The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-07
AT THE END OF THE
~ POKER GAME.
MIR. Ellis Fails to Collect All the
Stakes Won BY the Four Tens
in HIS Hand.

"One thing about the old Mississippi
that makes II seem more like It was a crittcr
nor II 10 like n river" saii Caleb Mix. tn
veteran bartender on the Mississippi River
packet City Of Natchez. "is the way II sv al
lows rp secrets an hides EN-. Pears
sometimes, like there was big devil! o.
some kind Twin down under the water, an
once In awhile he reaches up, like Wild
cats paws. an fetchcs n swipe across some
Teller that ain, looking an just hauls him
In like fash an that = the end
sOne minute you're lookin' at a man. an
mebbe lisenin to him a. akin an the next
minute he amt there. Yyu ion't never see
no more Of him an nobody knows nothin'
about him, on'y the Mssissip' Hit knows.
fr it's got him an won't never give him
up. Mebbe there'll be body found week
afte-. twenty. or fifty. or a hun lrei miles
downstream. an mebbe there won't. bu,
but il tis there amt no tellin' whether IT,
that man or some other Teller.
Il was stan'.in on tho deck the other
night watchn' the rous,ers unload some
-four ct Helena. II was a dark night an
the liyNts on the boat an on the levee made
mo- rcus pretty picture with a Carl
streak in the middle, right across the gang
plank.
THE rousters WAS rushin' hack and forth
some on EN- singin' like ringers will some
lines. when they're workin'. an the mate
ousstr' AT EN- like they alays does, an
all Of sudden one felle- slips, or stumblea
or somethln' an ove- HI goes seen II
an the mate seen It. an heard a sort o.
srlns in the wate-, but nobody else SCENE
10 t !, no notice oft.
The mate he steppeI over to where he
cd look down, an, fcllor a. bit ais we
Cd see we're tie smooth. black water. run.
rim along, swift an silent. II there was
any cNtry ripple we couldn't see It. TIE
rorste- had just gone Gown without a velr
outcn him. an II We two hadn't hapnene
to SEQ him fall. nobody'd ever know'd what
hap,nrei
well, the mate he looked for minute.
an l looked. but We didn't see nothn'.
He didn't say nothin'. and | didn't, for
twa mt my place to speak
Then he turneds back an Gus ed the
others little harder n he had been cussin'
afore, an that was all there was to it
Seemed little hard on the pc fellor that
went down 80 sudden. but that's the way
o. the river
There is cases. an I've seen some on
EN-. that don't seem so hard 'Taint no
pleasant thing TO think about goin' down
into them swift waters, thinkin' about
all the snags an mud an catfish there Is
below but there's some things That's worse
Anyway, ! reckon there's them that
thinks so, Tor faint everybody that goes
over by accident like that rouster did
The old Mlssissip' can be mighty cru
but there's some that rides on the boats
that's more cruel than him.
Long in the late sos. befo' the war
was much talked of, there was n good deal
o travel between New Orleans an the
river towns in Louisiana an MISSISSIPPI.
long o some o the rich planters an their
women folks goin' to the city for pleasure
They used TO travel in style, too. drivin'
down TO the boat in great open barouches.
with HOSES that was worth as much as
niggers, an a wagon full o. trunks an a
body servant goin' long with each one
on en- to wait on EN-.
Some on EN- had houses in New Orleans
where they'd 60 in the winter an blow in
all the money they'd got outen their crops
on the plantations, an some on ON was
so rich they couldn't spend 1t all. But
1t didn't seem TO make no difference to EN-
whether they had money all, ad, or whet her
they was gettin' along, a. some on EN-
did, on the money they got I'm the cotton
factors in New Orleans for the next wears
| crops. They all lived like kings an princess,
here was one old e nticman VINO had
plantation back I'm the river near Vicks-
bun g, that used 10 go to the city each winter
with his wife an come back home in the
early spring, that had the name o. bcin'
one o the highest rollers in town when h,
was there, spite OF his white hair Col.
Nickers, his name was, him bain' West
Point graduate an in the Regular army
when M was young.
He was in the Confederate Army after
ward an was killed ia the first battlr he
fl into. They said he didn't leave a dollar
though he'd spent millions while he live
but II diint make mucn diff, rence, for
his wife died afore he did, an they didn't
leave no children.
Him an lis wife was comm back I'm
the city ono spring. when the Colonel got
into g1rao o poker on the boat. lie
haon't paved on he boa $ afore. only two
or three times, 5 ur's | know. an then
only with some o! his cronrs. but they
said his gannlin' that winter had btcn
heavy enough to break banks, an +, exon
he'd got tho fever. Mob dy knowed how
much ned lost, but it'd bJen enough to
cripple him If he hadn't had his plantation
to iall back OH.
Fears his luck hadn't changed none
for the b-tter, for he played pretty ngl
all night, an long about midnight he'd
sent has boy Sam, a fine, handsom. Niger,
tiht $1,000 behilu ms cnalr while ne pl we'd,
10 wait on him, telIIn' him 10 81 some
money I'm Ars. \cKcrs that had gJn. 10
her stateroOm.
The boy come back with a big roll o.
bills, an the Colonel he kept on plavin'
an kept on losin'. but h.'d win bug DO,
now an again, 10 he 'p.ared to have som,
sort o show II he ca only Ct run q /, ok
for while. an like any other payer, he
kept on lookin for II,
ihe.o y as. I 40 professionals In the
game That IL TO BAY, tnvru WANT n,le
VI 'em that Nas proies, iui.als there; but
oLo fe..er Lanud Eilis Turned out after
ara 10 pe river gambler an travu.. cd
the bCats for some years after the var.
Bat this here zine that I'm taihin'
about he IRE a cotton factor an a good
deal Of c.uD ma. Ia Ne, or cans. rear
hu'd done o..si abe bd, .oss for the
toionei an had give him isht smart adj
va Co.'S that |intur Oh his LeXt CrOIs that
wait ". II pla..t ii yet.
ii- N,rc IA sick. handsome Teller, with
que or look IL. liz eyes that | III at iiNn,
nut l ham ever hcvrd nothi.l' az ia
him nj that time.
Tia" other two was planters. like tn"
Colole., AL tn was payi pr tty tin
game, b I a. far a. | kIo' II ere stall at
enough. ihey say this t,is y ere newer
eau, h il crooked pay ii the iast game
ne played, au' there 81 some question
thch h. Their the fe.lcr that shot hin
want the real CROOK. instead o. him, bat
hu sure did have the luck O. the devil.
They vas p.ayin' the olu-faShionod
game % draw S'th no straights. 50 four
te,s, , A. hi N hann m fo,lt. al NJ, Ut n