The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-06-08
CALIFORNIA; FLUSH DAYS.

CALIFORNIA; FLUSH DAYS.
"Reminiscences of Faro and Gun Play
in San Francisco--Gen. William
Humphrey Tells of Reckless Gam.
bling-Nerve in Fighting and Gam
ing of Judge Jones of Texas Fer.
tunes Staked on a Single Card-A
Dangerous Joke.
The most famous gambler in Sar
FRANCISCO in my time was Judge
Jones' 1t was only known Of him that
he mysteriously dropped in erom Texas
as Forty-niner with the title OF
judge He was a slender little fellow
with nerve tempered like steel; when
sober, of Chesterfieldian manners, but
ready to pick a quarrel with any man
when three sheets in the wind. Judge
Jones was the best dressed man in San
Francisco all his clothes came from
London, but nobody had the temerity
to tempt his wrath by the slightest al.
fusion to his passion for dress.
Fortunes changed hands rapidly in
those days, when Ophir and the Com
stock lode made mllionaires In a single
night. l have known rough men come
down from the gold country with $780,
600 In gold dust and blow it all In at
Judge Jones faro palace inside of two
days, when without a murmur borrow
a grub stake and flee away to the
mountains, and before year. ten to
one. dig up another fortune in gold
and perhaps this time have ,ansa
/ enough to pull up stakes, go east and
| keep it.
While the proprietor of a faro bank
Judge Jones had burning desire to
take his own bad medicine, that Is. 10
buck up against somebody else's faro
bank, and the result was that about
one-half the time he was fiat broke,
and at such periods an extremely dan
gerous man to tackle. Billy y vens,
who had a magnifcently appointed
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 pugilist, who
was then the local John l.. Sulli van Of
Frisco. His bunch of fves had earn
ed for the prizefighter a respect to
which his bad manners di not entitle
him, Key was quarrelsome, and so
was the Texas judge. Both men IN the
Eldorado, near Billy Owens saloon and
gambling place, when Key who was
reasonably full of liquor, proceeded d.
rectly to where Jones was standing and
slapped him in the face.
Jones was game. And though much
inferior in size put up first and let
drive at the burly prizeflghter with mis-
right, drawing first blood freely. This
was more than Key expected. He let
fly MIS- left-he was left handed and
floored the little gambler, who from
the marble where he lay pulled his re-
volver and shot Belcher Key through
the heart. The coroner had no time to
waste as the result of Judge Jones ia
tai facility with his pistol. He was
not even arrested and 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 a certificate Of deposit |
for $4,000 on the ace, having first ask
ed the banker to cover the bet, and |
without a change of muscle the banker |
and player would quietly abide the
coming out Of the card, and if the bank +
won the banker quietly raked 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 |
a poorer man to- begin. prospecting
again at Poverty Flat
I once saw a rich horseman come in,
and, firing of piking along with $500
bets on a single card, he nouchalantly
tapped on the high card with his PEN
ell and said
Mr.. Dealer, I'll just so you IN the
high card my three-story brick house
near the Palace hotel against your $780,
)00," and drawing out of his pocket
his deed, the bettor laid it on the are
spot.
Done" said the dealer, who was
likely to have a $4,000 bank roll in his
pocket and a reserve fund of 100000 in
l small safe in the corner of the gam
bling hell.
Quietly the outside betting went on
md nearly all the cards We're out, the
ice being the soda card and three
ices still in the box. The deed stu Icy ]
N the ace. At last, when the king, s
queen and Jack and three aces were s
he only cards in the box, the better {
aid !
Hold on Mr.. Dealer, I'm tired of G
hat ace. It's going to split. | want
o put up brick house on the king Are /
-ou agreed?" 6
Cert" responded the dealer.
He pulled. Out came the king for t
he winning card. The bank lost The
nan with the brick house won $4,000. h
How viii you have your money!" a
aid Mr.. Dealer s
Check" laconically answered the o
lcky gambler The dealers side part r
err filled out a check for the winner b
lille the game went on. W
AS / have said, Billy Owens and Il
Judge Jones We're as close as Damon s.
nd Pytbias; the bond that bound them t,
as friendship that only ended with b
lie life of Judge Jones, who died With h
Is boots on in his own faro bank, kill
I by a cowboy who got the drop on b
i'm in a fight overa disputed bet. One
light, when the game was running D
ght, as gamblers say, and the judges h
ank was taking in what money lherc a.
as, Billy Owens, flushed with drink, N
lme around to the faro outlay. Walk a.
g up to his chum, he said: CT
Judge Jones, this Is a mighty mean OF
,me, with these hundred dollar plkers bl