Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi Part 11

At supper we sat together, and after supper we chatted for a long time. My partner sat near by, and knew what I was nursing him for.

He let me know that he was from Texas, and towards 10 o'clock I asked him if he played euchre. He loved the game very much, and played a great deal. "Suppose we amuse ourselves, if we can find a deck of cards," I suggested; and we sat down, playing single- handed until most of the pa.s.sengers had retired. When I took out my watch at 1 o'clock, a rough looking fellow, unshaven and long- haired, with a huge Buffalo Bill hat on his head, came up to the table and said he was from Texas, and had never been in this part of the country before.

"What part of Texas are you from?" asked my friend, who appeared to be taken with the green country manners of the Texan.

"Wall, I live on a ranch twenty-five odd miles from El Paso."

"What brought you so far away from home?"

"Me and my pap came over with cattle, sir, and they's all over in pens in New Orleans. I reckoned as how we'd lose 'em all coming across the sea, and pap was skeered, so he never went to bed till we got them steers in the pens. I didn't want to go with pap when he started with them thar steers; but pap is the oldest, and I had to mind him."

"But what did you come to Mobile for?:"

"Well, I'll tell you. I got talking to a fellar, and he told me that if I would go over with him on the s.h.i.+p that he would buy all my critters; so I asked pap if I might go, and he said yes; but I'm kinder sorry I went now, for I got lost from that fellar and never laid eyes on him after we got over thar. He told me to pay his fare, and when he got over thar he would give me back the money; but I reckon he went after the money and got lost. But I haint going to say a word to pap, for I got to pranking with a fellow on the s.h.i.+p, and I'll be gol'darned if I didn't lose $1,000; but pap won't find it out, for I had $10,000 what I been saving to buy me a ranch, and I shan't tell pap anything about it."

"How did you come to lose your money, stranger?" I asked.

"Wall, look here; I never seen such a thing. He had some tickets, and he would mix 'em up--sorter jumble 'em together--and then he would bet you that you couldn't lift the one that had the little baby on it. So I just watched it, and I just cut my coat to get the money, for mam she sewed it up before I started. Well, I just laid down my greenbacks, and I didn't lift the boy, and he kept my greenbacks; then he went off and left his tickets lying on the bench, so I'm going to take them home with me, but I won't tell I lost anything."

"Let me see them," I said.

"Will you give 'em back?"

"Oh, certainly." So he pulled them out, and my friend and myself had never seen anything like them before; so I said, "Show us how he did the trick." He showed us the best he could; then I caught up the one with the boy on it, and turned the corner and showed it to my friend, and gave him a quiet hunch under the table as I laid it down, and asked if he would bet on it.

He said, "When I get back home I'm going to larn it, so I can win all the money I want."

"Will you bet a drink that I can't guess it the first time?" I said.

He mixed them up and observed, "I'll go you a dram."

I bet, and my friend was pleased to see what a fool I was; and I told my friend to bet him another dram that he could pick it up.

But I said, "Don't touch the one that has the corner turned up;"

and he did as I said. That made the cow-boy laugh, who broke out in his peculiar vernacular: "Oh, you old fools with store clothes on can't tell it no how." Then I observed to my friend, "I am going to have some of that money; for that fool will never get back, for some one will win it sure." I began jesting and playing the fellow, till at last I dared him to bet me $100 on it, and he said, "I won't take a dare," and pulled out about $4,000 in greenbacks, all in hundred-dollar bills. I laid my $100 on the table, all in small bills; so when he commenced to put up his, I counted him out of $100, and that made it two to one; but I turned the card, and he told my friend to just hand me the money.

"What is the least you will bet?" said my friend to the cow-boy.

"Wall, boys, you have got me at it, and I had just as leave bet it all; but I know you fellars with the store clothes on haint got that much; and I knows you darnt bet a dollar--if you did, the old woman would broomstick yer."

My friend could not stand this sort of racket any longer, for I kept telling him to just lay up his money, and take it and put it in his pocket.

At this stage of the game a tall, fine looking fellow with long black whiskers came up and said, "I'll bet $1,000 that I can turn the card."

The cow-boy observed, "If I can win that bet, I'll be even on what I lost going over," so he put the money up and said, "Come on, I'll go yer;" and the black-whiskered man put up his money and turned the wrong card. The cow-boy was delighted. My friend trembled, for he saw that the new comer did not take the one with the corner turned up. Of course he began to get his money out; and he had lots of the long green stuff, for he was a large cotton buyer from Galveston. He offered to bet $1,000, but the cow-boy said, "I won't bet less than $5,000." I offered to take half, but the cow- boy would only bet with one person at a time; so I told him to lay it up. He did so and turned the card, but missed the winner. I grabbed up the boy ticket and turned the corner so quickly that he supposed he had made a mistake. The black-whiskered man at once pulled out his money and bet him $1,000 again, and this time he won.

