RILE ROADS LIKE KINGS.
RAlL\\ A\ MANAGEMENT NOW A
PB M rricAL MONARCHY.
NEW YORK SEAT OF POWER.
All the Great Systems Subject to One
man Pawer, Which Is Exercised by
Bankers in Their Offices in the Me
tropolis. —Harriman and Gould Hard- j
working Autocrats. —Radical Changes.
Recently Edwin Haley, president of
the Minneapolis and St. Ix>uis anil lowa
Central railroads, accompanied l>y his
partner, K. H. Davis, treasurer, and vice
president and. treasurer, resjieutivcly, of<
the two roads just mentioned, went West
t» inspect these and other railroad prop
erties in which they are either the con
trolling factors or are heavily interested.
Messrs. Hawley and Davis have eon
trolled the -uinneapolis and St. Louis and
the lowa Central for al>out live years,
yet neither of these officials had inspect
ed either property for at least two years.
They have their cilices in New \ork, the
meetings of the directors are held there,
the dividend- are declared in those otliees
—in short, the properties are practically
managed from New York.
Naturally, it will l>e asked how this
can Ih> dun' successfully. For many
year- hoi h Mr. Hawley and Mr. Davis
were closely associated with that great
railroad builder and magnate, the late
Collis I'. Huntington. One of the strik
ing gifts • 112 Mr. Huntington was his abil
ity t<, sclci-t niinpetent aswix-iates and
subordinates, and liis willingness to trust
them with important duties, lie selected
Mr. Hawley for head of the traffic de
partment of tlic Southern Pacific Com
pany. A- long as Mr. Jlawley held that
position he was credited with being the
greatest -olicitor in the country.
When Mr. Hawley prospered, as lie
was bound to do. and came to own and
direct railroads for himself, lie adopted i
the tactics of his gi at. chief. He had I
worked hard, and did not pr p« -e to have
his titue and strength taken with details
and routine, nor even with fre.jtieiit. trips
to tin territory covered by the roads of
which he w;is ttie head. Accordingly he
selected f< r vice president and general
manager the hc-t iti.lll he could find for
the p!a>••». a man eagerly s night for by
not a few much larger systems. Mr.
Hawley ki that he had a g:>od man,
ami he made a long-time contract with
him at a price that was prohibitive for
even hi- -tronger rivals. Mr. Hawley |
and Mr Davis, with the assistance of the
director-, have managed the finances of
the pr iper: ii - very successfully, ami have
supervise 111 1 operation <>l the road in a
general way. passing on all matters of
importance. The vice president and gen
eral manager has been the chief operat
ing official—the man"On the ground."
These few facls suggest in a general
way the radical difference in.the manage
ment of railroads, particularly those in
the West, that has taken place within
the last few years. They pave the way
also for showing how large a number of
rail roads whose line-s do not crime near
New York are practically direct" 1 from
that denter.
How different this from t' not dis
tant past! Not so many years ago tlie
president.- of Western railroads were
men who iuid come up fin>lll the humblest
positions in the service. They had their
headquarters at a central pant in the
territory covered by their roads, and
they spent most of the time, on the. scene
ot action. They were the operating and
financing men combined.
Now we have bankers or men of some
general railroad experience as presidents
of the Western roads. Mr. llawley is a
banker, and a member of the New York
Stock Exchange, although, as already
shown, he had valuable railroad experi
ence before he began buying them for
himself.
As in the case of Mr. Hawley, these
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1 . I
men h. ve their otliees in New \ ork and
: direct their properties by means of tho
I telegraph, long-distance telephone, and
j the mails. To the vice president and
I general manager is intrusted the direct
operation of the property. The banker
presidents in the East EM- 11 the stock and
bonds with which to buy new rails,
equipment, Ac., and the vice president
general manager gets the trallic to fill
the ear.- and the money with which to
j pay interest on the bonds and dividends
lon the stock.
President of Many Roads.
It is safe to assert that few people
j among the general public have even an
I fipproximatc idea of the large number of
I roads that are managed in the way al
ready roughly outlined. In some cases a
single New York banker is president of
several important W<(Stern properties
WIKASC lines may not extend farther East
than Chicago.
I ake, for instance, that little wizard
Edward 11. Harriman, who is contesting
with that giant in the railroad world,
• lames .1. Ilill, for his right to the control
of the Northern Pacific Railroad Com
pany. Soon after Mr. Harriman secured
<■ 'iitrol of the Southern Pacific Company
for the Union Pacific Railroad he was
elected president of the former company.
Control of the Southern Pacific carried
with it control of the Pacific Mail .Steam
ship Company. Charles 11. Tweed, long
one of the late Colli* P. Huntington's
most valuable associates and counselors,
was then president of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company. A little later he
resigned, ami was succeeded bv Mr. Har
riman. Within the last twelve months
Horace <!. Hurt lias resigned as president
01 the I'nion Pacific Railroad, and he, al
so was succeeded by Mr. Harriman, pre
viously chairman of the board t direct
ors of that company. Here is one man,
essentially a banker—riot primarily a
railroad man directing from bis ofiice
in NV-v York the affairs, not rnly of fi
nance, but largely of "operation, of a sys
tem of railro.i Is covering, roughly. 16,-
IM)0 miles, and one of the most important
! -teaniship lines 011 the Pacific Ocean hav
j ing a large Herd of l>oats.
