New-York tribune., 1922-11-26

Newspaper readers Of esosmty. ave years ego
s0in remember the "Old Mon Gresnhut" seosiss,
which ran in that Weekty s@rprsse pockage,
f'The Ne10 York Sun" Of ehe days Of Dana
They were marveIs Of poker stories. with the
Mississippi Valley as their setting. David A.
Curtis ,0rote them. In this story Of che "One-
Eyed" Gambler the reader is again eaken 30
Old Man Greeahut's and to a poker session
tohich wos no nsers "frisn6ly ganss," Let Mr..
Curtis tell Il,
w EFoRE the Creole Bells bust her
biler, mile or 80 above the Arkansas
-A->S City landing, ahe was known as one Of
the crack boats among the famous floating
palaces which travellers at that time greatly
enjoyed going up and down the Mississippi.
Railroads were not. Men reckoned time by
weeks, esteeming minutes and even hours Of
no more value than the small coins chat were
not then recognized as currency In that part
of the world. Travel was therefore luxury
20 DO enjoyed, not a mad scramble to get
elsewhere.
Pretty much everything that Was chen
known Of luxury, including the playing Of
poker, was provided on these boats for those
who had the money to pay for irst-cass
passage, so that 1t was not surprising In the
least that poker game was in progress in
Che main saloon Of the Creole Belle at the
time when the explosion happened.
Neither was 1t surprising to any one else In
Che saloon that the one-eyed man was one Of
she players In the game. Little was known
about him, nor did any care to know about
nim, more than that he was easily one Of che
foremost of the famous group Of adventurers
who had recently devoted their utmost energy
and talent to the task of putting poke into the
game Of poker. They were, perhaps, the best
poker players che world has ever seen and It
YVES owing to their efforts at improvement that
the old original straight poker" was gradually
developed into the more modern game of draw,
which it's devotees still believe to be the great
est game ever devised.
At that time it was much played on the
river boats. The alluring charm which the
old game always presented to the venture
some had been greatly enhanced by the addi-
tion of the draw, and later by the discovery
that straight flush was harder to get than
four of kind and therefore a more valuable
played BEFORE and those who had been players
played the more. 1t seemed as II the entire
male population Of the Mississippi Valley had
come TO look on the holding of straight flush
as the most desirable happening in life What
the general public was gradually learning was
that some of the more gifted players were
able to hold almost any hand on their own
deal that might seem advisable to them And
One Eye, as he was commonly called, was
undeniabIy gifted, whatever else might be said
Of him.
When the explosion broke up the game on
the Creole Belle he was professionally engaged.
but even ne lost interest in the game on the
moment He was noted for the accuracy Of
his Judgment as to the Importance Of an
emergency, and his judgment told him that the
instant in hand was the only one he could
utilize Another thing for which he was noted
was promptitude, and in that feeting moment
he demonstrated whether consciously or I'M
stincEiyely, the value of the training by which
he had made his fingers so nimble that no eys
could follow their motion.
His wad was in his left hand and he was
In the act of skinning of a bill 10 put i'm the
pot but although he went up In the air
actually without warning, he carried with him