THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : WEDNESDAY , ATJCitTST 2 , 18J)9. )
y
A Returnin
Beginning with the issue of August 6th will be published a series of the best pictures
of the gallant First Nebraska Regiment. It will be a worthy souvenir of the celebration
of their return. In order to obtain this pictorial history complete subscribe at once for
The
IT WILL INCLUDE
The Farewells at Leaving Home On the Field and in Camp
* * -j
Camp Life at Lincoln Fighting the Insurgents
Life in Camp at San Francisco The return fo San Francisco
The Trip Across the Pacific Nebraska's Reception to Her Sons
Nebraska Boys in the Philippines Portraits of Nebraska s Heroes
Pictures of the Companies-
from
Five Cents Per
With the Sunday Bee , by mail , $2.00 per year.
Subscribe at once.
UNCANNY HANDS AT POKER
I
Hemarkable Freaks of the Cards tbat Put a
Stop to the Game.
NEW DECKS FAIL TO CHANGE LUCK
All the rinrcm Hml Cllnimlvc HaiiitH
ToKt'tlior or Klio Xotliliiflr to SpenU
Of extraordinary SctineiiocB
and Flimhes.
"I read In a newspaper the other day
the story about four whist players In this
cnso "British army officers In India each of
whom , In the progress of a game , caught
the thirteen trumps of a suit on ono deal , "
wild an Oregon man to o Now York Sun cor
respondent. "Tho four olllcera duly eat down
nnd made their .Individual affidavits as to
this occurrence , and a mathematician to
whom the thing was submitted figured It
out that such a thin ? could only happen
once In over so many hundreds of billions of
times. I would Hko to have that uaino math
ematician's calculations on the probable re
currence of some poker bands that I got
mixed up with ono night In Baker City ,
my state , back In ' 91. I've aeon lota of
instances of one roan's having phenomenal
luok for protracted periods at the game of
draw ; I've had my own share of that kind
of luck. But on this occasion that I'm
speaking of all four of us had mosslvo
hands , not on , any ono round of cards , nor
on any ono man's deal , tout right along fern
n solid six-hour sitting. It wasn't a case of
bewitched cards that Eomo of the old-time
tin horns talk about , for wo changed the
decks repeatedly , and almost shuffled nnd
rlfllctl the spots off them nt that In our
efforts to force- them to como out In the
ordinary , conventional way. They wouldn't
< lo It. During that whole night's play wo
found that hands which wouUljjcnorally bo
counted pretty good nnd worth any man's
juoney up to their proper poker value did not
actually pan out ono , two , threes It was llkq
playing poker with a euchre or a pinochle
deck , If you can figure- out how puzzling
that sort of draw would bo.
"It was an Improratu sort of gamo. All
four of us 'wore residents of Portland , friends
of long standing , and our personal checka
were as good to each other ns pieces of
eight. Wo just happened to bo In Baker
CUy at the same tlmo and at the same hoUl ,
nnd , ns the after-dark amusements of Baker
City are not particularly alluring except
from the purest reJeyo point of view , wo
Marled this queer poker game a-golng along
about fourth-drink tlmo after supper. The
top-noteher among us from the financial
point of view wns awell known Oregon
man who had a good deal to do with the
building of the Columbia river Jetty. Then
there was n tulmon canner , a meat contrac
tor nnd myself , The meat contractor didn't
particularly want to piny , for ho had teen
welted pretty hard couple of weeks before
in a Portland game , and ho bald that ho felt
Hko catching up before ho did any more
amstoboard handling , Ho didn't have to be
pressed very liard , however , nnd ho was
measurably glad ' when the cession was over
that ho had eat In ,
"The Oregon game IB quarter nnto and
dollar limit , and the California game of no
straights and no pat Hushes never worked
Its Insldloua way up among the Wobfcet.
AVe played straight eastern poker then , na
we do now. I dealt the first hand myself ,
and I treated myself pretty kindly. I picked
up three aces , will oh had always been re
garded by rae as a pretty fair sort of draw
fistful ) . It noa the salmon man's first eay ,
end ho played for a dollar's worlh of It , the
limit. The Jetty ( nan came back at him for
the limit , and I raised the iboth of them the
limit.
lie Stayed In.
