The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-11
LOST A FORTUNE.
.,-rD POKER HAND FOR MORE
THAN 1T WAS WORTH.

rrat Won-They Were Four Aces.
From the Washington Star.
~, New York boniface was telling me-
...,,ar dav of an enormous poker game
-. ba had witnessed at one of the ex-
,...ra poker parlors in his top-heavy
IN which the fortunate man of the
w.. -, four quit IS 500 10 the good at
close of eight or ten hours play"
III al veteran New Orleans hotel man
n.5o was in Washington at the opening
CONGRESS. After telling me this he
4 hack and waited for my eyes to
at-f5. He was somewhat miffed and
.it., when he noted that the eye pro-
.r,-ion on my part didn't occur. To
l,f,g him around to good nature again
3. o convince him that l wasn't atti-
..3+,,izfne. | was compelled to spend
h.f hour or so in unwinding a bit of
- IF he DAYS when there were\ poker
,i,rrs In this country. He WASH | quite
milling al he finish, to acknowledge that
,os ofraer at draw of $500 was a poker
nismy. but when l happened to mention
rb4 occasion, on New Year eve, 1868, when
pbH Cuthbert of st. James parish drop
ned In a two-handed game at the st.
charles Hotel in New orleans a little bun
na or 100000 he gurgled some, and then
ssked me if it got into the New Orleans
r,r.rs. told him that in 1868 and there
sbouts The New Orleans papers were too
b,sv roasting the carpet baggers to de
,ote any space 10 such minor matters as
q $500 600 poker game at the st. Charles
Hotel where draw games approXimatinS
that in size were generally going on at
any old hour of the day or night. There
was some rhetoric. l admit, in that 'ap-
nominating statement but l wanted to
sci this New York man right. AS a mat
ter of stern fact, a $4,000 game of draw
was nor at all uncommon in the Old 5.
Charles private parlors. After Phil. Cuth-
bert had dropped that mound of $4,000
on one hand. the New Orleans papers did
announce that Mr.. Philip Cuthbert, the
W4ll-knoNn planter of st. James parish,
was about to start on a gold-prospecting
tour in Honduras but they were generous
enough not TO mention, If they know it,
that with four kings in his hand he had
lost $4,000 to Mr.. Joseph Lescolette, ship
per Of HaVre Pernambuco and New Or
leans.
How He Saw 1t All.
In order TO load up to that extraordi-
nary game I've got to plead guilty TO
having been a tale arranger and sweep
our boy at the old st. Charles at the time
The thing happened. 1t was one of the
functions of my job to sort o stand by,
4 as the sailors say, when games were on
4 10 the private parlors, and run errands
for the gentlemen playing. That's how l
| happened 10 see it all.
Phil Cuthbert was a raiser of perique
| tobacco up in ST. James parish and he
4 had besides several thousand acres in cot
on fqt hon I1n ia1 h0f he
was well under way. was supposed to be
worth 100000 to $3O000 600, and it all went
4 TO his only son Phil. Al the close of the
war the estate had dwindled to some $500
QQ aud the young man started in to fiatten
ii out stll more. 1t was the talk of Lou
sana that he had taken a $250000 crimp
ID the estate within two years after he
entered upon it, and it had nearly all gone
n, cards He wasn't a dissipated man al
ALL but he just naturally couldn't help but
1 play poker, and he belonged to a family
d losers at poker. He never knew when
4 the psychological moment had arrived for
lin TO quit winner
Very LittIy Man.
Zoe Lescolette-called Joe Familiarity
..sst. ~. -;7@4 stisict s8; a. F1Ji.>3,.s, Ct
French nativity, who loved Americans and
their nicknames and diminutives of good
/ ieIowship-was probably the richest of
4 The New Orleans fruit importers at that
time, His father before him had had a
me OF West Indian and South American
sallns packets handling fruit into New
Orleans for the American market, and
Jot came into the whole business at the
4 Oh geutleman's death. He was killed, by
lae way to get a bit ahead of the story,
az the battle of Gravelotte. during the
Franeo-Prussian war.
Lcseoette wasn't what you could call
nF -
Years that he kept his name pretty con-
SANITY In the mouths of New orleans folks
On account of his extravagances, but he
was scientific master of the game of
american draw, all the same, and, by the
same token, as nervy a little man in
game OF cards. or in any other affair of
q me- Tor that matter, as ever came out of
q Gaul
The Prelude.
Nuthbert came down to New Orleans
rom his plantation to attend the New
rear eve performance of Aida at the
grand opera, intending to return to St.
Games and spend New Year day on the
4 4ahIajon He met Lescolette in the smok-
ing room of the opera house. The two
men Were friends of years standing mem
u'Is OF The same clubs and they had va
"us business dealings with each other
4 "eslurS As they sat smoking between the
1g Slpped his arm through Lescolette's.
4 joe he said, I desire to accumulate.
4 1e ana win a very large portion of
gu wealth, even unto the half of your
A"slom this night. Suppose, then, when
9ylus strains of Rhadames are only
4 D,. ana this last act is finished, we re-
i"n 40 me st. Charles
n t "'II when they came in I was the
ylUohS i'm charge of the parlor they Sc
t.,'l Tor play. Much as they desired soli-
'-g' they couldn't achieve it. About half
u'@tn of their friends traipsed along
IiN Them and took one of the tables in
, ''nt parlor, and went at a dinky
same OF 500 limit
The First Act.
o Ned up couple of dozen decks of
within easy reach of Cuthbert and
Imam, and, after they had taken
,,,"''i'e of brandes and sodas apiece,
sa he while of everything else on
~ besides poker, they began play Both
tB .'o'n had their check books beside
wv" ON the table, and the bank was to
f ITSELF. the wing poes There