The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-09
NEGRO KING Of POKER
Experiences of Wash Barton
the Boss of Black Gamblers.
HAS WON A FORTUNE
FORMER SLAVE WHO HAS MAS
TERED DETAILS OF POKER.
(Chicago 10 Oceanl

Los Angeles, Cal. Aug. 26.-Charles
washington Barton, who is probably
the richest professional negro gambler
in the southwest, and is one Of the most
famous in the fraternity in the United
States, is spending a rev days at the
seaside resorts in southern California
He has been in the City of Mexico ard
Monterey. Mex. for nearly a year.
where he has participated in some Of
the biggest pOi.er games ever known
in the republic. he viii go to the Paris
exposition in a few weeks, and return
to Mexico for another winter Of gam
ing. He speaks Spanish as easily as
he does English. He owns tract Of
valuable land in the suburbs of San
Francisco; he has a block Of stock in
the water company at San Antonio,
Tex. he owns one-half Of 2 brewery at
St. Joseph, No, where his wife and
children make their home. Roughly
estimated, he is worth S15O,00O.
THE MeMcans are the greatest gam
DlerS in the world" said he the other
day. Even the most ignorant poems
down there seem to know the permuta-
lions and prOo3 Utilities of sets of cards
better than thoughtful, intelligent Peo-
pie in the United States. Monte and
faro are their great games, and thou
sands Of them set apart a certain part
of their weekly earnings for gaming
every Saturday night and Sunday
The Mexican women are the greatest
gamblers of their sex anywhere
Everybody down there loves to take
chances of winning money, and the
most exciting games / ever saw were
those about the monte and faro tables
IN Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico.
Thousands Of business men spend
certain number of hours each day y
gambling. and one Of the first questions
they are asked upon going home is
how they Jared at the green table that
day In all the large Mexican cities
there are several big gambling games.
that are run as regularly as a national
bank is in the United States The
game opens each week day at a certain
hour and closes exactly on time, no
matter whether the game is running in
favor of or against the house. on Sun
days the length of the game is doubled,
but it is all regularly conducted, and
has been for years One game at
Monterey has missed but three days in
twenty-five years, and a game in a
great gaudy hall at Guadalajara has
been opened and closed at the same
hours for forty years, except in times
OF political reVOlut- Jns and public ca
lamity. Several of the big gamblers in
1dexiCO are strong Political leaders. and
are the most esteemed citizens of their
cities
Greatest Of Gambling Places.
'The greatest of all Mexican gam
bling is done at Tacubaya, a suburb of
me City of Mexico. ! doubt if any
gambling in the United States ever
equaled that at Taoubaya. The spot
is a beautiful one, and tens of thou
sands of dollars have been spent in
identifying il with art, architecture
and landscape gardening. The monte
game there is practically limited That
is. IT is limited to the sum the dealer
of the house has in front of him. Often
these stacks OF gold run as high as
SZ5. 600 in value You know that at
Monte Carlo all that a man can win
by a successful coup is $1,000, but at
Tacubaya the limit is the ceiling.
Americans are always impressed by the
pOliteness of Mexican professional
gamblers. The old hidalgos down there
are fine sports. Each of them is out
for a good time in the capital, each is
clad in the typical rich Mexican cos
tune. and each is accompanied by a
couple Of poems who trundle red wheel
barrows about half the size of the
leaus of 100 silver dollars, with leather
tightly sealed with black wax at the
ends. The wax bears always the i'm
preston OF the hidalgo's seal lie
seats himself opposite the dealer and
n space is cleared for him on either
hand Habitual players drop slightly
to the rear because they know that a
.uel is on. The dealer decorously bows
his head and says: L wish you good
fortune. SENIOR The hidalgO says:
With all my heart I wish yours The
red wheelbaiTowS have been placed on
each side of the player. He takes from
one of them n rOuleau and lays il upon