Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-03-24
A CASE OF
PREMOMT|ON
BY GEORGE v. WILLIAMS.


ington talking about life on what ir
the sixties were called 1.-THE plains
when the natural state was struggling
against civilization. when the savage
was not yet extinct there and wher
the buffalo was bucking against the
locomotive. There was Tom Sherikle
Dave Boggs, Tom Durham and my.
self. We had all lived beyond the
Missouri river in those halcyon days
Some Of us had been worse than we
should have been, but we made a fail
average sample Of the population. One
Of our number had reached the United
States senate. another was a repre-
sentative, while a third was a big
land dealer in the region Of which we
were speaking. The fourth, Tom Dur
ham. was a prominent clergyman.
"Do any Of you remember Phoebe
Rusk"' asked Sherikle, who kept a
boarding house first at Julesburg, then
at Laramie, following the Union Pa
ciic as it made new terminals?"
|. All owned to a remembrance Of her
except the Rev. Mr.. Durham. who
maintained silence.
"The biggest piece Of blind luck
aver heard Of" Sherikle continued.
"she furnished. You know how she
used to play poker with the boys?
She made money regularly at tavern
keeping. but she made more by poker.
She was a jolly, good natured, good
hearted woman whom everybody
liked and was considered perfectly
straight in every respect. She could
spot a regular gambler and would new
er play with any of them.
"Well. this is the story I heard about
her great stroke Of luck, and l got it
from one Of the men at the table, who
had no interest in lying about it. A
number Of her boarders sat down to
play one night in her parlor and asked
her to join them. She said she'd rath-
err not. She didn't want to win their
money and somehow she felt that
she'd be awfully lucky. She could al
ways tell, she said. when she was go
ing to win big. But the boys persuad-
| GU uC1, d1lll SuC LOOA d uduu.
"Talk as you please, there's a lot in
these feelings that some people have
about something that's going to hap
pen. I've been there myself. When l
was developing my claim at Deadwood
I knew the day before I struck the
vein that made me rich that l was in
for a strike. There was no indication
of it any more than there had been
when I began to work with my pick.
Nevertheless I knew it. 1 mention
this to show you just how Phoebe
Rusk felt.
"There were half a dozen of them in
the party. A %youngster of eighteen,
a tenderfoot from the east, wanted to
take a hand. but Phoebe wouldn't go
in unless he stayed out. So the banker
wouldn't give him any chips. The
cards had been dealt five or six times
when the game was opened with a
Jackpot. 1t happened to be one of
those occasions when everybody had
a good hand. The pile on the table
kept growing till at last Phoebe called
a halt. She said she didn't want her
house to get the reputation of running
such a big game. One man drew two
cards. and the rest. all except Phoebe.
stood pat. Phoebe said:
elf Idon't draw the card to fill my
hand is worth nothing. If I do I'll
win the pot. It's nothing more or less
than a showdown, so I don't mind let
ting you see my hand
"She laid her cards face up o. the ia
BILE. There were the eight. nine. ten
and jack Of spades and the king of
diamonds. Throwing out the king. she
said to the dealer: Give me either
the eve OF queen of spades, which
ever you like. I'm dead sure you'll
give me one or the other
"The dealer dealt her the top card
on the pack. She turned it over, and
it was the v of spades. She had
a straight flush and won the pot.
'"That broke up the game. None OF
them would play longer against a wo-
man who knew she would win and
did win"
Those who heard the story were
quite sure that there are people so
delicately organized in certain respects
that they can feel such presentiments
as the one given. The Rev. Mr.. Dur
ham alone made no comment.
"What do you think, parsonY asked
Sherikle. do you believe in such
foresight"
"Not in that case"
"Why not"
The clergyman hesitated and at last
said:
1--WE are all old plainsmen, and l
know no one Of us would do anything
to injure the other, SO I don't mind
giving you my confidence. Besides,
make no secret that l was an un-
righteous man before my conversion,
though I don't like. after thirty years
In the ministry, to refer to special In
stances in that life I have since held
in horror. l was. as you know. at
that time a professional gambler and
was a member Of the poker party at
Phoebe Rusk's. though I wasn't known
l kHoro oe n ~oyoh1nr Dh1oLo 0Io0 -oo