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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1913)
v Wffii Hen zai,DifljfeMn5ii 1H wsr;:i rvm fank j. jm i m sri v A, . .- H. HAMMOND WOULD PACIFY YAQUiS :fmz5BBap r : s teB tf' gJ? fi 4r"m m Bhb , - 7flflKI&;m i 1 a. : garBji i i j -'i, "THf"- , qm AMBLING for big Btakea was a common thing In tho went rt few years ago. In nearly all Ructions tho ovll lias beon suppressed by law. In tho fow portloiiB whoro It Is still followed it Ih carried on tinder cover and In con stant dread of pollco Interference. Not ho lone aeo. hnwuvnr tlm rrv nt Mm roulotlo man and the click of tho ball could bo hoard In tho lobbies of many of the principal hotels. This was particularly true of El Paso, Crlpplo Crook, Leadvllle. Gold field, Unite, tho Cocur d'Aleno, and many other suctions. Tho practice" prevafWl to a greater or less extent In tho larger towns Evorybody has monoy in the early days of a mining camp. It was an era of speculation. Tho coun try hud not "been provon." nnd honco a "find" In a now section resulted In a great rush to that locality. Property changed hands at fabulous prices ovornlght. Tho ragged prospector of today might be roll ing In wealth tomorrow. It has happened no many times'. When thero is money to throw at the birds, tho gamblers, Ilko bo many vultures, assemble at tho point to which It ia bolng cast by the thoughtless and Improvident possessors. Games woro played whoro tho stakos ran into tho millions. A man wealthy in tho morning (sometimes had to borrow money to avoid going to bed hungry at night, A stockman In Colorado "sat "into" a poker gamo In Denver, and by midnight had not only lost all tho cash ho had with him, but had ex hausted a largo bank balnnco. He owned, on tho range In Colorado, the neu tral strip ("No Man's Land," now extreme west ern Oklahoma), and In Texas ton thousand head 5f cattle, worth twenty dollars a head, or a total of 3200,000. , Ho possessed land In three states and a hand Rome resldonco In Denver. Ho mado a bqt of a. thousand stcora worth twenty thousand dollars and lost Ho continued this until tho hord of ten thousand head of stock belonged to another man. Day dawned, and ho was still playing. Breakfast was. sent In from a restaurant main tained at tho ond of tho gambling hall for Just auch people, , "Now," ho said to tho men who hud won Ids cattle, "you havo tho critters, ,but no place to kcup them, I will play you my' Toxas ranch." Ho iQBt that. Then followed tho Colorado Tanch, finally the residence in Denver, togother with tho furnlturo, his horses, his wntch and chain. . At eight o'clock nt night twenty-four hours later ho was ponniloss, and started for tho Rio Grando country of ToxnB, where ho found employment hauling logs to a Bawmill. Ho had lost moro than a quartor of a million dollara In twenty-four hours I "Will you obllgo mo by taking off your Bhoes?" asked a road agont politely, while ho held a re volver menacingly In tho fnco of a passengor who stood up in a lino with othors. The hold-up man had stopped tho stngo going Into Lcndvillo to "collect toll." Ho lmd Just pur chased tho road, ho snld, and needed the money. Ho paancd down the lino and. by moans of a pasongor whom ho forced Into service, gathered up all tho monoy and Jowelry, until ho camo to tho last man In tho lino Thon ho asked the man to take off his shoos. Ho found four thousand dollars undor tho Inner soles! Sovornl nights later tho man who had beon out wlttcd by tho 'hold-up man wno sitting In tho dealer's chair of a faro gamo In tho 'Clourt City.?' an Leadvillo Is called Doforo him sat a man who lost monoy steadily. Tho gambler "raked In" tho monoy carelessly and with tho utmost un concern. Tho playor lost something Mko five tfiouHand dollars and then pushed back his chair. "All In?" askod tho gambler, arching his "brows. "Yci you've cleanod mo out." "Thon wo aro oven for that little Incident tho other night, when you collected your road tax .from mo." -""Yes, you!" Tho hold-up man knocked down half a dozen loUororHln his rush to roach tho door and escape. A. well-known mining man, who wnH noted for hltJ Judgment in "knowing a hole In tho ground" when ho looked Into It. had Just mado a purchase in Crlpplo Crook Ho had monoy, nnd ho was will lng to spend It for anything that looked good. After having tramped over tho hills nil of ono day, ho "sat Into" a poker gamo In tho lobby of tho principal hotol that night, nnd engaged in a. friendly gnme ylth a number of acquaintances Thoy woro playing for twenty-five conts a cor ner. While the game was In progroBit a ragged prospector appoared and attomptod to Inject him iwtfr Into tho company Tho mining man explain ed that It was simply a prlvnto gamo between Mends outsiders, and particularly strangers, wero not wanted. "I havo money that has nuvur beon spent." "Wo don't know you." "Oh. thnt'a It! Thon let mo Introduce my self." There was no way to get rid of him appar ently. Thon, like an Inspiration, and In an an noyed manner, tho operator said: ' "How much money havo you?" "Eight hundred dollars." "Sit down, and I'l show you how to play poker." In- loss than fifteen minutes tho prospector withdrew. Shortly after he roturnol with n thousand dol ls.ru moro. This was lutbrostlng. Ho lost it. Then ho lost a diamond pin. following It with a watch and his "cayuso" When ho pushed back his ohnlr the oporator kcd: "Aro you broko now?" "I havo n claim over on tho hill." "What do you value It at?" 