My friend wanted to try it again, for I made him believe that he made the mistake himself. He said, "Shuffle them up, and I will make you one more bet." He counted out another $5,000; and says I, "That will only make you even if you win." So he took out $3,300 more, which was all he had, except perhaps $100 in small bills.

The cards were shuffled. The cow-boy counted out his money. The black-whiskered man wanted to chip in enough to make it even $10,000, but the cow-boy wouldn't have it. My friend made a s.n.a.t.c.h at what he supposed was the boy card, and--lost.

I felt very sorry for him.

The fellow with the black whiskers was Holly Chappell, the cow-boy was Tom Brown. Both were my partners. The cow-boy invited us all to the bar. My friend and I retired to our state-rooms for the night.

NO MONEY IN LAW.

A man by the name of Levy (of course he was a Jew) and myself were once traveling on the Jackson Railroad, amusing ourselves playing in the smoking car, when along came a horseman from New Orleans, and dropped in, thinking he could pick up the right card. I was doing the playing, and I asked the horseman if he thought he could pick out the card with the baby on. He said that was just what he could do for $300.

"Put her up," I said, and in a twinkling I covered his $300. He turned the card, and lost. Then he studied for a moment and remarked: "I am going to try that once more." So he planked down his watch, which was a fine Howard movement, worth about $200. He lost, got mad, and kicked by telegraphing ahead to arrest a couple of gamblers on the train who had been robbing a man. We were then a few miles below the Sixty-two Mile Siding, and I knew there were no officers there; so we got off at the Siding, and on the down train we spied an officer who was coming from Winona after us.

Then we took to the hills, and kept a sharp lookout, where we could see and not be seen. The officer asked where we had gone, and the railroad people told them down the road. They returned to Winona, and he offered a reward of fifty dollars for the watch, and $100 for the return of the watch and money.

Bad news travels fast, and I soon heard of this, and I decided not to go so high up on the road. At last, however, I went to the town, though before I reached the depot I handed my money to a gentleman who resided there, who was a good friend of mine; and sure enough, as I expected, the constable served his warrant on me immediately. My friend at once stepped up and said that we would not go to jail, and forthwith furnished bail. We gave the officer the laugh, who only got mad and telegraphed to New Orleans that he had the party who had won the watch and money belonging to the horseman. On the first train, up he came. When the case was called for trial, I asked the Judge for a continuance on account of the absence of a material witness. He granted me one of three days.

The horseman then offered to compromise if we would return the watch and money. Failing in this he fell to abusing the Judge for granting us a continuance. This reached the ears of the Judge, who was anything but pleased, and when I had an opportunity I told the Judge that if he wanted I would stand trial for gambling, and be fined; although I was aware that he had no jurisdiction in gambling cases, but I presumed that he and the constable wanted to make a piece for themselves.

The trial came off, and the Judge fined us thirty dollars apiece for gambling. My friend paid the fines, and then I turned to the Judge and demanded a warrant for the horseman, for gambling in the State. He too was fined thirty dollars; and when he returned to New Orleans, and told his story, the boys all gave him the laugh, and told him he had better have staid at home, for we all told you that you could never get a cent back from Devol.

When I reached New Orleans I hunted the horseman up, and he redeemed his watch, giving me $200. This transaction made a man of him, for afterwards I met him and he wanted to help me skin suckers, and did make money. Many business men whom I have at first won money from came to me afterwards and stood in with the game, so that I was given an opportunity to get into games that I never could have done without their influence.

THE POLICE SIGNAL.

They have a signal service on board the vessels running from New Orleans to other points on the gulf, by which they can notify those on sh.o.r.e what is wanted some time before the vessel reaches the landing. If they run up the police flag, there will be twenty or more police at the wharf when the vessel arrives. We would play one vessel out to some point of landing, and then wait for another to bring us back. We had played a boat over to Mobile at one time, and was on our way back, when we got a fellow down in a game of euchre. Several times during the progress of the game, remarks had been made about good poker hands, so I ran the gentleman up the old hand of four queens and an ace. He picked it up and said, "I have a poker hand." I turned my head to spit, and in doing so I purposely exposed (or tipped) my hand so he caught a glimpse of it. I then said "How much will you bet?" He replied, "Fifty dollars." I then raised him $100. My partner said, "Gentlemen, as this is a game of bluff, I will raise you $1,000." I threw down my hand, remarking, "I started in to bluff you out; but you fellows are too much for me." The gentleman then said, "You can't bluff me; I will call the bet." They showed down, but the fellow's four queens and an ace were not enough, for my partner had four large live kings, and he took down the money.

