The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-09-20
END OF A GREAT GAMBLER.
Winner of Big Money in the Eearly
Days Of the West Dies Poor.


Bat NIasterson sat i'm front OF a table ut
an uptown hotel in New York and. be-
tween sips Of mineral water. told stories
about Bob Murray. once d famous gam
bier. who died at Kokomo. Ind, recently.
According to Mastersou. Murray won and
lost more money during his thirty years
at handling playing cards than any other
gambler.
''He was dead square" said the former
marshal of Dodge City. He would bet
on the length OF "a calf rope. the weight
of a dead mans boots. how long 1t would
rain, and all such things. The gambling
spirit was born I'm him
He told mo that when q kid at NokO-
mo ne was the farthest advanced boy IN
his SUNDAY school, that he won money on
the length of sermons. how many converts
there would be i'm q week or month lie
became 50 notorious that he was expelled
from church and the country school
Then with the proceeds OF the sale or q
set of fishing tackle and a shotgun, ne
! bought a ticket for the Black Hills.
There he drifted one day into faro
bank run by Red" Hart. formerly
dealer at El PaSO. Hart was dealing at
the time. II was MurTay's first Whtrl at
the game. He knew no system
He cOppered the ace and at the same
time put a bet behind the deuce to win.
He placed bets on the corner of the @,
taking In the 5, ard 4. while having the
l0-spOt COppered He WhipsaWed nearly
every turn. and, after four nights play
ing. Hart refused him more chips
How much he won I haven any idea,
out he terrOrlZCd successful dealers IKE
Lucky Sam WilZeTsOn and Badly Moi
felt During all this time he was as calm
as day iu June. Occasionally ne would
light a cigar and smoke Il. But never
was ne ever seen uushaved. or with his
collar sOiled or his boots Unshined- He
was the Beau Brummel Of the Hills.
On His Own Hook.
First thing ne all knew, he had a gam
bling hOuee of his own at Chcyenue-Onc
Of Kansas wheat field. looking glasses,
sldeDOards. oil portraits and down lounges.
And he got thes business and he made
months before he could have been elected
mayor or anything else within the gift
of the people of Cheyenne
II an not I'm a position TO say with ac-
curacy how many dollars Murray had
when he Joined in with Charley Pierce at
Denver utteen years ago, but III venture
a guess at figure looking like $l.OJ0OQ0,
which was IN cash The house In Denver
was known IS Murray g. Pierce's. and I'M
doubtedly there never was such a gam
bling establishment since She time gold
was discovered in the Sacramento valley
IN 49, There were crap games. faro stud
poker, chuck-a-luck, keno, roulette, sew
enup. fan-tan ana any other sort Of a
game a white man ever had any knowl-
edge Of
Murray made more coin than the
Union Pacific railroad. He bought horses.
carriages good clothes diamonds stocks
~ wildcat mining companies gave 20
thuICucS anut generally. spent his stuff
as N he were handling stage money"
Yes, said Jack Devine former pro-
p1etor Of the biggest saloon west Of the
missouri river. and ne wouldn't let the
little miners wager an they had
one time saw "a fellow come i'm and
buy a stack of whites. which i'm those
Gays cost $40. Tn a minute they had been
wiped off the board. AS the player start
go away Bob called him back and handed
MIN back his money. Then he turned TO
the dealers and told them that they never
should accept a bet from him in future
Z seems that this player had been going
70 Murray place every Saturday night
Tor months and losing his salary-never
winning a single time
Won and Lost.
"A month later I was I'm the house when
me same fellow walks I'm. and. there be-
ing new man behind the box. he sue
ceedeq IN negotiating a V for a half stack
OF whites. Murray was out at dinner
presently Murray returned.
lie walked over to the table and in a
second saw what was taking place There
was Smith. whom he had barred having
am the checks. the blus. reds yellows and
green in front Of him. Murray sized no
affairs and good-naturcdly walked away
WIN the remark that he wouldn't inter-
tere as long as Smith was winning.
-tstt about O'Clock I'm the morning he.
had different tune to whistle Smith