'One hundred thousand dollars." This staggorod tho mining man for a moment GY AD&YAY CO. "You havo been a good loser; I'll put In with you nnd play a hundred thousand against your claim." Tho prospector lost the claim. "Now I will play you for your services tomor row to show mo whoro tho claim is and where to o,pon the oro, For thnt I will consider that you havo Hvo thousand on tho table." Tho prospector lost that. Tho next day ho traced out the lines of tho claim for tho winner, who organized a company, with a stock of one million, tho shnres of which went for sixteen dollars each! Millions we:o taken from tho mine within a few years. It became ono of the most famous In tho entire Itocky Mountain country. In tho early days of tho Comstock Lode, in Virginia, Nevada, flomo mem-made money so fast thnt they did not know what to do with It. Those who wero not making It spent their time devising ways and moanB to talk tho others out of a por tion of their wealth. Gamblers wero In full evi dence, nnd thoro were some big stakes; but it romalned for a bunch of Mexicans to play for tho largest stake on record In tho United States without the uso df cards. Ono of tho many claims. located In tho midst of tho district, had not shown nny ore. Even the men who had millions hesitated to sink a shaft on It. Tho peoplo wero In a fever of excitement. Tho Mexicans owned prnctlcaly nothing. In fact, tho "greasers" could not got n "look In." Alto gether It was very discouraging to them. Then It occurred to Bomo bright genius to cnpltalizo tho labor of tho Mexicans. Gathering a bunch of them together. It was proposed that thoy Blnk a shaft on ono of tho well-known claims, which wan twelvo hundred feet In length. "For each foot you sink, wo will give you a s one-foot surfaco Interest In tho claim," they wero told," provided you sink to ore." In othor words, if thoy abandoned tho work at any tlmo "before reaching ore, tjiey would get nothing, and tho owners would havo tho shaft. It looked llko a cheap way to prospect, Tho Mexicans pow-powed and Jabbered nt one nnother for hnlf a night and then started to work. Everybody laughed They were comparatively poor men. Thoy could 111 afford the expenso they woro undergoing. Thoy drilled by hund, fought tho hard granlto, and gradually lowered that Hhaft. . They balled water that flowed In so fast that It threatened to drown them, but thoy stuck to tho work with desperation. At throe hundred feet they uncovered the rich est portion of tho world-famous silver deposit, 'and, from tho voln they opened, more wealth wis takon out than from any other portion of that richest slnglo mllo of 'ground In tho world. Tho Mexicans' share was one-quarter. Nearly ono hundred million dollars came out of the hole thoy snnk! It was a gamble pure nnd simple. Thoy played for high stakes and won. In tho Coeur d'Alono, or Idnho, Vhen that min ing region was tho centor of the earth, thero woro somo big games. The story is told of on man who conceived tho Idea that ho could mako monoy In gambling faster than he could tnko it out or tho ground, It was so much easier. With what cash he had, after selling his mine, he could count up to ono hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Ho had evolved a wonderful system. "I simply can't lose." ho told his friends. His plnn was to play steadily for alxtecn hours dnlly, and, by a complicated series of bets, to retrlovo when ho lost Everything wont along Bwlmlngly for tho first fow days At tlmoa he was ns much as twenty flvo thouBaud to tho good Nino days after he started top lay ho suddenly round that ho was Just where ho had started ho had one hundred and fifty thoiiBnud dollars when tho cards came a certain way. which would Involve, according to his system, betting tho en tiro amount on a alnglo "turn." Ho played tho queen to win, and tho tlcklo creature played false to him "Women are tho cause of all trouble, nnyway." ho muttered, as ho roso fromv the tablo. "I ought to havo known bettor than that, ror that was tho queen of spades, nnd I should not hnve mado that hot except when all tho quoons except tho queen of honrts was out." It waB tho Irony of fato that, when tho queen of hearts camo out of tho box. It eo happened thnt It won. In the days whon Cheyonno. Wyoming, was the headquarters for tho cattlemen of the northwest gambling ran wldo open. Whon tho cowboys' camo to town thoy rando things hum. Monoy grow on trees. Tho gaming