The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-01-03
CAUGHT TWO KNAVtSi
WON THE POT,
A Big Man From the Ozarks
WAC Didn't Know Draw,
But Could Handle
Cards.


aboard o. these boats sometimes" said
Caleb Mix, the veteran bartender or
the Mississippi River packet City OF
Natchez, that ran between Vicksbure
'en sometimes, an there is trips, now
an again, when you'd take the boat
for a bughouse with paddlewheels, but
somehow you don't seem to see so
many on 'em as there was good
many years ago.
For one thing the gamblers was
travellin' the river them times, and
nowadays there amt none on 'en, or
none to speak of. Then another thing
was. there was more fightin' men NOV
in round than there is now.
II amt a-sayin' they was travellin
to find trouble. Maybe they wan't
But they was the kind O men that
wouldn't never step out o. the way Il
they seen any trouble comm toward
'enl.
Il remember feller that come down
the river on the old Creole Belle that
1 was workin' on, long in the sos. He
got on at Helena, Arkansaw, an he
didn't haf to tell nobody t he'd come
down quite recent FIN tn Ozark Noun
tains.
s.To begin with, he were foot tallern
any man has any call to be. Mostly
those men that live in the mountains
is tall. l reckon they has to be, to see
over the tops o. things. but he We're
outrageous tall.
Then he We're dressed tolable rough,
even for them days, when there was
right smart o homespun worn in d
good many parts o the South. An
then he had the talk o the Ozarks. Dye
ever hear it?
well, they say they can tell people
I'm all the different States by their
talk, an ] don't know but there's them
that can do it. I can tell No'therner
I'm Southerner myself. but I don't
reckon l en- pick out any p'ticular
locality 'eeptin' tn Ozarks. An you
can't never make no mistake about a
man FIN there.
Then he wore his gun so careless you
cd see the butt of it stickin' out of his
trousers pocket behind. 'Twa'n't no re-
yolver. RevoIvers want common them
days. But it were a double barrelled
derringer an good one. And he wore
knife in his boot that he want
noways p'ticuIar about keepin' hid.
II looked at him tclable close when
he come aboard, thinkin' to myself that
he was a. queer lot, an wonderin' what
sort he'd turn out to be. Judgin' FIN
the usual run reckoned it were most
likely he'd prove to- be a fighter, am
says to myself t if he did get into
any difficulty on the boat it d be bad
for the other Teller. He had arms on
him that 'peared to be a yard an a |
half long. an as big as a mans leg up
by the shoulder, an he carried hisself
mighty straight an moved like cat.
We'll, he didn't 'ppear to be none
auarrelsome the first day or two. He
come into my room a good deal an
drinked a powerful sight o. corn juice,
but it didn't seem to take no hold on
him, on'y to make him sociable.
Told me all about hisself an his
family an his little place up in the
mountains just like a boy would tell
things, an he told me what sprised |
me .consid able, that he was rich. Not |
just rich for a mountaineer but very
rich. Feared he owned two sugar |
Plantations down the river that had |
come to him by will from his une1es, |
an lived up where he did just because /
he aIlus had.
I reckon he must ha' told some |
others on the boat, for I didn't tell /
nobody, but when we got to Arkansas
City there was consid able runnin' |
round on shore by some that didn't /
have no call to go ashore, an when
the Creole Belle pulled out FIN there,
there was two o. the Arkansas City
poker players a-travellin' along with
US.
Il don't know whether you ever run
up against that crowd or not. Likely
not, for this yere We're nigh fifty year
ago. as 1 was sayin', but they was the
all-fredest poked players anywhere up
an down the river, on'y they didn't
used to to go on the boats much.
Feared. though, t they'd heerd o
this here Roy Slingsby, that was the
all Ozark Mountains man, an they
Snowed somethin' about him, like most
people in Arkansas did know. So
they'd talked it over, an Jake Winter
bottom and Joe Bassett had come
aboard 20 take a short trip on specu-I
lation.
Wen, they tackled Slingsby. like
they'd come on board to do, fore they'd
been aboard more n two hours. Got
him to drinkin', which was an easy
hing to dc, an while they was talkin'
over their drinks they got to dis
.ussin' draw poker. an Slingsby said
lie didn't know nothin' about it,
That 'peared to be a monstrous
lueer thing. even for them times
Poker want played so much as it were
wenty years later, but most every
body played it more or less. an for
my man in Arkansas to let on that he
lidn't know the game We're a surprise
n anybody to hear, an 1 thought
an Bassett would fall
Town when they heerd it.
But Shngsby went on to explain
hat he'd seen the game played, but
hadn't never took no interest into it,
because he was great old sledge
'layer- Feared there was half doz-
N old fellers that played old sledge