The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, January 31, 1913, Image 2

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H. HAMMOND WOULD PACIFY YAQUiS
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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..