spirit was In the nlr A dealer standing behind n roulotto tablo one night suddenly motioned tho proprietor. A fow moments lator ho was paid off it Is customary to pay a gambler his salary at tho end of each day, Many of them lufcvo the faculty of losing It back over tho very table where they know tho odds to bo against the player In roulette there Is a distinct percentage In favor of "tho house." Everybody knows that. This dealer took a seat in front of the table and In the course of a few hours had won fifty dollars. Then ho stopped. . Ho would pass lu and out a dozen times a day, play a Httlo hero nnd some there, but always ho would bring up In front of tho roulette table, and more orten than otherwlso loft It winner. Ills luck was amazing. Ho started a bank acocunt. Ho waa saving his money to get Into business with, ho said. He won bo steadily that It made the proprietor of tho placo shiver ovory time ho camo In. One day, whllo tho ex-dealer was playing, an old man dropped In and, glancing around tho room for a moment, naked: "Who ruiiB this placo?" "I do," answered a bewhlskered Individual who was watching his former employe .rako In the cash. "Will you do me tho favor to tell mo whero you got that wheel?" ho asked, pointing to the one that proved suoh a hoodoo. "I know It's a ,l6nah. That fellow over thero wins all tho tlmo." "So?" said tho stranger. Ho walked over and watched tho man lay hla bets. Keturnlng to tho proprietor, he said. as he passed out a card: "I represent this house, which, ns you Beo, deals In gaming devices. I take it that the man sitting at tho whool makes a 'killing' every day?" "Ho does, stranger, to the tuno of fifty or a hundred." "For a thousand I can tell you how to bust"hla luck nnd mako him look the living picture of re morse. You would havo to agree to purchase a now wheel from me, also." "If you show me, I'm gamo." "It's a bargain." said tho drummer, Walking over to the wheel, ho waited until the ball dropped, stopped it, and turning to tho pro prletor asked: "See anything Btiange with that wheol?" "No," "Well, wee, thero aro two nlnetoena nnd two twenty-threes on this wheel. They aro unusual numbers-Bo that tho fellow who plays them has about tho same percentage in his favor, on those numbers, that you havo whon a man plays on n regular wheel. We made this wheel moro than thirty years ago. It was sold to a houso bv a couple of 'suro thing' men, who almost broke 'the outfit. Then wo lost track or It." ' Tho ex-dealer had noticed tho double numbers, nnd therein was tho secret or his "luck." How the numbers had escaped attention bo many years Is one or those myBterios or gambling that can never be explained. When Senttlo was the big noiso in the North west gambling world, nndjhe prtmeval forests w-ere closer to ho.r doors, somo big games wero played. One night a stranger stepped into ono or the principal houses and took a seat at a raro tablo An hour later ho had lost more than flvo thou sand dollars. Tho proprietor sent him a fifty cent cigar. A fow moments nrterward the stranger had a couplo or hundred dollars, nnd within an hour had regained his flvo thousand. Thon commenced a streak or luck that has Bel dom been witnessed In any gambling house Tho roor had' beon raised "to tho sky" and Mr Stranger "coppered" tho king and doubled a bet or flvp thousand. Ho tried it again ror a repent or. with ten thousand, nnd drew back twenty yel low chleps, worth ono thousnnd each. After that he ifflulo bvts of a thousand cacn. and before he had smoked tho cigar ho was twen-ty-o,lght thousand to tho goqd! Thon ho quit. Who he was, where ho camo from, whoro he went, no ono over know His coming nnd going were as mysterious as his winnings woro sonsa tlonal. Probably ono of tho greatest stakes ever hung up was raked down on a mulo raco In Arlzoua A mau owned n "holo In the giound." Ho was satisfied that it wan worth a fortune Ills friends thought ho was crazy. He rofusod to go to other "diggings" where tho prospects were bettor. Ho was moro than twenty-flvo miles from wnter, which had to bo carried In on tho hurr cane deck of a mulo. Ho worked away, nursing his claim aud Btlcklng It out alone. Then ho went to a settlen-ent some distance away. Ho becamo oxclted over the performances or a mulo owned by nnother man, nnd In n moment or ex uberanco bet his claim against one owned by a prospector from nnother section that his mule could outrun tho othor rel)ow's. He lost. He had tho privilege or piloting the winner to the mine" nnd saw him tnko moro than seventy thousand dollars' worth or sllvor, not, out or a pockot, almost on tho surfaco or tho ground! Since thon tho proporty haB produced millions It all camo about because ono mule could not run so fast oa another. John Hays Hammond has askod tho Mexican . government to permit him to go, unarmed and accompanied only by an Interpreter, Into the mountnlnous stronghold of tho Yaqul Indians In Sonora, to pacify thai turbulent