" ' 1 suppose you fellows think you've
squeezed mo out of It , eh ? " said the meat
contractor , whoso ante had been pulled up
this way , and then ho raised us all the
limit. I dished myself a pair of deuces ,
each of the other three taking a card each ,
Then wo T > egan to bet dollars. My ace
full was as big as a house ? , and I stayed
until there was close onto a hundred dollars
lars In the center of the table. Then the
settled , confident countenances of all three
o the other players sort of worried mo ,
and I suggested that a call would < bo about
in order.
"You'll have to do it , then , " they told rae
in chorus , nnd I did. My ace full wasn't
In it. The saloon man had four fours , the
jetty man had four fives , and the meat man
took down the pot with a straight flush. It
took us ten minutes to get ever talking
arnazodly about this proposition for a first
hand around , and tbon we went at It again ,
the meat man serving them out. I caught
a Inllapoloosa the worst hand known in
poker ; that is to say , a putrid full haad
three cards of ono suit and two of another.
I throw the hand down in disgust just at
the moment all the rest of them did the
same thing and then I saw that all three of
the others had lallapoosas , too. Wo rldl-
culod the meat man for a while , and then
. the salmon man riffled them to deal the Jack-
I pot. The Jetty man had the first stay , and
ho gave a snort , throwing down , face up ,
a two , four , six , eight , ton of clubs. I
hcavod the same cards In spades , face up ,
on the table , the moat man showed up his
ace , three , five , seven nnd nlno of diamonds
mends , and the salmon man revealed his
nco , throe , five , seven anS nlno of hearts.
Wo had to look at each other for a while
when wo saw this extraordinary manifesta
tion of valueless sequence.
All oil the HlulT.
"Tho Jetty man declined to have anything
further to do with such a deck as that and
BO ho dealt the Jack with my deck. I got
the first mesa of five. I have the habit of ,
I
picking up my cards in poker ono by ono In
i
order , I nuppose , to prolong the enjoyment
In case they nro coming my way , or , vise I
versa , to spread the misery out thin when !
the cards served out to mo are rank , The I
first card I picked up was a deuce and so
vins the second.
" 'Enough to etny on , ' I thought , nnd then
I picked up my third deuce.
" 'I can 'bluff ' on tbeso and still have
enough to fall .back . upon , ' I thought , and
then I gathered In my fourth dcuco.
"The other three had meantime gathered
their hands up in bunches of flvo and they
wcro looking at me expectantly. I put on the
most bored expression possible , said some
thing about hating to open a pot on a pair
of knaves and skated a dollar chip Into the
middle , They all raised mo without putting
on any bored looks and I took a card Just to
nmko them think I was either four-flushing
or trying to fill a straight or two pairs. They
all stood pat.
" 'I don't know who the bluffer Is In the
outfit , ' enUl the minion man , 'but I don't
mind conveying the solemn assurance to all
hands hereabouts that I'm not. '
"I played them all for pat full bands or
flushes , but I didn't think any of them was
bluffing. They all gazed nt mo as If they
exported me to wither. We all bet until
there was more than a hundred In the cen
ter and then the meat man penetrated my
labored air of Insouciance- and called me. I
won. The meat man had a pat flush and the
salmon man nnd Jetty each had pat fulls.
" 'There'd bo a shooting If anything like
this happened In a game between sheep herd
ers , ' mid the meat wan and then we went
on.
on."Tho
"Tho salmon man dished then out this
time , with a new deck , and we bid to make
It a Jack , for the hands were something ter
rible. Then something remarkable hap
pened. It went around , the pot being sweet
ened for a dollar all around each time , eight
een times without a man of the four of us
getting so much as a pair not one pair for
eighteen times. Then the meat man served
thorn out. The salmon man decided to stay
and to draw three cards.
" 'What's the color of your Jacks ? ' In-
j I quired the Jetty man , and he , too , stayed
and took three. I had a pair of kings , which
I thought were good enough to draw to , In
view of the abominable way the cards had
been running , and the meat man stayed and
took three himself.
" 'Let's make this for flvo a throw , ' said
the salmon man , who had opened the pot.
Uusally such suggestions are received with
vituperation and scorn by the other players ,
but this time wo were singularly unanimous
In agreeing to raising the limit to $5. I
was agreeable myself , because I had caught
another king In the draw.
Konr of a. ICInd.
