Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi

Part 1

Produced by Ed Ferris

Transcriber's note:

Typesetting errors have been corrected, but what appear to be the author's spellings have not been changed.

LoC call number: F353.D4

FORTY YEARS A GAMBLER ON THE MISSISSIPPI

BY GEORGE H. DEVOL.

A CABIN BOY IN 1839; COULD STEAL CARDS AND CHEAT THE BOYS AT ELEVEN; STOCK A DECK AT FOURTEEN; BESTED SOLDIERS ON THE RIO GRANDE DURING THE MEXICAN WAR; WON HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FROM PAYMASTERS, COTTON BUYERS, DEFAULTERS, AND THIEVES; FOUGHT MORE ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE FIGHTS THAN ANY MAN IN AMERICA, AND WAS THE MOST DARING GAMBLER IN THE WORLD.

ILLUSTRATED.

FIRST EDITION.

DEVOL & HAINES. CINCINNATI: 1887.

Entered according to Act of Congress, the 6th day of October, 1887, by DEVOL & HAINES, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.

PREFACE.

The author of this book has written the stories as they would recur to his memory, and no effort has been made at classification. They are not fictitious; many of the persons named are now living, and they can and will testify that the stories are founded on facts.

He belongs to the celebrated Devol family of Marietta. His grandfather, Jonathan Devol, was an officer in the Revolutionary War, and was well known to the pioneer history of Ohio. He was one of the passengers on the Mayflower, which he constructed for the use of the first company of emigrants to Ohio. He erected a house on the Campus Martius in 1788, and was joined by his wife and six children in December of that year. He was one of the committee to explore the country in search of suitable places for mills and farming settlements. In 1791 he repaired to Belpre with his family. He succeeded in clearing a patch of land, and built a log cabin not far below the house of Captain William Dorce. The news of the Big Bottom massacre reached him while attending court at Marietta, and he hurried home. Mrs. Devol, hearing that the Indians were on the war-path, ordered the children to lie down with their clothes on, ready for the danger signal. He became famous by building the floating mill. In 1792 he built a twelve-oared barge of twenty-five tons burden for Captain Putnam. The author's father was Barker Devol, who died at Carrollton, Ky., on the 8th day of March, 1871, at the age of 85. He was a ship-builder, and worked with his father at Marietta. He left a widow and six children, who are all living, except one, the youngest being George H. Devol.

The Author.

CONTENTS.

A Religious Captain A Cold Deck A Woman With a Gun A Shrewd Trick A Paymaster's Bluff A Crazy Man A Good Night's Work A Euchre Hand A Good Stake-Holder A Mile Dash An Honorable Man A Bull Fight A Duck Hunt A Hard Head A Square Game A Coward Ancient Gambling

Boyhood Days Blowing Up of the Princess Beat a Good Hand Butler in New Orleans Broke a Snap Game Before Breakfast Bill Would Gamble Bill's Present

Caught a Sleeper Collared the Wrong Man Called a Gambler Control Over Suckers Caught Again Caught a Whale Caught a Defaulter Canada Bill Close Calls Cheap Jewelry Cold Steel

Didn't Win the Bags Don't Dye Your Whiskers Didn't Win the Key Dicky Roach and I Detectives and Watches

Even the Judges Do It Eight Hundred Dollars Against a Pistol

Fifty to the Barkeeper Fight With a Longshoreman Foot Race Forty Miles an Hour Fights

Got Up Too Soon Got Off Between Stations Good Luck Governor Pinchback General Remarks George, the Butter

Home Again Hard Boiled Eggs He Knew My Hand Her Eyes Were Opened He Never Knew He's One of Us How I Was Beat He's Not That Old

Indians Can Play Poker It Made a Man of Him I Had Friends It Was Cold I Raised the Limit It Shook the Checks

Jew vs. Jew Judge Devol

Knocked Down $300 Kickers

Leaving Home Leap for Life Lost his Wife's Diamonds Lucky at Poker Lacked the Nerve Left in Time