The fellow got up and raised a h--l of a kick, and finally, when he saw he could get nothing back, he went to the Captain and told him we had stolen his money. The Captain was a stranger to me, so I could do nothing with him. He ordered the police flag to be run up, and then we knew we would be arrested when we reached New Orleans. I did not fear the result if we could get rid of our money, but I did not want the fellow to get a chance at that. I commenced looking around, and soon found a friend I could trust, so I gave him all the money my partner and I had, and then I did not care how quick they nabbed me. When we started off the boat, we were met by about twenty police. The kicker was there, and when he saw us he pointed me out and said, "There is one of them." The officers laughed when they saw us, for they knew me. We got into a cab and went up to the court, which was then in session. They searched us, but only found a few dollars. I employed a lawyer, and in about ten minutes we were free; but if we had not got away with the stuff we would have had more trouble, as he was ready to replevy. After being released we started out to find our friend, and when we got our money we had more wine than was good for our heads. I have often seen the police flag run up, but always managed someway to keep from giving up the boodle. If I could find no friend to trust it with before we landed, I would find one in the officers or the cab boys, and not one of then ever went back on me.

A PAYMASTER'S BLUFF.

The yellow fever was raging in the South in 1867, and nearly every one was trying to reach the seaboard, as it is considered that the disease is not so violent there. On the steamer to Mobile one night a big game was in progress. Ten dollars was the ante; no limit. I was $1,300 loser, and soon resolved that I must stir myself and do something. There was no time to lose, so hurrying to the bar, upon some excuse, I got a deck such as they were using, and ran up four hands, being careful that I got the best of it.

Returning, I played fully half an hour before I came out with my deck. At last it came my deal, and I gave them threes and let them fill. It would have brought a smile to a dead man to have seen them bet, for they put up all the money they had, and one of them went to the office, and bringing out a valise, said, as he laid it on the table, "There is $18,000 in that valise, and I raise all of you that much." What to do I did not know. I was in a quandary, when, quick as thought, a plan flashed upon me. I jumped up, and rus.h.i.+ng to the office, got all the small bills they had--mostly ones and twos--and securing a piece of brown paper, wrapped these bills around it, which made an enormous roll. There was a five hundred-dollar bill on the outside, and, putting a strip of paper around it, I marked it $20,000. Then rus.h.i.+ng up, I said, "Boys, I have at last raised the money;" and as I was about to put it on the table to call the bet, the owner of the valise s.n.a.t.c.hed it off, saying, "That was only for a bluff." So I deemed it best to show down for what money we had up, as I knew all the rest were up all they had, and I have always made it a rule never to bet a man more than he had, to run him out, but always to give every man a chance for his money.

Turning to the fellow with the valise, I said, "I will bet you $1,000 on a side bet that my hand beats yours." He counted out the money and put it up, and there was nothing to do but show hands; but in the draw I took in another nine, which made four, and a five spot. That broke up the game, as that was all the money, except what the man with the valise and I had, and he got cold, for the money he was playing with belonged to the Government. He was a paymaster, and had I won his money I should undoubtedly have got into trouble again. Paymasters in the army were among the best suckers we ever had, and I fear we never shall have such fat plucking again.

"PRANKIN'" WITH A NEW GAME.

I had a partner at one time by the name of Tripp, and he was one of the smartest gamblers I ever worked with. He would play any and all games of chance, and would play them as high as any man in the country, and come as near winning all the time at most of them.

He was a good, clever fellow.

He and I were on the Michigan Southern Railroad at one time. Tripp was to do the playing with the three cards, and I was to be on the look-out. I began my part of the business; and in looking around, I saw an old gentleman that I thought might be well fixed in money matters; and if he was, I judged he would be a good subject; so I sat down and opened up conversation. I told him I was a miner from Colorado; that I had some of the richest mines in the country, and that I was on my way to Was.h.i.+ngton to take out a patent on a crus.h.i.+ng machine that I had invented. He became very much interested, and I learned that he was from the State of Michigan, and was very well fixed in this world's goods. I gave him some big talk about the mining business, telling him I often took out $1,000 a day--and much more of the same sort. He did not let me do all the blowing, but gave me to understand that, while he was not taking out of mother earth $1,000 per day, he was--and had been for many years-- getting out of the ground quite a number of thousands.

While we were telling each other how much money we had acc.u.mulated for a rainy day, a cow-boy came up and took the seat just in front of us, and in a few moments he turned around and said, "Be you gentlemen going to New York?"

The old gentleman said, "I am, but this gentleman is going to Was.h.i.+ngton City."

"I be going to New York with my steers, for them fellars in Chicago won't pay my price, and some of them beat me out of $2,000 in less than no time," said the cow-boy.

I then told him to turn his seat over and tell us how they got his money.