"When there was close to $400 In the pot
the salmon man , a bit scared by our determi
nation , called , showing his three Jacks. The
jetty man said something about getting
money in a letter , and placed his three
queens BO we could all see them. I had a
remark or two to make then about an El
Dorado , where folks pick money up In the
streets , and I carefully spread my three
|
, klngs out , ono by one.
" 'SVhon you see a good thing , ' remarked
the meat man , 'hit It with an ax , ' and ho
tantallzlngly laid down his thrco aces also ,
ono by one , and hauled down the pot.
"Wo nil agreed that four simultaneous
deaths had often resultc'd from less cause
than this , and I think It really tapped the
nerve of all of us more or less. I know
that the way the cards were going had mo on
the run. We summoned the proprietor of the
hotel a man wo nil know well and put him
through a severe inquisitorial process as to
how the cards purveyed nt his newsstand had
got Into his hotel , and In sundry and divers
ways endeavored to talk away the spell
which seemed to hover over the cards. Wo
declined to play any further with cards
bought In the hotel , and sent a boy down
the street to get a dozen packs at another
hotel. Then , after wo had all walked around
our chairs backward each disclaiming any
superstitious beliefs , by the way , In so doIng -
Ing wo resumed the gamo.
"I had the deal. I shuffled and riffled the
cards until there wasn't any more newness
to them than there Is to a last year's hat ,
* "
and "then handed them out in sets of five.
I caught a deuce full and , of course , stood
pat when It camemy turn. The other three )
also stood pat. Wo had , by the way , In
creased t'bo ' ante to $1 , and the limit had
been raised permanently to $5. We laid our
hands face down on the table and looked
each Bother over.
" rThere's something devilish and uncanny
about this , ' said the salmon man , finally.
'Now _ , I don't say It because I'm bluffing or
because I'm not well fixed , but what do you
all say to having a show-down right now ,
just for curiosity , tbat we may all see what
these weird hands contain and have some
thing to go by for future play ? '
"Tho Jetty man and the meat contractor
kicked over this , and so did I. I was sorry
that I had , later. So was the jetty mun.
We bet on those four pat hands up to (600
for the whole pot , and the meat man took
It down with a nine full , The jetty man
had a flush and the salmon man bad a six
full.
full."This
"This was n bit too much , and we unani
mously decided to pass the game up.
" There's something wrong about this , '
said the salmon man , 'It's a 'hoodoo. I'll
bet my Astoria canneries are burning up , or
something. '
" 'Let's liave one more hack ut this thlnlf , '
said the jetty man , rumlnantly , 'and If any
thing like what's been going on happens
again we'll have something to swear off on
for the rest of the year. '
"It didn't look exactly right for the three
of us to leave so much of our money In the
meat man's hands and so wo decided to try
the game once more. Wo.concluded to cut
for deal again , so that In case anything re
markable happened we'd each know just
where we stood , nnd we took a new pack of
cards. I took the first cut. It was a seven
of spades. The meat man tut the eight of
spades , the salmon man cut the nine of
spades and the Jetty man Just turned what
remained of the deck over and wo looked
at the bottom card. It was the ten of
spades. We all looked around to see blue fire
and sulphur fumes coming out of the floor ,
the thing looked so dovlllsh In view of what
had been happening from the beginning of
the sitting. We were a bit too flustered to
comment on the thing , however , nnd the
Jetty man dealt the car da out titter shuffling
them and giving each ono of us a cut at them.
It was my ante and eo the meat man had the
first say. He said ho'd play , but not for any
$1. The limit was about the value of his
hand. The salmon man remarked that ho
couldn't waste his valuable tlmo playing for
any $ G all around and so ho raised it the
limit himself. The jetty man did likewise.
So did I. Who wouldn't htyewith a straight
flush of clubs , from ace to five , as I had ?
The jetty man asked mo how many I wanted
and I told him to help the others and him
self ; that I had all I needed just then. The
meat man told him llkewlsq. So did the
salmon man.
' 'I don't know how I could Improve on
these , ' said the Jetty man e.nd ho stood pat
himself. There wo wcro again , the four of
us standing pat.