Part 2

My First Keno My Jew Partner My First Love Marked Cards My Crooked Partner My Partner Alexander Married His Money My Cards My Little Partner Mules for Luck My Visit to Old Bill Monumental Gall Mule Thieves My Partner Won McCoole and Coburn Mobile

Now a Gambler Nipped in the Bud No Play On This Boat No Money in Law Narrow Escapes No Good at Short Cards

On the Circuit

Put Ashore for Fighting Pittsburg's Best Man "Pranking" With a New Game Posing as Nic Longworth's Son

Quick Work

Red and Black Rattlesnake Jack Reduced the Price

Saved My Partner's Life Sold Out by a Partner "Snap Games" Sinking of the Belle Zane Snaked the Wheel Stolen Money Signal Service Settled Our Hash She Kissed Me Salted Down Strategem Saved By His Wife "Short Stops"

The Game of Rondo Ten Thousand in Counterfeit Money The Frenchman and the Horse Hair The Chicken Men and Their Silver The Hungry Man The Big Catfish The Sermon on the (Mount) Boat The Monte King The Daguerreotype Boat The Black Deck-Hand The Juergunsen Watch The Cotton Man Taught a Lesson They Paid the Costs The Boys from Texas The Quadroon Girl The Captain Spoiled the Game Too Sick to Fight The Gambler Disguised The Best Looking Sucker The Alligators The Big Sucker The Crazy Man The Brilliant Stone The Hidden Hand The Three Fives The Killer The Deck-Hand The Black (Leg) Cavalry The Paymaster's $3.500 The U. S. Detective's Bluff The Young Man From New York The Yellow Jeans The Jack Fish The Black Man The Persuader The Lap-Robe The Preacher Away From Home The Cattle Buyer The Green Cow-Boy The Police Signal The Good Deacon The Natchez and the Lee The Trick Knife Two Forty on the Shell Road The Arkansas Killers The Englishman and His Gun Traveling Keno The Two Judges Tapped the Till

War With Mexico Was in With the Judge Won and Lost With a Poker William Jones (Canada Bill)

Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi.

BOYHOOD DAYS.

"I'll serve his youth, for youth must have his course, For being restrained it makes him ten times worse; His pride, his riot, all that may be named, Time may recall, and all his madness tamed."

My Dear Reader: I first saw the light of day in a little town called Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum River in the State of Ohio, on the first day of August, 1829. I was the youngest of six children, and was the pet of the family. My father was a ship carpenter, and worked at boat-building in the beginning of the present century. I had good opportunities to secure an early education, as we had good schools in the West at that time. I had very little liking for books, and much less for school. When my parents thought me at school, I was playing "hookey" with other boys, running about the river, kicking foot-ball, playing "shinny on your own side," and having a fight nearly every day. I hardly ever went home that I did not have my face all scratched up from having been in a fight, which innocent amusement I loved much better than school. When I was hardly ten years of age, I would carry stones in my pocket and tackle the school teachers if they attempted to whip me. My father was away from home at his work most of the time, and my mother (God bless her dear old soul) could not manage me. She has often called in some passer-by to help her punish me. I can now see I richly deserved all the punishment I ever received, and more too. When there was company at our house, and my mother would be busy preparing a meal, I would get my bow and arrows and shoot the cups off from the table, and then run away. I guess I was about the worst boy of my age west of the Allegheny Mountains that was born of good Christian parents. I have often heard the good old church members say: "That boy will be hung if he lives to be twenty years old." But I have fooled them, and am still on the turf, although I have had some pretty close calls, as you will see by reading this book.

LEAVING HOME.

In the year 1839, while at the river one day, I saw a steamer lying at the wharf-boat by the name of Wacousta. The first steward said I could ship as a cabin boy at $4 per month. I thought this a great opportunity, so when the boat backed out I was on board without saying anything to my parents or any one else. My first duty was to scour knives. I knew they would stand no foolishness, so at it I went, and worked like a little trooper, and by so doing I gained the good will of the steward. At night I was told to get a mattress and sleep on the floor of the cabin; this I was very glad to do, as I was tired.

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