At one time on the Upper Mississippi, while playing monte, I caught
a Jew from Quincy, Ill., who had been down to St. Louis buying a
stock of jewelry. I won all his money and the most of his best
jewelry. I would not gamble for anything but good stuff in the
jewelry line. After I beat the Jew he set up a big kick, and got
some of the other losers to join him. They finally agreed that
they would make me give up; so they all got after me, and I knew
there would be some fun. I got my gun, backed up against the side
of the cabin, and said: "Now, gentlemen, I am ready to pay out;
the bank is open. The first one that comes shall be the first
served, so don't be backward." But, somehow or another, no one
wanted to be first, and I stood pat until the boat landed at a town
called Warsaw; then I backed out of the cabin, down stairs, and
off the boat. When they saw me on the shore, they set up a yell
of "Police! Police! Arrest the fellow with the yellow jeans suit."
The marshal came running down, and I told him I was the man they
wanted arrested; so he waltzed me up to town, and nearly all the
passengers followed us--some to get their money back, and others
to see the fun. The Captain said he would hold the boat if they
would decide the case at once, so the Mayor convened his court and
we went into the trial. I had sent for the best lawyer in the
town, and he said he would clear me for $50. The Jew was put on
the stand, and he swore I snatched his jewelry from him, and a
great deal more of the same sort. Some of the passengers that had
seen the game swore they did not see any body do any snatching except
the Jew. My lawyer handled the case so nicely that I was acquitted.
Then you should have heard the passengers laugh at the Jew for all
his trouble. They would ask him if he did not want to trade some
jewelry for a yellow jeans suit; but he did not have any good
jewelry left, and he knew I was not sucker enough to trade for any
other kind. There was another boat at the landing, and many of
the passengers went up to hear the trial. I went on board the
other boat, and in a short time was on my way back to St. Louis.
During the trip I ran up a poker hand in a game of euchre, and
lifted a man out of $300, which more than paid the expenses of the
trial.