The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-19
Two Gamblers Settled q Fcud in
the Old Mississippi
River Fashion.
CALEB MIX TELLS ABOUT TT
Sequel 70 q Poker Game and an
Attempt to Effect a Mock
Marriage.
~ DAVID A. CURTIS.

River packet City Of Natchez progressed
to the point Of actual physical violence.
For one thing. the room Itself was Of
such limited dimensions as TO afford IN
sumcient scope for a man in full action,
and for another. the presence OF Caleb
Mix. the veteran bartender. who had
charge Of the place. was a potent deter
rent. Or II his mere presence were not
enough his prompt Intervention would
serve to prevent Matchmaking.
They Il . place To- all things" he
was accustomed to say. IAN a barroom
amt no At place 70 fightin'. First OF,
they . liable to be breakage, an To- a
other Collaboration. I'm liable TO- to git
shot my own self"
For these and other reasons the little
barroom was seldom the scene Of muir.
der. mayhem or even OF manhandllng,
though wordy encounters occasionally
occurred therein and these sometimes
led to sanguinary results elsewhere and
afterward. Men. It Is true, at the period
during which the City Of Natchez was a
favorits boat. were not apt to postpone
the settlement Of an argument.
The blow commonly followed the word
quickly In cases In which It did not pre-
cede. but Caleb Mix. from long expert
ence. had become very expert in fore
seeing outbreaks and was avcrse TO them
on his premises. And being as prompt
In action as he was. he commonly sue
ceeded In getting the contestants out
side the room before hostility eventu-
ated in riot.
Nevertheless there had been some
notable encounters In the room, not the
least memorable Of them being the one
In which professional gambler named
BIZ 0urley drove his bowie knife into
the heart Of another professional gam
bier. named Hank Blithers. at the same
instant At which Bllthers fired the shot
that killed Gurley. Mix told about II
afterward.
They was al'ays a heap O. difference
In the two on EN-" he said. "but they
was pals firm the time Gurley took to
the river. Blithers was some oldern
him an he'd been O p'fesslonal To- three
or 70 year afo' ever seen Gurley; but
pears they knowed each other firm the
time they was boys. The Blithers plan.
,tation was mex to Gurley's pas. an
they both went to school together.
They want no two young bloo6s in
Loosianny what 'peared to have no
better prospects n them two when they
was young. Both on 'em was rich, like
mostly all the quality was afo' the wah.
put blitherss pa was c'nsd'able Of a
spot afo' his wife died. an alter that
peared like he done lose his holt
Never stayed home no mo-, but lived
IN New Orleans most o. the time, an
drinked hisself nigh bout to death while
ne was gamblin' away all he had Took
MIN c'nsid' able time TO do IT, bein' s
rich 3 he was. but ne KEEP at II steady
till to'ds the last he shot h!sself, findln'
they want nothin left when Hank
come OF age an was lookin' TO- to git
tho money his ma done left him. They
was o heap o. scand'l bout il, but they
couldn't be nothin' did. an Hank Blithers
done begin life To- hlsself 'thouten q
dollar he cd call his own.
% co'se they was neighbors what d
a gave him livn', To- the quality stood
by each other right friendly them days.
Gurleys pa d "a give him hum quick
enough an welcome, ben' him an
Bill was friends, but Hank was proud
sperited an 'peared to be mo- r less
broke down when the lawyers told him
how they want nothin left TO him, an
hrst they knowed he disappeared
Probably II mought "a been TO or five
years later when the come to be recog-
nixed as one o. the reg'lars on the boats.
I never knowed rightly how come BIZ
0urley turned p'fessional, but some said
he run through all t was left to him
when his pa died, an Hank Blithers
win the last stake he had into freeze
out what they done played In New
Orleans one night. What PASSED be-
tween 'em alter that tn aint nobody
knows. but 'twa'nt long afo' Gurley
was travellin' the river long O. Hank
an the two on 'em d al'ays set In to-
gether when they was a game.
'-They was both on 'em reckoned "a
DO heap wuss n tn average. like the
real quality gently Is when they turns
out bad, but they want no mo- alike
n the Mississippi Rivers like a woods
u "d'Nuts, blltHeE5 was u ugly
cuss what never 'peared to have nc
use TO nothin' or nobody outsider a
game o poker. but Gurley was skittish
as young colt, full O. jokes an al'ays
ready TO- any kyind o. deviltry. Both
on 'em drinked c'nsldable mo- n was
good TO EN- at times, but neither or
'em drnked nothin' while they was a
piayin'. They didn't none o the pies.
sionals do that. An they was both
on 'em hell roarin' good fHhtin' men
but they al'ays had real quality man.
nsrs.
"They was sho' 'nougn experts with
the guards, an playin' together like the,
done they wa'n't nobody on tho rive
what cd git the best on 'em, not ever
among the other p'fesslonais, so the,
done most remarkable an mought "a
been both on EN- rich men on'y Gurle
throwed his money away by the hand
fuls faster n he made Il an he neve
'peared to have no grer Amount blu
1,lithers. bein' & mean s. ne was. 'cumi
lated heap.
"They 'peared TO get on togethe
tol'able we'll til one time we was comir
down the river on tn old River Bell
what was 'blowed up just above Weeks