The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-08
FARO AND GUNS IN FRISCO.
FLUSH TIMES IN CALIFORNIA WHEN
PLAY WAS HIGHLAND LIFE CHEAP.

the WarpRth-Gen. Humphreys
Experience with "a Too Delicate
Hair Trigger. Resulting in "A Pain
full Episode for a Half Breed Gam
bier.
"Reminiscences of Gen. William Hum
phrey of San Francisco.
Wealth had begun to pour into Frisco
from the auriferous hills. about the time
Buchanan's administration was in full
swing. in 1856. Matters moved fast out
there. Within year after my arrival
on the coast l was city surveyor, and
found myself in the midst of lively times.
The foundations of the greatest fortunes
were laid between 1919 and 1850.
The feverish desire to make gain swift
ly, made the early settlers of California
a community of gamblers. Every sa-
loon Of magnitude had a faro bank at
tachment or annex. The bar was usually
on the strete, and, as now in Cheyenne
or Denver, the back room, approached
through the barroom, was a faro bank,
with many poker and roulette tables, and
here the wihlr of the whele,and the click
of the ivory chips, could be heard every
night till Aurora walked the eastern skies.
The most famous gambler in my time was
Judge" Jones. 1t was only known of
him that he mysteTiously dropped in from
IeXas, as forty-niner with the title OF
Judge" He was slender little fellow
with nerves tempered like Bessemer steel;
when sober, of Chesterfeldian manners
out ready to pick a quarrel with any man
when three sheets in the wind. Judge
Jones he IT. &c,
Francisco all his clothes came from Lon
don, but nobody had the temerlty to
tempt the Judges wrath by the slightest
aliusion to his passion for dress.
Fortunes changed hands rapidly in those
| days, when Ophir and the Comstock lode
made millionaires in a single night.
| nave known rough men come down from
the gold country with $4,000 in gold dust
| and blow it all in at Judge Jones faro
pa.ace, inside of two days, then without
a murmur borrow "a grub stake and flee
away 20 the mountains. and before year
| ten 10 one, dig up another fortune in gold
ana perhaps this time have sense enough
| TO pull up stakes, go East, and keep it.
| Whlie the proprietor of a faro bank, Judge
Jones had burning desire to take his
| own bad medicine, that is. to buck against
| somebody elses faro bank, and the result
was that about one half the time he was
fiat broke, and at such periods an ex-
tremely dangerous man to tackle. Billy
! owens who had a magnificently appoint
1 ed place of his own, was the last friend
of the Texas gambler. When Jones went
broke Owens would stake him again.
Bad blood ran in Jones veins toward
Belcher Key, an English pugilst, who was
then the local John l.. Sullivan of Frisco
| His bunch of fives'' had earned for the
prize fighter respect to which his bad
| manners did not entitle him. Key was
| quarrelsome, and SO was the Texas Judge
| Both met in The Eldorado, near Billy
| Owens saloon and gambling house, when
| Key, who was reasonably full of liquor
proceeded directly 10 where Judge Jones
was standing, and slapped him in the
| face. Jones was game, and though much
inferior in size, put up fist and let drive
| at the burly prize-fghter with his right
drawing first blood freely. This was more
| than Fighter Key expected. He let fly his
! left-he was Northumberland fioored the
| little gambler, who from the marble floor,
where he lay pulled his revolver and shot
| Belcher Key through the heart The cor-
| oner had no time to waste as the result
| of Judge Jones fatal facility with his pis-
| tol. He was not even arrested. end that
| night he received an ovation which might
have gratified the last of the Caesars.
| 1t was not an unusual thing in Billy
| Owens back room to see a man walk in
| and lay down certificate of deposit for
| $4,000 on the ace. having first asked the
| banker to cover the bet, and without a
change of muscle banker and player would
quietly abide the coming out of the card
and if the bank won the banker quietly
| rake1 in his $4,000 certificate of deposit
laid it in his left hand drawer. and the
man in front of the table went out a
wiser and poorer man to begin pros
pecting again at Poverty Flat. | once
saw a rich horseman come in. and, firing
of piking along with $500 bets on a sin
| gle card, he nonchalantly tapped on the
high card with his pencil and said:
MIR Dealer. I'll just go you on the high
1 card my three-story brick house near the
Palace Hotel against your 10000" and
! drawing out of his pocket his deed the
bettor laid it on the ace spot
Done" said the dealer, who was likely
to have a $4,000 bank roll in his pocket
and reserve fund of 100000 in a small
safe Ill the corner of the gambling hell.
Quietly the outside betting went on
and nearly all the cards were out, the
ace being the soda card and three aces
| still In the box. The deed still lay on
the ace At last. when king, queen, jack
! and three aces were the only cards in the
box, the bettor said:
Hold on. Mr.. Dealer I'm id tired Of
that ace. It's going to split / want to
agreed
Cert responded the dealer
He pulled Out came the king for the
! winning card. The bank lost. The man
with the brick house won $4,000.
How will you have your money!" said
Mr.. Dealer
CHECK" laconically answered the lucky
gambler. The dealers side partner filed
out check for the winner while the
game went on.
AS l have said. Billy Owens and Judge
Jones were as close as Damon and Pthyi-
as: the bond that bound them was a
friend that only ended with the life
! of Judge Jones who died with
his boots on in his own faro bank.
| killed by a cowboy. who got the drop
on him in a fight over a disputed bet
One night, when the game was running
light. as gamblers say, and the Judges
bank was taking in what money there
was, Billy Owens flushed with Old Otard
came around TO the faro outlay. Walking
up to his chum. he said:
Judge Jones, this is mighty mean
game, with these hundred-dollar pikers
around the board. How much have you
got in that big safe over yonder?"
"Just 49,, GOO In thar. old man." replied
the Judge land that's just $32. 600 morn
you've got the sand in your craw to try.
| and win
"Ah! that's your little game. is It.. old