it
out. Any one who knew John Gibson
could have told that he was ready for
anything and the calm manner of the
other player indicated that he was
thoroughly at home. While I and Nc
Donald played the limit was $50. When
we withdrew the ante was made IS and
the limit was removed. Ez
Possibly two hours after the second
part of the game began bottle of
good liquor was produced and Capt
Gibson partook literally Of it, as he
always did while playing cards. AS
the boat stopped around in the quiet
sea the hands ran high and the betting
became spirited. / remember once how
Gibson made; studied bet Of $1,000
after a tWo-card draw and threw his
hand into the discard rather than show
| it after he had been called. 1t was the
! captains night to lose and I advised
him to quit. He would have done so
too, Think, if il hadn't been for the