" 'I think you're all talr.Ing advantage of
what's been happening hijre this evening , '
said the jetty builder , 'and you've simul
taneously decided to bluff on the strength
of it. '
'Wo told him together that wo didn't
have nny hawsers on his thinking apparatus ,
and the meat man started It going with a
limit bet. Wo went on totting the limit
for half an hour , with occasional long
pauses , during which wo regarded each other
studiously. Then I called a halt.
" 'There are some hands In poker , ' I told
them , 'which , I believe , a gentleman Is not
supposed to bet on because of their sure-
thing character. Now , I feel rather guilty
for having gone thus far on this deal , for
I bellovo I have ono of those sure-thing
hands myself , '
" 'Why don't you call , then ? ' they nsked
mo together.
" 'That's what I'm going to do , ' nnd I did.
There was close on to J2,000 represented '
In the pot /by / this time. I put down my
ace to five straight flush of clubs with a
considerable feeling of confidence , which was
Immediately punctured by the jetty man's
laying down a straight fliiiih of diamonds ,
from deuce to six. There was a heap of
quiet around that table when the salmon
man Impressively laid down a straight flush
of hearts , from three to seven.
" 'The man that beats that , ' said the meat
man scrutinizing the salmon man's npread-
out cards , 'takes the pot , don't ho ? ' and
then he suddenly spread a royal flush of
spades down on the tablo. j j
"We didn't count on the thing at all. We
touched the button and got a drink and then |
I
wo repaired to our respective rooms nnd
went to bed. Wo didn't afterward make
out nny affidavits as to the way those cards
went , Hko the four British army offlters I |
mentioned , but I know one man of that
four who didn't mlnglo with poker any for
three solid years after that sitting , "
At the
Detroit Journal : Prom his seat on high
Olympus the god Mars contemplated The
Hague long and earnestly.
"Can you see your finish ? " asked Jupiter ,
who as the putative father of gods and men.
took a passing Interest In affairs.
"No , " replied Mars. "At this distance I
can see nothing but Mr. W T. Stead. "
Sometimes It happens that personalities
become so large as to get in the way of
tendencies.
i ntTT i r 'PTM nn ni n nnoi\Tr or\
LOVE LETTERSHER BUSINESS
Fun a Chicago Girl Got Out of Being a
Professional Matchmaker.
MADE A GOOD LIVING OUT OF IT
i
She "Wrote Tender Illllct Donx for
LovcHlcIc iMuldciia Who , In Turn ,
Sent Them to Their UUMUH-
Admirer * .
In tbo city of Chicago dwells a woman ,
Miss Rose Norman , who , tnrough her cogent
billet doux , has brought to a happy climax ,
via the altar , not merely ono , tout scores of
pairs of hearts made happy as a consequence
I of the epistolary effusions of this mystic ,
j , cryptic "silent partner. " No record has
j 1 been kept , unfortunately , of how many un-
suspectlnc men have been Influenced by
this clever medium to bestow themselves
upon feminine worshipers , who , like poor
Cyrano's rival , could keenly enough feel
all the excruciating delights , hopes and
fears of love , yet had not the gift of trans-
latins into rhythms and jingles of winning
words the "dead language of hearts. "
"Yes. " said sly-looking Rose Norman tea
a Chlcaco Chronicle reporter , "tho last
match I made ruined my reputation and
killed my business. And I rather think It
will Incidentally bo the cause of fewer wed
dings and moro old maids hereafter. "
"Tell mo , please , " was urged , "about your
far-reaching Insight ; whatever prompted
you to adopt as a means of livelihood this
psychological pursuit ? "
'Why , It all came about in a simple way
the outcome of a favor granted years ago tea
a dear schoolmate of mine. Ono day this
girl confided to me that she had received a
letter from a young man for whom she felt
the deepest recard. Poor Elslel I shall
cover forget how troubled she looked.
Beauty , wealth , social position all these
were hers ; she had everything In the world
but brains. 'Oh , Rose , ' she pleaded , 'won't
you answer It for me ? You can think of
more nice things In a mlnuto than I could In
all ray life. ' What could I do ? My letter
brought n second and moro fervent effusion.
