The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-03-12
CALEB MIX TELLS OF
REAL POKER GAME
Before the War on One Of the
Old Mississippi River
Boats.
CAP'N FOSS BROKE 1T UP
By DAVID A. r T

Trav'An' the river Amt what twas
said Caleb Mix, the veteran bartender
on the Mississippi River packet City
OF Natchez. II amt a sayin' but
what a man en- git firm one place to
another , we'll now Is he ever could
~ takin' a boat. but the he'll Of II is
what everybody pears to be in sum a
hurry what he amt got no time 70 TO
really travel. All g he keers To- IL 20
to git some place. an most on 'em
goes by railroad. Consequent tn ain't
no mo- trav'in'.
'Trav'ln' s a heap mon Just gittin'
thar. Leastway's II usetcr be when
they was the. kyind o. boats runnin'
what they was afo' the wah. Them
days II a gemman was iookin' 70
pleasure. an mo- special II ne wanted
'xcitement. he'd git abo'd a boat. II
along TO- { look alter him. an he'd
live Nike a flghtin' cock while ne was
trav'ln'. b'sides havin' all tn 'xcite-
ment they was.
IT he was some older an done had
Q family. like as not he'd fetch them.
and they'd all 'xpect Just e much
luxury abo'd the boat g they done had
when they was to home, an what's mo-,
they al'ays had Il. The cookin' was
the best they a an the boats was
KEEP as nne "a a ;ady's parlor. an
they was plenty O. niggers to wait or
EN- bisides them they fetched with
EN-. An they want never nobody In
q hurry. Pears like nowadays they
amt nobody got no time 70 nothin'.
10 co'se them days they VAN none
O the quality never done no work.
What they was to be did the niggers
done To- EN-. an all the quality done
was To- to 'njoy theirselfs. An
tsav'lin' the river was nigh bout the
gTe'test 'n1oyment they was.
Pears like that must "a been
nigh bout a thousand year ago. long
o things bein' & dif'rent nowadays
as they sho' be. O. co'se they s boats
still runnin'. I reckon they al'ays will
be . long a they e a river to run 'em
onto. but mostly they totes freight.
They Is passengers. too. hut they amt
nothin' like the crowds they useter be.
nor they amt no such diddin's on the
trip as they was them days.
"All day long the quality d set on
deck talk!n' with the ladies an lookin'
at the scen'ry while the boat went
chug-chuggin' along I'm town to town.
They was three meals a day in the
main s'loon. an snacks TO- them t
wanted EN- any time. An alter sup
per the niggers d clear away the
tables. an some on EN- d fetch their
hanjos an the ladies an gemmen d
dance till mebbe midnight. 1t shO
vas monstrous pretty.
Them days they want on'y two
kyinds o. dances 'mong the quality.
one on 'em was the Virginia reel an
t'other was a waltz. but Just afo'
the wah they was a other one inter-
juced firm the Moth what was some
pretty. too. hut 'twa'n't nigh s good
. a reel. They called it the lancers.
Nowadays they tell me they s al.
kyinds % dif"rent dances. but they
van then.
Then. long about midnight. the
ladies' d go to their staterooms. an the
gemmen d play guards. That d be
the time when the Professionals d come
n the s'loon. They wouldn't none on
EN- come round where the ladies was,
bein' s they knowed we'll enough
what the gemmen wouldn't low 1t.
Southern gemmen vas mighty p'tic'-
lar bout their ladies. them times, an a
gambler wouldn't no mo- dast TO 90
nigh one on EN- in the way O. speak,
in to her. nor he would to jump in
the fire.
But if they want no ladies round
the Professionals helt theirselfs g good
g anybody. IN the quality lowed il.
. fur s settin' in with EN- at a poker
game was c'ncerned. That 'peared to
me like it was mighty queer. but the
quality al'ays was queer. some ways,
an the gemmen didn't pear to think
nothin' o playin' poker with men they
wouldn't reco'nize %nowheres else. Not
II they was ladies there, anyway.
AN them poker games sho' was
'xcitin' sometimes. I've knowed 'em
to break up in a fight, an a fight them
days most gently didn't mean what
somebody d git licked. He vas mo-
liable TO- to git killed, bein' . every
body toted either a knife or a gun
all the time, an was expected To- to
use 'em when the proper time come.
reckon that was why they want so
many fights, but when they was ona
II was liable TO To he serious.
"Mebbe that was one reason wing
some o. the boat cap'ns vas ~c'nsid'able
posed to poker bein' played. Later
on they was IA good many on EN-
wouldn't low il nohow, but afo' the
wah they wouldn't nobody a listened
to no such idee. II one o the quality
wanted To play, he played, an they
.nu:d::'t nobody stop him. n o even
the cap'n.
"They was some uscter look on the
~ep'ns ~ the boats as mo- r less orna-
mental, but no gre't value, on'y TO a
iggerhead. He bossed everybody
but the pilot, but on'y TO him lookin'
on an seem what things was goin'
along right 'pcarcd like he didn't had
nothin' to do.
"Cap'n Toss was thataway. When
was tendln' bar on the Creole Belle
he was the old man, an they was
many an many "A "trip when they
didn't nobody see him do no,hln' but
look on. but he done that nigh bout
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