Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-22
of the local papers. One evening hi

He protested that he did not under
stand the game.
Nevertheless he bought IS worth
of chips, the garden variety Of which
was worth a quarter each In those
days. BY his language, the onlooker'
gathered the impression that he hat
been there before, usually on tht
wrong side. He played steadily from
8 in the evening until o'clock th'
next morning, when he had the equiv
alent Of 5000 in front of him. Ther
he made bet Of $500.
Just a moment" interrupted th'
| owner, before the cards were drawn
out of the box. There is less thar
500 in the house. If you win, wha
we have in sight must satisfy you"
Sure" answered the printer.
He won.
Now I'll play you for the house,
he said. What do you value 1t att
Call it $4,000"
Within an hour one Of the best
printers that ever struck Virginia City
New, was the full-fiedged owner Of g
gambling hall in a state Of activity.
Learning that the proprietor also
owned two other houses IN the town,
he offered to play for those also.
Come to my other places and play
there"
The printer was regular visitor to
the other houses, and two weeks later
was the owner of three dens, all OF
which were coming money. He smoked
the finest cigars and wore the best of
clothes and might have retired with
wealth, when the mania to own all the
gambling clubs in the mining camp
overcame him.
With that thought in mind he COM
menced to buck the tiger" in the
largest house in town.
Six weeks later he was on the water
wagon. Also he was setting type
again for a living. In the height of
his glory" he was worth $50. 000-all
in cash.
Probably one of the greatest stakes
ever hung up was raked down on q
mule raos in Arizona. A man owned
a "hole in the ground" He was sat.
isfied that it was worth fortune. Bis
friends thought he was crazy. He re-
fused to go to other "diggings" where
the prospects were better. He was
more than twenty-five miles from wa
ter, which had to be carried in on the
hurricane deck of mule. He worked
away, nursing his claim and sticking
1t out alone. Then he went to a set
tlement some distance away. He be-
came excited over the performances OF
a mule owned by another man, and In
a moment Of exuberance bet his claim
against one owned by a prospector
from another section that his mule
could outrun the other fellows. He
lost.
He had the privilege Of plotting the
winner to the "mine," and saw him
take more than $4,000 worth Of sill
yer, net, out of a pocket, almost on
the surface Of the ground. Since then
the property has produced millions. 1t
all came about because one mule couid
not run so fast as another.
In the northwest tracts Of timber
equal to entire eastern counties chang
ed hands as the result Of card-games.
and some wonderful stories are told of
the returning Klondikers and their .ex-
ploits in Seattle when that place was
a wide-open town. Men gambled for
belts of gold, each stalking his against
the other. In the frozen north at
times the games played were Of the
kind that would make even an old
stager's hair rise at the reckless man.
ner in which money was risked on the
turn of a card.
The gamester represents phase t'f
western life that has disappeared, for
he has been ruled out by law.
In most of the western states it Is
impossible to play any kind Of game
now, and as for betting on cards-it
is as rare as e-stealing.-Adven-
ture.