Year: 1870

institutions of the chance kind in
San Francisco were the bella
Union" "Verandah," "Nim de
Orc" and "Parker House." all sit
uated about the Plaza, and each
employed a band of music to less
en- the tedious hours of that rainy
winter, and to drown the noise of
jingling gold and silver, and the
cursing CALCULATIONS of the gam
blers. Many a sad scene has ia
ken place within these saloons that
chilled the blood of the behold
er, and is remembered with hor-
ror. l was once carelessly saun-
tering through one of these places.
My attention was attracted to-
wards person who had large piles
of gold before him. The starting
eyeballs, the swollen veins upon
his forehead, the cold sweat upon
his face, and clenched hands told
of heavy losses. Mingled excla-
nations of horror and contempt
would escape him, and he seemed
unconscious of all that was going
on around him. His gaze was
bent upon the cards as if his life's
blood was the stake at issue. In
this case his last dollar was placed
within the dealers bank; then
with the frenzy of a maniac he
drew a dirk knife and plunged it
up to the hilt in his own body and
sank corpse upon the table.


A few rude jeers followed this
act; the body was removed. and
the game went on as though moth
ing had hAppened-as though an
other victim had not been added
to the gamblers damning record,
and another soul had not gone to
its final account. | learned this
much of his history:


He started with a large stock of
goods given by his father to sell
on commission, and the fathers for
tune depended upon a safe return
of the money SO invested ; but, as
usual with young men, he INDUCED
in the full liberty of unbridled IL
cense, and while the ship stopped
at one of the South American
ports, he engendered the first seeds.
of "play." But, for awhile after
his arrival, the excitement of trade
and the energy necessary to ac-
complish a successful issue, kept
his mind busy. One day, by ap-
pointment, he was to meet a mer-
camille friend, and while waiting
for his friends arrival, staked a
few dollars upon the turn of cards,
when the latent disease sprang in-
to life, and it carried him hcadlong
over the precipice, and ended in
the tragic manner above related.


The MIN de Orc was a gam
bling saloon on Washington street.
opposite theEl Dorado, and in 1S49
was the principal resort of the dis
banded soldiers of the California
regiments, and also Of the soldiers
that had been engaged in the war
with Mexico.


Behind one of the largest money
banks in the room sat a man who
had won for himself honorable
mention, and an officers commits
sion was given him for his brave
ry at the storming of Monterey /;
but preferring the climate Of Cal
ifornia and its gold prospects to a
more northern home, he embarked
for that country at the close of the
war with Mexico, and, upon arriv-
ing he opened a gambling saloon.
The emigrants came in by the
thousand, and, few nights after
his arrival, q young man entered
the saloon and seated himself at
/ the bank, and staked various sums
upon the cards until he had lost
nearly all the money he possessed.
Excited by the play, and madden
ed by his losses, he accused the
dealer OF cheating; the dealer re-
Piled sharply to the accusation
the lie passed, when the young man
struck the dealer a severe blow in
the face.


Quick as thought, the sharp
report of A'pistol followed, and the
gamblers clothing was covered
with the young mans blood-he
had shot him through the right
breast. The room was cleared of
the spectators present, the door
closed, and medical attendance
called in to aid the wounded man.


The gambler sat moodily over
his bank, running the small monte
cards through his fingers, and per-
haps thinking Of the deed just per-
petrated, wheu the wounded man
gave moan of agony as the doc
tors probe reached the bottom of
the wound.


The doctor inquired what State