Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-11-21

Salt Lake City a few days later paid
the debt.
Borrowed Stake Slips Away
Z Sllas King, the senior member Of the
( firm Of King g. LOwery, which ran
/ both saloon and gambling house Ia
Butte for many years. was a typical
gambler He would bet on anything
He frequently played recklessIy and
either won or lost heavily. One night
Billy Engstrom, a bo0kmaker, got into
stud poker game with King and sew
I eraI others. Swede Sam was backing
EngstrOm and had staked him to
$4,000. Sam not only had staked Eng
StrO1n but ne was watching his play.
Luck was coming Engstroms way, and
Sam decided to step out of the room
and get some lunch. When he left, Eng
strom was 5000 ahead Sam was gone
so minutes but when he returned Eng
strom had lost the So 500 velvet and
the original $4,000 as well The game
was over.
When Jack Waite was deputy
United States marshal he had to make
a trip to Couer d'Alene, Idaho. While
waiting for a train after concluding
his business he sat in at faro game
and won $500. The bank was broke
except for Is cents.
Here, Jack, we've got Is cents. Want
to play for it?" asked the dealer
Sure" replied Jack. He lost the IS
cents the 81, 500 he had previously won
and 5000 besides, which he had in
his pocket
Charley Mitchell, an old-time gam
bier, went broke in MisSoula once.
Friends staked him to get to Helena.
He arrived in the middle Of the night
with so cents in his pocket. He started
to hail a cab and then changed his
mind, and decided to walk, thinking the
so cents was needed to eat on when he
got up town. On his way he passed
a gambling house. The temptation was
too strong. He turned back and went
in. He forgot he was hungry, placed his
so cents on the high card at the faro
table and won.
Before he quit playing he had the
bankroll and the lease on the place
and left the former owner to sit in for
him while he went to eat. His game
proSpered for a long time, but he fin
ally got into poker game that lasted
% hours, had a run Of bad luck and
lost the whole works
In the early eighties Billings had not
only its gambling houses for the
amusement OF the unWary, but horse
racing between whites and the Crow
Indians offered opportunity for wager
ing. The Indians had some fast horses
and they we're not backward about
bringing them to Billings to win the
white mans money. The Indians usu-
ally won, too, but they were good
gamblers and paid If they lost.
In the fall Of 1882 the Crows had one
particular horse which they used to
take into Billings and make a regular
cleaning with. Finally group of cit
liens threw In together and sent to
Kentucky for a race horse, a good one. |
An Embarrassing Prize
When the animal arrived the Billings /
populace went out to clean UP the
Crows the next time they visited the
town The Indians bet their blankets,
guns and whatever they had One old
Indian, after putting up everything 7
else that he had offered to bet N. G. /
Bachelor, who was at that time man /
ager Of the H. Clark Co. store in Bill /
lihgs, a young squaw against $40 /
Bachelor, Just in fun, took the bet, I
and after the race he owned the squaw.
The Indians refused to take her off
his hands The white man had won the /