Then , In order to prevent detection of fraud ,
I was forced to repeat the favor , and from
tlmo to tlmo wo continued our game of du
plicity. From the first that man's heart was
mine ; soon ho proposed and In less than a
year I married him off to Elsie. Happy
girl ! Three months later the doting husband
went away on a business trip and , as I re
fused to renew my outbursts on paper , Elsie
wrote nothing but the briefest notes , ex
cusing herself In various ways for not writ
ing more. Afterward she told mo bow much
'the dear fellow' regretted that she had lost
her 'knack of spinning love letters. ' Later
she confessed tho'whole affair to some girl
friends , advising them to seek my assistance
as she had done. But I failed to forseo any
personal advantage In devoting so much time
and brain tissues to matters which In no
way concerned myself. Then offers of re
muneration were timidly broached and I
yielded to that temptation. Those girls , in
turn , confided their experiences to their
'best friends' and In that way was created a
demand for ray guidance In like cases and by
degrees I 'became ' not alone a matchmaker ,
but a veritable perambulating private his
tory of countless lives. "
Problem of Srcrcti.
"How did you over convince the ladles
with whom you dealt tbat one of their own
sex could prove herself on exception to the
rule and 'keep secrets ? ' "
"Bless your Innocence , woman. You don't
suppose they vero silly enough to trust
their true loves to me body and soul ?
Though , of course , I could easily have
proved traitor bad I not constantly exer
cised over myself a mentally avowed rule
of complete self-forgetfulness. With ono
exception , no patron ever risked introduc
ing mo to her admirer. Several times wo
men were rash enough to tell mo the name *
of my correspondents , nnd they happened to
bo friends of mine , but usually I carried
on courtships with men whoso names were
never divulged , and I much preferred these
circumstances. I found I could do more
consclentloUH work when I had no Idea
whether I woe writing to n man named Per-
clval or < Pete , and whether ho lived In Chl-
cagd or China. There was no need of my
knowing , for all my letters were copied and
sent by the other woman nnd all replies re
ceived by her. The latter were usually
submitted to me. however , for In order to
successfully carry on a deception It was Im
perative that I bo Informed of all particu
lars. Prom the very first conversation with
a prospective patron I would Insist upon a
clean breast of everything up to date , I
emphatically forbade the concealment of fu
ture Incidents also. "
"Aside from the remunerative point of
view , did you enjoy your unusual enter
prise ? "
'ttlost certainly. The study of different
characters and their vagaries was Interest
ing and often educational. I derived Infinite
satisfaction In scientifically planning how I
to control various natures and I Invariably I
felt the keenest responsibility over
the destinies of people. Then there
were all sorts of diversions. Frequently I
have been employed to Inscribe tender trib
utes in honor of birthdays , festal cerebra
tions , anniversaries and other occasions un-
forgotten. And I have rhymed together
many , many stanzas for St. Valentino's
day and Easter tokens wore always popu
lar. Oh , " here Miss Norman rolled her
cyos celllngward , "I could write books-
books that would sell , too , " she exslalmcd.
"I could tell things about some of the most
prominent men and women In this city , "
and she rocked her pretty head In avuy
that implied volumes of secrets and ro- '
mances. "Tho clandestine love affairs of
whlct I have been made tno Innocent man
ager , a few Wlghted fives maybe , and the
schemers for whom I have handled many
strings to many bows would surprise the
arch destroyer himself. "
Kuniiy Experience.
The tragic express'on of Miss Norman's
face suddenly vanished In a burst of morrl-
ment. "I must tell you ono of the funniest
experiences I over had , " she broke forth ,
"fiucii a sweet young girl brought ne : her
firs' Jove afalr and begged mo In write iet- I
tors for her. I aeXed her to give mo come <
ilA of how many lints to a missive she
would bo willing to pay for , and ttatcd my
price per typewritten line.
" 'Spare no expense , ' she adjured me , 'this
fellow Is trying his level best not to care
for mo , and I Intend to make him. '
"Some of my most tcUIng etrokcs were
dally brought to bear upon that particular
chap's Bluggleh organ of affection , nightly
my fair coadjutor omphaxlzcd my foregone
aEsurances with blushes and porouaslvo
glances , and between us wo accomplished
his surrender. The next thing I heard from
the victorious rales was that she had tired
of that slave , ' and a new Idol was already
being worshiped. As nho referred in no
way to tbo re-engagement of my services
I wrote Inquiringly about It. What do you
think she replied ? That she had saved nil
my typewritten letters and , as she doubted
If this second 'venture' would amount to
anything more than 'a little flirtation' she
would Just use those oM letters over again
and not waste money on 'an uncertainty. '
That struck me na sublime , " and Miss Nor
man twinkled her eyes as If the joke would
never grow stale to her. "She never came ,
back to me , and I've often wondered how
many lovelorn youths have since found
balm In those same magic doses of soothIng -
Ing promises , written long before they o
much thought of yearning for the owner
of them.
