River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-06-01

He WOULD REACH OUT TO DAD FOR
MORE MONEY, AND DAD WOULD
REACH INTO ANOTHER POCKET
AND DID UP ANOTHER ROLL.
chance to raise more money. Dad
insisted that his partner should lose
small bet once in awhile, so the bank
should not get on to the fact that we
had cinch.
! After luncheon we entered the big
gambling room, in full-dress suits,
and, by gosh! 1t was like kings re-
ception. There were hundreds Of men
and women, dressed for party, and it
did not seem like a gambling hell, ex-
cept that there were piles Of gold as
big as stoves, on all the tables, and the
guests were provided with silver rakes,
with long handles, to rake in the
money. Dad said in whisper to the
Dakota man: what is the use of
taking the trouble to run a gold mine,
and get all dirtied up digging dirty
nuggets, when you can get nice, clean
gold, all coined, ready to spend, by
betting right?" And then dad turned
to me and he said: "Hennery, don't
let the sight of this wealth make you
avaricious. Don't be purse-proud when
you find that your poor father, after
years of struggle against adversely, and
the Vaccinations of designing men, has
got next to the Pierpont Morgan clAxs,
and has money to buy railroads. D%4't
get excited when we begin to bag che
money, but just act as though it was
a regular thing with us to salt down
our gold for winter, the same as we do
| our pork"
A count, or a duke, gave us nice
seats, and rakes to haul in the money,
countess, with a low-necked dress,
winked at dad when he reached into
his pistol pocket and brought out roll
of bills and handed them to the Dakota
man, who bought $500 worth of red
chips, and when the man looked the
roulette table over and put about pint
of chips on the red, dad choks@ up SO
he was almost black in the f;Ns1s and
began to perspire so had to Wipe my
| face with a handkerchief; the gambler
rolled the wheel and when thy ball
stopped on the red, and dad did the
raking and raked in quart of chips,
and dad shook hands with the Dakota
man and said: "Pard, we have got 'em
on the rum" and reached for his sack
to put in the first installment of ac-
uuired wealth, and the low-necl5ed
countess smiled a ravishing smile ON
dad and dad looked as though he
owned brewery, and the Dakota man
| twisted his chin whiskers and acted
like he was sorry for the Monte Carlo
bank, | just got so faint with JOY that
| almost cried.
To think we had skinned along as
economically as possible all our lives.
and never made much money, and now,
through this Dakota genius, and this
Monte Carlo opportunity, we had
wealth raking in by the bushel. made
me feel great, and l wondered why
more people had not found out this far
away place, where people could become
rich and prosperous in day, If they
had the nerve. | tell you, old man, 1t
was great, and / was going to cabla
you to sell out your grocery for what
you could get at forced sale and come
here with the money, gamble and be-
come millionaire.
| Monte Carlo (the next day. My
Dear Uncle Ezra: / do not know how
TO write you the sequel to this tragedy.
After our Dakota partner, with the
Black Hills system Of beating rou-
lette game, had won the first bet, he
never guessed the right color again,
and dad had no more use for the rake.
| Every time he bet and lost, he would
reach out to dad for more money, and
dad would reach into another pocket
and dig up another roll, and the coun-
tess would laugh and dad had to act
as though he enjoyed losing money.
IL was about dark when dad had
fished up the last hundred dollars and
it was gone before dad could wink back
| to the countess, then the Dakota man
/ looked at dad for more, and dad shook
his head and said it was all off, and
they looked at each other minute,
and then we all three got up and went
out in the park to see the people who
/ had gone broke commit suicide, but
there was not revolver shot and dad
and the Dakota man sat down on q
seat and | looked at the moon.
Dad looked at the Dakota man and
said: "You started me in all right
What happened to your SYSTEM" The
Dakota man was silent for moments
and then he pointed to me and said:
"That imp OF yours crossed his fingers
every time bet, except the first time"
Dad called me to him, and he said:
'Hennery, let this be lesson to you.
Never TO cross your fingers. You have
ruined your dad" and he turned his
kpockets inside out, and hadn't change
for dollar note. and he gave me the
empty sack to carry, and we went to
our suite Of rooms, knowing we would
be fired out into the cold world.
1t will take a week to get money
from the states, and we may be sent
to the work house, as we are broke,
and haven't got the means even to
commit suicide. Don't tell ma.
Yours,