The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1921-03-31
OLD SPORT KELLY
BLUFFED BAD MAN
NOTED CHARACTER OF FROM.
TIER MADE SPANISH FRANK
LAY DOWN THREE QUEENS
Old-Time Gambler Had Some Queer
Foibles, One of Which Was Get
ting Dressed Up in Startling Co.'S
tune and Parading Streets When
He Was on a Spree.
BY RALPH BEMIs, in Belt Times

Idly glancing through the Grea
Falls Leaders column of "32 Year
Ago" the name of kelly, the Sport
arrested our eye. There was nothin,
in the item, but it was characteristic
and called up memories of a uniqu,
character known all over northern
Montana 80 years ago. kelly, tn,
Sport" as the young reporter o
those days had it, was noticed walk.
ing up and down Central avenue
wearing a tall campaign hat and E
bizarre makeup, carrying a banner
with the legend Vote Montana Dry
painted upon it,"
The reporter went on to say that
Kelly was not following the senti-
ment displayed on the banner to any
guage of that day intimated that
Kelly was considerably tanked up.
Poor cold Sport Kelly" for that
was the proper nomenclature, was
probably the best known gambler of
his day in northern Montana. His
habitat was the mining camps of the
Belt mountains, with an occasional
trip among the strengthening and
COW camps. He was frankly a gamb-
Ter, though he had slight resemblance
to the accepted ideals of that pictur-
esque profession. No matter how
flush his financial condition, he spent
no thought or worry over his per-
sonal appearance. Anything in the
shape of raiment suited him, the only
exception being that he always wore
an elegant pair of top boots of per-
feet fit and of the finest calf skin.
Tradition said that he was a shoe
maker by trade, but he never made
his own, so far as the records go. He
had one failing which he INDUCED
in periodically and when in funds.
About SO often it had to be a Today
spree, which was quietly and harm
lessly carried out by travelling from
one bar to the next. He was a butt
for harmless jokes during these pc
RODS, for nc matter what a facetious
bartender felt impelled to fit him out
with, Kelly would wear it entirely
unconscious of the figure he cut, so
it may be inferred that his public
appearances often held much Of the
ludicrous and were sometimes more
startling than appropriate. Few
could repress a smile upon meeting
little old man walking up the
street with a preternaturally grave
and solemn countenance, wearing a
long tailed coat, a lady's hat, all be-
'eathered and ribbons flying, shaded
a lady's pink parasol. But Kelly
IN a game of poker was an individual
hat commanded respect from the
pest of them. He played a lone hand
Ind had a reputation for squareness
which admitted him to all games.
Numerous stories are told of his
in a Dig game, and one will do
is IL is typical. Francisco Suisse was
sheep-shearer, a gambler and a
,ully who had a reputation of being
bad He was known as Spanish
frank" and appeared annually in
Montana in the sheep-shearing sea-
on. In those days the sheep-shear-
rs worked hard during the day and
hard at night. Kelly had
he entree to the sheep-shearers'
anne and dropped into the camps oc-
asionally to try his luck with them.
One night over in the Big Sandy
ountry, Kelly was In a draw game
With Spanish Frank across the table.
'lay was high and big pots came
ften. Frank vas ugly and had the
aost of the players b%uffaloed. Final
the game narrowed down to Kelly
nd Frank. 1t was a jack pot opened
y Frank with a hundred dollar bet.
Jelly looked at his hand and raised
! a hundred. The call was made,
rank drawing two cards and Kelly
nree. Frank bet two hundred dol
ars, rising from the table at the
anne time and snarling, 81 no thenk
on call that bet, Meester Kelly" s
Kelly squinted through his hand, s
lid it face down, looked the Sp%aniard {
luare in the eye, and answered, "I'm t
to call it, and I am going to
aise you two hundred more" and ]
e pushed the money to the center of :
he table.
Kelly took the pot, and no one was t
fraid of Spanish Frank after that.
ELY with nothing had made him t
~ down three queens. ]
The law put a ban on gambling and {
le weight of years began to tell. I
Sport Kelly died at the poor farm i
Meagher county a few years ago, |
nmourned and unhonored. His part {
the upbuilding of the great west Is '
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