trlbo. Tho government of Mexico has fought tho Yaquls for thirty years, but today tho Yaquls are unconquored. Mr. Hammond expects that tho Madero government will give him the permission which ho desires. Ills program is based on his bellof that, as a result of his life and work In Mexico, many years ago, tho under standing between him and tho Yaqula ia so thorough as to obviate tho risk ot his being Injured or killed. Major Burnham, the tamous American and South Arrican scout and fighter, will accompany him. Last July Mr. Hammond wrote tc Senor Calero, tho Mexican ambassa dor to this countrv. nutllnini? hit wishes to pacify tho Yaquls nnd his plan for accomplishing that object. Tho Yaquls maintain in their stronghold at this tlmo, In addition to theli warriors, a force of 1,500 men armed with modern rifles. They aro absolutely impregnable. Diaz tried to bring them into submission, but failed. WOULD EDUCATE MAN BEHIND THE PLOW To carry knowiedgo of scientific agricultural methods directly to th man between tho plow handles, and thereby Incrcaso tho agricultural prod ucts or this country by at least 20 per cent. Senator Hoko Smith In a speech In tho sonato tho other clay urged tho passage of the Smith-Lever bill to establish ngricultural exten sion departments In colleges ot- agri culture. "The annual value of our agricul tural products Is. "In round figures, $9,000,000,000," Senator Smith said. "If tho Increase as a result of this work were only 20 per cent wo would have an increased value of $1,800,000, 000, or a sufficient sum to meet the proposed appropriation for 600 years." Senator Smith pointed to tho pas sago of the Morrill bill for tho estab lishment of land grant agricultural 'colleges in each of the states of tho Union, and of the Hntch bill for tho establishment of an exnprlmnt nn. tion In each state. Upon them tho government Is now spending about $4,000, 000 annually. Much of this money and or tho $15,000,000 appropriated each year tor the exclusively agricultural work or tho department of agriculture, he stated, 1b spent In Investigating nnd experimenting to show how tho best nnd greatest crops can bo raised. "According to tho plans of tho bill." ho continued, "tho representative! of the colleges. In the various states will enlist farmers who, under tho direc tion or the representatives or tho Agricultural collego, will test the valuo on their own land of the inrormation brought by tho representative ot the collego." MME. JUSSERAND BARS "FREE LUNCH" Jr v . rrf V! T"" whereby they havo beon ablo what otherwise would be spnt Mme. Jussorand, wife of the French ambassador, and new doyen of tho diplomatic corps at Washing ton, has decreed tho abolition or the diplomatic "tree Hunch route," which Is tho undiplomatic designation or ' that Indiscriminate and uncensored list or hostesses rrom whom tho at taches or embassies and legations havo been wont to accopt luncheon, dinner and dniico Invitations. Hencerorth thero will be a rigid adherence to diplomatic and social lines by tho young diplomats who havo entered too much Into tho spirit or our democratic Institutions and gone to thoso entertainments whero ho spirit or conviviality led them. Tho gosBlp In diplomatic circles Is that thero has been not only a weak ening or discipline, but that tho young bnchelor sot, not provided with tho largo oxponso account or tho heads or legations, have round In the bquntl- iui nospuanty or Washington means to ploco out tholr meager Incomes by saving m uuiuiu ana restaurants ror food nnd cheer. MISS B0ARDMAN LAUDS BOY SCOUTS Miss Mabel T. Boardman, secre tary or tho American Ited Cross association, has sent a message to tho 400,000 Boy Scouts or America. Sho rejoices In the good deeds- that tho Boy Scouts aro doing. Sho com pares them with tho knights of King Arthur of old. "The Vision of King Arthur" is tho title ot Miss Boardman's nrtlclo In Boys Life, tho Boy Scouts' magazine. Miss Boardman pictures tho dying King Arthur, and Bays: "Something hold his clear blue eyos not glitter ing armor nor helmet with its visor down only a boy lu Flmple brown, who stopped to lift a little fallen child. And there! Another guided a blind man through tho dangers of tho noisy street, and yet another, with kindly mien and friendly Btroke, soothed some poor, bewildered dog, his master lost. Hero ono took from her trembling hnnds tho heavy load or some old dame and born it fnr hor Another darted swiftly through the town to call tho doctor to tho nld of soma one who was HI Not here not thoro alone, but everywhoro, through nonh ern wintor snows and under Bunny southern skies the kin hnhfi,i i knights in brown. Bonding over some Injured comrade cluster,, l? CS! group. With skillful flngera the wound was dres S mh a ms th,i T' strong yet tender the boy wns carried home and n hTJ L ? tbat Y0ro the nld was given, behold, n cross of red' Prdl Um WU,ch 'You tioXt old times were dead, but you have braught'lhem backto HtoTX .CSit..