Naturally, the methods employed in
this gigantic task will be of interest. In
i the first place, it may Is- stated that in
the ca.se of Mr. Harriman, as already in
timated, lie is president in fact as well as
i 1 mime, and he i- the actual head ' 112 ev
ery corporation with which his name is
connected. Of course, he does not do ev
erything himself, althoifgh he does vast
ly more than any one not intimately ac
-1 jimmied with him would imagine lie has
j ilia physical strength to accomplish.
Able Ccrps of Assistants.
Nevertheless, he has a large and able
corps of assistants. For instance, there
is .1, C. Stubhs, who is styled trallic di
r. etor of the entire Harriman system,
i his is an office less than two years old,
am! the Could lines have the only other
man tilling a similar position. As his
title indicates, Mr. Stubbs has general
direction of traffic matters all the
Harriman roads. Mr. Harriman has 111-
treduced mother new office, tin; occu
pant of which "is known as director of
purchases, flis title clearly suggests his
duties in a l.road way. Upon these two
men devolve the highly important duties
of getting and apportioning traffic among
the different roads in rt, ( . system and of
making the pureha-os i>f supplies, an
item reaching into the millions every
year.
Of course, Mr. Harriman has the usual
iist of associate officers, several secreta
ries and assistants of various kinds. He
is the man at the helm, however, and
nothing large or small escapes his watch
ful eye. Mr. Harriman has a strong de
sire to have the reins in his hands and to
do the driving all the time. There he
sits day in and day out in that large
front office in the southwest corner 011
the fourth floor of the Equitable Life
Building, 120 Broadway, with a map of
his entire railroad system before him,
subordinate officers, secretaries, and
clerks at a moment's call; telegraphic in
struments clicking in an adjoining room.
It the board of directors of any one of
the numerous roads in the Harriman
group adopts a measure the purport <>f
which must be kiv \vn at once b.v the op
-01 at ing officials in the West, a secretary
or attendant is called and a message is
Hashed over the wires instantly to Chi
cago, Omaha, Salt l.ake City. Sail Fran
cisco, or whatever point is desired. If
this message, for instance, means that (
construction work on a certain line is to
be stopped, if can be done inside rf 1111 !
hour.
lint Mr. Harriman does not merely sit
in hi- New York ofiice and suggest to his
directors the wisdom of issuing large ;
:imounts ut bonds or - t >cks as in the case 1
t Southern Pacific is, s]iH).Of)!).oo<)
of prcterre I - tock recently , or issue cr
iers to the officials on the ground in the
West, lie m ikes frequent trips over hi* ,
r.'ids ■ ever.ll trips every year. lie-!
member that this man i- primarily a i ,
banker an I did nut con e up in the rail
road ranks.
Gould Also in Mew York.
A man v.h 1 occupies a posi'!.::i in the!
railroad world very similar tot.hut of
air. Harriman i- Gorge .1. Cou'd. who is,
in t closely as- iciatel with Mr. I far-
rim.in in many of the lattor'e railroad
enterprises.
A substantial j>art of the legacy which
tlie late Jay Gould left his children was
I in thp form of a long li-t of railroad
properties with which hi< name was
prominently identified, and which consti
tuted the Gould system of railroads of
that day. Mr. (ionld's property com
prised also a large interest in several i
New York bunks. (ieorge <iould has as
sumed direction of the railroads and his I
brother Edwin of the banks.
George Gould's name appears in the of- j
ficinl rosters as president of more than j
half the roads in the present Gould sys- j
teni. lie is tup virtual president of them j
all, frr nothing of importance is done by i
the other officials without first consult
ing Mr. Gould. His word is absolute law
in every one of the (iould roads.
1-ike Mr. llarriniaji, Mr. Gould lias his
office in New York, and directs all his
' properties from that point. This base of
o|x>ration is in the southwest corner on
the fifth floor of the Western Union
Building, 1!)."> Broadway. Mr. Gould is
not only .surrounded by secretaries, asso
ciate officers, clerks and messengers, but
every official and employe of the Gould
companies in the building (and there are
no other companies in the building) are
subject to his call at a moment's notice
to share in the work which lie outlines.
As a matter of fact, much that might be
termed his personal work is parceled out.
among the men already referred to. By
this system it can be readily seen how he
can accomplish a vast amount of work.
Growth of Gould System.
