Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-12-15
Philadelphia North American.


AS a story teller Colonel Thomas Por-
terhouse ochiltree was unsurpassed. Much
OF the success of his stories was In the
telling, and deprived OF tire charm Of his
personality they lose much in repetition.
Although Colonel Ochiftree once indig-
nzntly denied In court that he ever play
"a poker, it has always gone the rounds
that the authenticated Texan liked to
take q hand. He once acknowledged that
in former days he was one Of the best
plSser- that ever tipped card, and he
Says tl1aA n calamity befeil him only once
and that was during hts congressional
term.
He had had a phenomenal run of luck
in Washington, but the tide OF battle I'm
ally turned, and he went up against It
With a party Of southern representatives.
In relating to sympathetic friends the next
day the circumstances OF the game, the
Colonel admitted:
81 lost just 5000 last night. But the
worst Of It was that s. of It was in cash !"
Colonel Ochiltree's Dog Story.
One day he was criticising the adTninis-
tration of Mayor Strong. He said the may
or had shown poor Judgment-"And his
fault In this respect reminds me Of Sena-
tor Jones dog story" he went on.
"A fellow out I'm Nevada. you know, had
q dcg.-a bulldog, a herce-looking brute
which his owner said was the greatest
fighter in the state One day q settler
RE wagon trotted NANCY cur. The bull
dog saw him and started 20 eat him UP.
when the fight was over the cur was not
much the worse for ii, but the bulldog
was a wreck.
" 7 thought your dog was a great hght-
err, Senator JonesT said the owner OF the
bulldog.
We'll was the reply, he is a great
fighter, but he's a poor judge Of dogs.
Colonel Ochiltfee's intimates and most
Of the newspapers described him as a liar
of colossal magnitude One day when the
colonel was returning from the Sleeps
head Bay race track two men came into
the car One OF them recognized the Tex
an and said to his friend:
"Conne here, Bob, I want to introduce
you to the biggest liar in the United
States"
s'sir." replied the ponderous Ochiltree,
rising with great dignity from his seat, II
allow none but my most intimate friends
to refer to me in that manner, and do
not regard you as one OF them"
The two men sought the next car,
souelched.
Stood BY the Poker Crowd.
Colonel Ochiltree rolled into the Fifth
Avenue hotel one day and began talking
with Former Senator Wilbur +. Saunders,
OF Montana.
"Ah. senator" he said, "I see my old
friends in the senate are standing by
their guns What q horrible mistake the
gold-bugs made when they counted on
firing out the silver senators. Why, Ed
Woicott and eanra Claus Stewart and
Jones and the rest of them were never
known to 60 to bed until or 7 o'clock in
the morning. I've played poker with them
for twenty hours at a stretch, and then
you had 70 ..ssp your eyes peeled or
they would freeze you out. 1 tell you
when you try TO put that crowd to sleep
you hav4 undertaken the biggest fob a
man ever had on his hands. III bet on the
poker crowd every trip"
81 guess you're right, colonel" replied
Senator Saunders, who knew little about
the game himself. ''Wolcott never sleeps.
As for Jones, I believe he can 90 q year
without winking."
Nearly Killed BY Vsnlson.
When Colonel Oetiltres was taken with
a previous illness in New York his friend
Clarence n. Maelay got a tenderloin OF
veniscn, gave II to. Oscar. OF the Waldorf,
to cock 10 a turn, and had Il sent over to
Colonel Ochiltres. 1.-THE Texan hadn't
eaten solid food for several days, but he
couldn't resist the choice morsel He had
eaten about half OF the venison, when he
became very Ill and quickly lost con-
seriousness. Doctors were hurriedly sum-