"Did I ever wrlto for a man ? " was tha
query she repeated. "Yes , once , " she an
swered sobering. "A ctrango and very Bad
commission it proved to be. A perfect
stranger came to mo ono day on a peculiar
errand. Ho gave mo his name and address
nnd stated that for certain reasons , which
ho preferred not to mention , bo desired mo
to wrlto nn Impassioned letter ifull of en
dearing terms and Intense Jealousy. I fol
lowed his instructions without the slightest
curiosity , aside from thinking that ho
meant to pique nn Indifferent wveotbenrt by
flaunting ray letter. Having fulfilled my
part of the 'bargain ' I dismissed it from iny
mind. Several months later In walked a
patron of former dajs , a woman from whom
I had carried on a most delightful courtship
which ended with merry wedding bells and1
bride's cake. She Informed mo that she had
Just received the papero which made null
her marriage cortiflcato. Her husband had
proved faithless , oho sobbed , and the con-
vlcnlng evidence was a letter from nn un
known woman , found on the staircase whcro
it had been dropped by accident. The cn-
volopo Iboro his name and address , ! ho ad
mitted his guilt nnd the divorce wai
granted. 'You married us , ' she wept , 'so I
wanted you to know the end. ' I stared at the
parchment before mo and as I read the nnmo
of her ox-husband I know that I had uho
parted ! Iticm. "
"But why did you give It up ? " I asked ,
too curiously , perhaps , for she laughed In a
most exasperating way , nnd Bald ; "Some
other tlmo I will tell you not , today. "
TO I3.VI10W 1IOII W03IACIC.
Cripple Creek' * DUcovrrcr AV1II Ho
Cured l.'or by I'lonccrH' Sorletj' .
iA Denver. Colo. , dispatch says that Bob
Womack. the discoverer of Cripple Creek
camp , which brought fortunes to scores of
people , but failed to do anything for him ,
is not to bo forgotten. ( A pioneers' society
has been organized , with the express pur
pose of arranging for the endowment of
the old prospector with a fortune of
$80.000.
Bob AVomack was a cowboy In 1877. IIli
father owned a ranch at Crlpplo Creek.
Bob worked for hl father. Ono day ho
was wondering over the fields In a spot
( that afterward camu to bo known nn Pov
erty Gulch , and ho saw what ho supposed
to bo free gold on some float or drift rock
on the bank of Crlpplo Creek , When hu
got to his father's cabin ho wrote to two
friends at Clear Creek who wore experi
enced prospectors nnd nsked them to come
up and examine the country. They came
looked about for a tlmo and then pronounced
the country worthless. Bob Womack wan
disappointed. Ho VIBB no miner , but ho
woa sure that ho had discovered a gold
Hold and ho stuck to it. About a year later
ho ran across a bin rock sticking out of
ono side of Poverty Gulch , nnd It looked
to him as If it contained free told. HO
knocked off n piece of u and when ho went
to Denver next tlmo ho took It to an us-
uaycr. wno told him It returned J200 gold
to the ton. He sent for his two Clear Creek
friends again and told them what he hud
learned. They make another investigation
and concluded that the rock wa a "pud
ding , " which means that It was put thora
by somebody who wanted to "salt" a claim
und sell It.
Wowack was not satisfied. Ho told his
friends tbat If they would prospuct nil about
the ranch ho would board them free all
summer , but they told him tbat It would
bo a waste of tlmo and refused to stay.
Womack wouldn't clvo up the Idea that ho
hud found free old. HU father sold the
ranch and the family moved , Bob told
everybody that gold was there. Finally ho
made a number of prospectors bcllevo him
and they made a thorough examination of
the property und the great gold fields of
Crlpplo Creek were opened. This WHS al
most fifteen years after Bob Womack's first
discovery. Womack got practically nothing
out of his find , but If It hadn't been for liU
persistency the gold fields might btlll I *
Dimply grazing ground for cattle.
