Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-22
WAS GOLDEN AGE OF GAMBLING.
In Early Days of West Games We're
Played Where Stakes Ran
Into the Millions.

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"You have been a good loser; II
put in with you and play hundred
thousand against your claim"
The prospector lost the claim.
Now I will play you for your ser
vices tomorrow to show me where th'
claim is and where to open the ore
For that I will consider that you have
five thousand on the table"
The prospector lost that.
The next day he traced out the line:
Of the claim for the winner, who or.
ganized a company, with a stock Of
$1,OOO,0O0, the shares Of which went
for SIC each!
Millions were taken from the mine
within a few years. 1t became one OF
the most famous in the entire Rocky
Mountain country.
In the early days Of the Comstock
Lode, in Virginia, New, some men
made money so fast that they did not
know what to do with 1t. Those who
were not making 1t spent their time
devising ways and means to talk the
others out of a portion Of their wealth
Gamblers were in full evidence, and
there were some big stakes; but II
remained for a bunch Of Mexicans to
play for the largest stake on record In
the United States-without the use OF
cards.
One Of the many claims, located In
the midst Of the district, had not
shown any ore. Even the men who
had millions hesitated to sink shaft
on it. The people were in fever OF
excitement. The Mexicans owned
practically nothing. In fact, the
"Greasers" could not get look in
Altogether it was very discouraging-
to them.
Then it occurred to some bright ge-
MUS to capitalize the labor Of the Mex
leans. Gathering bunch of them to-
gether, it was proposed that they sink
a shaft on one Of the well-known
claims, which was 1900 feet in length
For each foot you sink we will give
you a one-foot surface interest in the
claim" they were told, provided you
sink to ore"
In other words, IL they abandoned
the work at any time before reaching
ore they would get nothing, and the
owners would have the shaft. 1t look
ed like a cheap way to prospect.
The Mexicans pow-wowed and jab-
bered at one another for half night
and then started to work.
Everybody laughed. They were
comparatively poor men. They could
i'll afford the expense they were un-
dergoing. They drilled by hand,
fought the hard granite, and gradually
lowered that shaft. They bailed wa
ter that flowed in so fast that it threat
ened to drown them, but they stuck to
the work with desperation.
At 800 feet they uncovered the rich
est portion Of the world-famous silver
deposit, and from the vein they open
ed, more wealth was taken out than
from any other portion Of the richest
single mile Of ground in the world.
The Mexicans' share was one-quar-
ter. Nearly 500, 100000 came out OF
the hole they sank! 1t was a gamble
pure and simple. They played for
high stakes-and won.
A man stepped into a gambling
room in Cripple Creek and, sitting
down at a faro table where the propri-
etor was dealing, showed five twenty
dollar bills across the table and asked
for 100 chips.
The fact that a man was starting
with dollar chips attracted a crowd.
Within an hour he had changed the
value to IS a chip, because 1t was
easier to calculate that way. Later
on it was raised to 500 chip. When
the man was $4,000 ahead the pro-
prietor stretched his arms, yawned
and, motioning to a dealer, remarked
I'm sleepy. Guess I'll go home and
take nap"
Just how a man who was $4,000 to
the bad could feel sleepy was more
than the crowd could understand.
what do you think he will do be-
fore he gets through" he was asked
as he put on his coat.
"Why, he's liable to do almost any
thing. He may own the place before
1 get back here in the morning. The
limit is the sky. and he can go as faI
as he likes with me-"
Saying which, he walked out.
When he returned in the morning
he found that the other had won s44,'
600 and had left it in his safe unit
he was ready to leave town. 1t took
about four hours to make the win
ming.
In the Occur d'Alene of Idaho, wher
that mining region was the center o1
the earth, there were some big games
The story is told Of one who conceived
the idea that he could make money ir
gambling faster than he could take Il
out of the ground. With what casf
he had. after selling his mine, he coule
count up to s150,000.
He had evolved a wonderful system
"I simply can't lose" he told hi!
friends.
His plan was to play steadily for six
teen hours daily. and, by complicat
ed series of bets. to retrieve when III
lost.
Everything went along swimmingl!
for the first few days. At times he wa
as much as s25, 900 to the good.
Nine days after he started to pla!
he suddenly found that he was jus
| where he had started-he had $3.50.
900, when the cards came a certain
way, which would involve, according
to his system, betting the entir'
amount on a single turn" He play
ed the queen to win, and the fickl'
creature played false to him.
women are the cause Of all trou
BILE, anyway" he muttered as he ros'
from the table. IT ought to hav'
known better than that, for that wa
the queen of spades, and I should no
have made that bet except when al