Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-10

days or the boots.
"A good deal of the card-playing on
the Mississippi and other river boats
was done by gamblers of this sort. who
naturally travelled by the boats because
there were not many railroads, but they
We're a distinctly inferior class to the
regular river gamblers, being less skill
fui and less polished in manner, and
usually not so prosperous In appear
ance.
They were dandies in their way,
some of them, but not such dandies as
the others, being rougher and more
Hashy in their dress and in their ways,
as was natural, considering the kind of
game they were looking for.
There was no love lost between the
two classes. Just why they should have
mated one another, as they seemed to, 1
dont pretend to say. Probably there
were reasons for it that I didn't fully
understand, but could see, as every
body else could who kept his eyes open,
that the more pretentious sharper al
ways seemed to resent any effort on the
part of crossroads gambler to ply his
trade on the boats.
Il don't mean, by that there was any
hard and fast rule enforced, or even at
tempted to enforce. They didn't go
around with labels on them to distin-
guish them one from the other, but
there were some of them who could
not be mistaken, and the class hatred,
when 1t did break out, burned fiercely.
TT was in the spring of '69 or 20 that
took boat at Cairo for Memphis and
had the opportunity, before the trip was
concluded, to see one of the most in
teresting mix-ups, reckon. that ever
happened, even on Mississippi steam
boat
A poker game was going on when I
got aboard the boat, but that was SO
ordinary happening that l did not pay
much attention to it. l looked on for
a time, for poker always fascinates me,
l am one of the players or not;
but 1t didn't seem to be anything cut of
the usual, and after had watched it for
a few minutes I went out on deck to
enjoy the moonlight and cigar.
There We're five men playing. and I
did not have to look twice to see that
two of them were crossroads gamblers,
if anybody ever was one. They were
big. burly fellows. both of them dressed
like countrymen, but wearing prepos-
ferrous jewelry and neckties and waist
coats of glazing colors and loud pat
terms.
"They wore the long hair that was
common among southerners at that
time, and might have been taken for
well-to-do plantation overseers before
the war but for their hands. Those,
big and brawny as they were, We're in
perfect condition, as a gamblers hands
is.
There was very little talking going
on, as is usual at poker and I didn't
hear either of them called by name; but
| afterward learned that they were two
partners, named Warner and Pltkin,
who came from Mississippi, but had
been as far north as st. Louis on a sue
cessful business trip thru Arkansas and
and were on their way home.
"They had caught three suckers on
the boat and were working them in the
usual way; but when first looked on
the game was a small one, none of the
players having more than fifteen or
twenty dollars in front of him, and the
limit being 81.
"The three suckers were all rough
men, too, who looked as II $50
night be q small fortune to any one of
hem, and who played closely and care
fully. One of them, imagined, was
from the Minnesota pine
woods.
Among the four or five others who
we're looking on at the game was one
whom / knew as top-notch gambler.
His name was Saxton.
IT had seen him play on the boats
several times and had set him down for
/ dangerous man, not simply because
lie had the reputation of being a tighter,
,ut because had seen him handle the
ards, and I felt sure that he was up to
III the tricks of crooked play that were
,nown on the river.
1.-THE game he was watching was SO
mall that was little surprised to see
lin take an interest in it, and / was |
more surprised when l came into the |
aloon half an hour later and saw him |
till standing near the table and still |
the play. had intended 60
ne to bed, but when / saw him SO in |
crested it occurred to me that might |
md it worth while to look on, too, and / |
oined the group.
"The limit was still So, but I saw by
he chips and money on the table that
he play had grown fiercer. There was
robably $3.50 in sight, and while the
still had about $40 it was
lain that the other two, whom had
lassed as suckers, would have to dig
Don if they wanted to play any more.
"Pitkin was dealing when came up
nd there was a jack pot with about 81
/ it, on the table. The lumberman
aying first say, opened the pot for 81,
nd the next man laid down. Warner
anne in and the next man studied for a
or two, but decided to stay, and
itkin raised it.
"The lumberman raised back, and
farmer and Pitkin both stayed, but the
Their player dropped. This made
early S25 on the table, and left the
mberman between the two sharpers,
, the conditions looked favorable for
killing.
II didn't know what either of them
ad, but I was fully prepared for the
,esaw raise that was coming. What
as not prepared for was to see each
lie of the three stand pat, but of itself
lat seemed to be an indication that
itkin had stacked the cards.
Neither was / prepared to see the
mberman play as he did. He threw
white chip. and after Warner had
aged and Pitkin had raised as I ex-
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