I have been in some big games in my day, and have always been ready
to win a dollar or so whenever I saw a chance. Often in the flush
times after the war I have stood up in the bar-room and tossed up
a silver dollar or a twenty-dollar gold piece, "heads or tails,"
for from a hundred to five hundred dollars a throw, and have even
indulged in the innocent amusement of spitting at a mark--the money,
of course, going to the one that came nearest the spot. But of
all the games that I ever ran, I think the biggest was during the
war, just after Captain Leathers had purchased the elegant steamer
_Magenta_. The soldiers of the Union Army had burned his fine
boat, the _Natchez_.
The story illustrates the old saying, that one good turn deserves
another. When we left New Orleans the boat was full of passengers,
and the trip was worth $3,000 to the boat. Reaching Memphis, the
Captain soon saw that his chances for a big trip were the best that
he had ever had. The boat was loaded to the guards with cotton,
and the passenger list was 2350, most of them being cotton brokers,
who, of course, carried a great deal of ready money with them.
After supper the boat laid up, and commenced blowing off steam.
I stepped up to the Captain's office and said to Bob Owens, the
clerk: "Bob, what's up--what's the boat laying here for?" "We
are in a fix, haven't got enough money in the office to pay the
charges on the cotton. It's too late to get anything from the
banks, and we shall have to borrow."
I took in the situation in a twinkling, and said: "You needn't
look any further; perhaps I can let you have all you want." Bob's
face brightened up as he said: "I can get along with $1,000." In
ten minutes the money was in his hands and the boat under way.
The supper was over and tables cleared, when I opened out my game
of _rouge et noir_, and it started in big at once. There were
twenty-five players, and the smallest money on the table was fifty
dollars. At the end of every deal I opened four bottles of wine,
which cost me twenty dollars, as the sparkling vintage was then
worth five dollars a bottle. There was one man at the table who
got pretty full, and finally commenced to put down a thousand
dollars at a bet. I was somewhat surprised to see him roll out
three thousand-dollar snapping new bills, and put them down. At
first I supposed he was a paymaster in the army, but soon learned
that he was a cotton buyer, operating for a rich New York firm.
Everything was moving on swimmingly, when up came a contractor from
Memphis, whose name was Harper. He was a knowing sort of chap;
perhaps best described as a "smart aleck." He began to "nip out."
I stood it for some time, but finally let go all holds, and started
after him, and soon had him broke, though in doing so I lost $12,000
that I had won from the New York party. Then he began to kick,
and said the game was not fair; that he was going to have his money
back, and threatened to bring up the crew of seventy-five men that
he had on board, who had been working on the levee. I sent a
message to the mate telling him what to watch out for, so he armed
all of the boat's crew, roustabouts and all, with clubs and stone
coal, and stationed them at the foot of the stairs; that brought
matters to a stand-still. The contractor's men weakened, and the
players who were the heaviest losers wanted the throw the contractor
overboard, as they said the game was on the square and perfectly
fair. There was so much noise made, however, that the passengers
began to come out of their state-rooms. The Captain hurried down
from the hurricane roof, and ominously shook his head; so I cleared
the game, and all was quiet once more. I settled my bar bill,
which was $375; and, counting over my money, found I was exactly
$19,000 winner, and had I not been disturbed or molested might have
won $150,000, as there was more money on board then I ever saw in
my life before, and all the men were "high rollers."
That night the contractor and his men got off; the players sobered
up, and we resumed operations; but the playing was not so large,
nor the players so venturesome. Still I kept the game open till
we reached our destination, and came out a few thousands more ahead.