The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-28
EOUR ACES BEATEN
l BY FOUR KINGS.
Poker on the Mississippi When
Things We're Livelier Than
They Are Now.

old, said Caleb Mix. the veteran bartender
on the Mississippi River steamboat City OF
Natchez. That's thing that happens 10
any man. and whether he likes II or not
he's got to stand up an take his medicine.
AN. similar, hit don't do no good to
set round wshin' things was like they
used to was befo' the war. When thing
il done gone there amt no Use tryin' to
whistle II back, like you can dog that
runs away. Hits just gone. an that's
all there il to 1t.
But there is times when l like to go up
on deck after I've locked up for the night
an set dreamin' over a good cigar about
| the times when the ole Mississip' had a
glory about it that's gone forever now
When you can't never expect to see a thing
| again there's some satisfaction about
| settin' an thinkin' about when you did
| see it,
| go course. there amt no great change
| about the river itself; hut there's heap o.
change about what's goin' on up an down
the river. an travellm' it amt nothin'
| like what 1t were in the old slavery days,
when everybody had money an even the
| nigrer5 was happy, cause they didn't
have nothin' to worry EN-.
AN there was things dom them days
| You get on boat now an II she don't make
her landin's sharp on schedule time you'll
have some Teller grumblin' cause he didn't
take the railroad stead OF the boat.
| An there amt no poker played on the
boats now. Hits queer how you can't
think o. the old days on the Mississip'
| 'thout calm up some O. them big games o
| cards that ulster go on regular every night
in the saloon. after the niggers had cleaned
away the supper
Il amt sayin' but what you'll see card
| playin' now, sonnet lines. an l reckon they
| play what they call draw poker. but hain''
watched game OF 1t for some years There's
some play in it. reckon. an now an again
| there may be some little excitement. blu,
it's mostly a small-limit game, an there
| amt nobody richer nor poorer for playin'
Il reckon that's one o the improvements
| folks brag about. an amt sayin' Z amt
| Ill right il should be So The boats j.
| better, reckon, now than they was for
hey don't blow up so frequent an, similar,
/ it's better for a passle O. drummers to get
together an play dollar limit than twas
| for the gamblers to rope in rich sports an
| skin EN- out O. their eye teeth.
-Come TO think Of IL, / reckon them river
everybody says slavery was, an likely il =
4 good thing they don't have the run of
the boats. like they had. They was sure a
bad lot. an never seen any good come
out o. playin' with 'em, but they was one
o the features o river travel. an a good
bit o the excitement o Twin come FIN
he gambln' that went on.
Il reckon there want anybody that borc
EN- any good will. even them that made
money. out of EN-. I know it was a good
hing for me when they made a KILN, for
they was all spenders. an I got my share O.
what they scattered, but 'twan't money
that did anybody any good
-Once in while-not frequent but some
'imes-you'd see some on en- get it in the
game, an things would be- goin' their way
like they'd reckoned. an then the lightnin'
d strike EN- sudden. like lightnin' gently
does
Maybe they'd get caught cheatin' an
get shot; ,,cordin' to the reg lar Gust ON When
| a man did get caught. or some Teller Z they
was playn' for sucker d turn out to be Q
hard.
"One o. the neatest things ever see in
hat line was the time Foster an his pal
Adams I'm ST. Louis got into game with
three Northeners that was down here on
some business, so they said. ! reckon ii
was busi mess. all right, but I suspicioned
II were the same business Foster an Adams
was in.
"They was sporty men. them three Moth
erners, but II they was gamblers, like |
reckon they WAS, they didn't advertise IL
IKE the lar river gamblers did, with
a sh clothes an diamonds. They looked
trip, an they didn't make no movs toward
plsvin' cards till they was asked Adams
sizin' 'em up for suckers.
They was willin' enough to play, though,
when game was proposed, on'y one on
EN- he said his name was Jennings, said he
wouldn't play no big game, an the Others
said they wouldn't neither. Sothey made 1t
up to play five dollar limit, an Foster an
Adams said they was satisfied. They
reckoned to get the other feilers worked
fpr they played for big money whenever
they could
1T didn't look, first of, like that work,
for Jennings an his pals, Higgins an
Fletcher they called themselves, played a
slow sort o. careful game, an didn't get
excited none, even when they win most o.
the pots, as the two reg'lars let EN- do for
a while
AN then. when it come Fosters deal,
an Adams cauoht three queens an opened
the pot an Fletcher stayed an Foster
raised. it looked again like the three want
goin' to play high. no matter what hap
pened, for 1t sure did look like a temptat ion,
but Fletcher stuck to the limit.
what happened was this. Foster had
| stacked the cards for Adams an Fletcher
an had given one three queens an the OF her
three sevens. callatun' to give Adams
the fourth queen, never dreamin that
Jennings would stay against the raise,
him settin' ahead OF Adams an not havin'
openers But Jennings, for some reason
or other an l reckon It must ha' been to
Spite tho draw. put up his ten dollars when
II came to his turn.
-'Peared he had red an a black eight
| an havin' not ion to take chance, took II 4.
Well. Adams he raised again, an FLEET cher
stayed, an Foster h listed it, an still Jcn-
nings stayed.
well. they KEEP up the cross-cut for two
| or three turns, an findin' they couldn't
scare Jennings out, Foster dropped his
| hand o. course that were signal enough
| for Adams an he wasn't none disapp int ed
| when he didn't better in the draw, Jen-
| nings gettin' his queen. which 1t didut
do him no good
| Three queens was a pretty good hand.
though, an he tipped in a white chip after
| the draw. but Fletcher had spiked pair o.
| Jacks to his sevcns, an he raised It. Then,
| o. course, Jennings dropped. an Adams
studied bit. Then he said.
I'd like to play this hand pretty strong
| S'posin' we take of the limit on this pot.
| But Fletcher he says he won't stand
for IT,