Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-11-13
aNisteltamealls '8eading.
WHIPsAW TRICK AT POKER.

Lively Gard Playing on the Steam
ers Before the War.
New York Sun.
It was never hard to get old Caleb
Mix the bar-keeper on the river packet
Natchez plying the lower Mississippi,
to talk Of his earlier days. A chance
question would start him. One day he
was asked If things had changed much
on the river within his recollection.
Eyes, indeedy," he said, almost sad
ly, 1.-The Mississippi river isn't what 1t
was befo' the war. You see some card
playin' on the boats now; but there's
no such games as I've seen hundreds O.
times when I was a youngster in the
saloons on some O. the packets on the
lower Mississippi.
"It was poker they played, almost al
together. In them days it was no
strange thing for professional gamblers
to travel the river all the time, an there
some O. the old River Belle that run
I'm Memphis plumb through to New
Orleans, was one O. them kind that
wouldn't have no tricks played on a
passenger on his boat by nobody"
90 course, we had our orders, an
what we uns had to do was to report
to him If we seen anything that looked
crooked. I was only second bartender
then, an hadn't much to say, my boss
bein' a man that'd good deal druther
had more doin' on the boat than the
cap'n d stand for. Beasley-he were
my boss-he'd worked on other boats
befo' where the cap'ns want 80 strict,
an he were a little raw when he found
Cap'n Barker wouldn't stand for it.
lone time we was layin' up at Men,
phis between trips an I was in sa-
loon when Beasley come in with two
strangers an walkin' into a back room
with 'em they called for a bottle Of
wine. I didn't think nothin' Of 1t then,
but the next day when we was about
to start down the river, them two men
came aboard. They was dressed diff
ferent an they didn't come together.
They didn't neither Of 'em speak to
Beasley. Just naturally I didn't say
nothin'; but I says to myself they'd
both be playin' poker befo' long, an
more'n likely they'd play at the same
table. If they did, made up my mind
to speak to the cap'n an not to Beas-
ley.
THAT night after I knowed the la
dies was likely all gone to their state
rooms, I got chance to go into the
main saloon an take look around, an
just as I expected them two was settin'
with three other men playin' poker. 1
didn't wait to see no mo-. just hunt
ed up the old man an told him the
whole story. He were mad clean
through. He kind O. chewed his lip a
minute an then says:
"T want you to watch that game for
awhile an see If you can see anything
crooked
"Well. T stood watchin' the game for
a long time befo' I could make out
lust what was doin'. Close as I watch
ed, couldn't see anything wrong about
the play. Then all of a sudden 1t fash
ed on me. 1t was after one o the
strangers, the taller one O. the two, he
called hisself Major Hardy, had made
a bet that somehow seemed to me like
Ia bluff.
HE was third man to play, the other
stranger harin' the age, an the two
men befo' him, Judge Ross and Mr..
Cartwright havin' both come In. The
ante was 81 an by the two comm In
there was five in the pot when this Ma
jor Hardy raised 1t five. O course
there was nothin' strange in that; but
somehow I felt it were a signal to the
other Teller, an I watched what he'd
do.
"The dealer was a planter from Ar
kansas named Bolles. He skinned his
cards down very careful an studied a
while an finally come in, seein' the
raise. That made s19 in the pot an the
age mans next say. I felt sure that
he was goin' to raise back; but ne
didn't, not then. I hadn't seen much
O. the whipsaw racket befo' that night,
or I reckon I'd ha' tumbled sooner; but
them two had it down fine.
well, the judge and Mr.. Cartwright
both made good, so the pot was $35
befo' the draw an all five was a play
in. The age man, Pearson, his name
was. he took one card, the judge took
three, Cartwright three, Hardy two
and the dealer one. 1t looked. o
course. like Hardy had the best hand
to draw to; but they was all holdin'
their cards close as a good player al
WAYS does, an I never knowed, really,
what any of 'em had for there want
no show down on that deal.
"The Judge he throwed in a white
chip, which was 81, without lookin' at
his cards, an Cartwright did the same.
It was good poker, for they was wait
in to see what Hardy would do. an
Just naturally he put up $40. That was
a good play, too, for if he had made
big bet it would ha' looked like bluff,
but bein' no bigger n twas, it looked
like he was trying to catch suckers.
Whether he was or not he got one,
for Bolles seen his ten an raised him
twenty. I reckon he'd filled flush; but
anyway Pearson. he looked at his one
card an come in withou, raisin. That
looked queer to me, for if he was strong
enough to play, he oughter been
strong enough to raise; but he knowed