I he present Gould system of railroads
is considerably longer than that left by
•lay (iould. (ieorgc having added to it ma
terially. It now comprises approximate
ly 1.1,000 miles of lines. Among the most
important, roads are the Missouri Pacific,
the \\ abash, the St. I/>uis, Iron Moun
tain and Southern, the. Texas and Pa
cific. the St. jjouis Southwestern, and the
Denver and Bio Grande. Mr. Gould lias
private telegraph wires between his New
\ork oflice and the principal centers
touched bv the Gould roads, and is thus
in direct communication with all his
properties. He not only directs the
finances of tlie.se properties in a masterly
fashion, but he has much to say and do
in the actual operation of them.
■\. t . Bird, to whose oflice reference has
!<"cii made already, does the same for the
(iould roads in the getting and distribut
ing of traffic that •). I'. Stubbs does for
the Ilarriiuan lines. In Russell Harding,
viee president and general manager of
the Missouri iV.cilie, Mr. (iould had a
valuable executive in the operating de
portment. (Mr. Harding recently resign
ed to accept a .similar |>o.sitio>i with the
new Cincinnati, Hamilton ami Dayton
syster.i.) Joseph Biinsey, jr.. president
ot the \\ aba <h and several other roads
in the (iould group, is a. man iu whose
ability Mr. (iould has the greatest con
fidence. and Ii > i- making an enviable
record for himself. Both Mr. Bamsey
and Mr. Harding have their headquarters
in St. Ixuiis, but thev are in New York
often in conference with Mr. Gould. Af
ter all i- s.iid an I I me. the hitter is the
rea. head, OJ all the roads bearing the
Gould name.
Mr. (iould is a tremendous worker.
His fondness lor polo and other active
outdoor sports, however, keeps his phy
sique in prime condition. The coldest
days in winter his business >uit is made
of medium-weight serge, and when he ar
rives at his ■office. about 10 a. in., he aj.
most in variably is in. a lively perspira
tion, and is carrying a lightweight top
coat on his arm. Once inside his office he
strips off' urtdercoat and waistcoat and
settles down to business immediately.
During the coldest days in midwinter
Mr. Gould may often be seen going to
vanciis offices in the \\ estern Union
Building in the same negligee style. lie
even presided at a meeting of the direct
ors of one of the companies not long ago
without coat or vest.
Gould's Frequeat Trips.
Mr. (i uhl does not de|>end altogether
on his representatives iu the West to
carry out .lis orders. He goes over the
line, often to see with his own eves what
is being done. On these trips he talks
considerably to tin- newspaper men. Me
has litth- to say t the representatives ot
the press iu New York.
Still another man in the same category
with Mr. Ilirrininn an 1 Mr. (iould is
Stuyvcsint fish, president of the Illinois
( entral Rnilro.':!. .Mr. !• i-h belongs to a
family c.i' banker and financiers, and
was originally a Ixinker himself. Still, i
Irom hi-, office on the thirteenth 1!,,0r of
the North American Trust lluildiug. Bio
Bro.i.lway, he directs. i?t greit detail, the
affair* of one of the best railroad prop- :
crties in the ( entr.il West. While Mr.
I i-!' does n >t maintain a piivnte tele
giv;:h wire -ei-ree with (hit ago, the
main office of the < mpany in the West.
i.til! he has ,i surprisingly intimate know
ledge of the exiot condition of affairs all
over the lMir.ti; Central system at a
:M»en moment. Mr. Ki-li is sjjoken ot iu
raiirnnd oirele as one ; the hardest
working railroad p; -ident- in the . uni
try. i ,
!' d(!cs not -pi-u.l very much time iu
tr»T ;ng over the Illinois Central line.-.
:;t hi, •.•rasp of hU property i- wonder
j fill. 110 seams to have the entire raiJ
! situation of the country absolutely
jin 'land, also. No man can better give a
, writer on railroad matters ideas on which
| lo lmso comprehensive articles.
No Leisure Till 7 p. m.
It- is hardly necessary to say that Mr.
1 Fish i-. an extremely busy man. A news
j paper man who went to his office reeent
j Iv to see liiin was told by a friend there
j that a good time to see him would be
j about 7 o'clock in the evening. This may
| seem a gross exaggeration, but it is ae
j tually true that Mr. Fish may often lie
| found hard at work at his oiliee at that
j hour, even in summer. No man, busy or
j otherwise is more accessible than he
when lie can find a moment to see his
callers. On<-e in his presence, it is even
more difficult to get away than it was to
get in. This great railroad chief will, of
his own volition, chat most interestingly,
not oniy of Illinois Central and railroad
matters in general but of his farm at
Garrisons and numerous other topics as
well.
lie is extremely plain in his tastes,
particularly in the matter of dress. The
same is true of Mr. Harriman and George
Could. Mr. lush's business dress is in
variably a plain sack suit, ooat, vest, and
trousers, all of the same material. His
neckwear and linen, while always neat
in the,extreme, are perfectly plain,
Mr. Harriman also wears a plain sack
suit, a low turnover collar, and a small
plain black bow. George Gould never ap
pears in business hours in anything but
a plain sack suit, his favorite materials
being blue or black serge. All three
pieces of (he suit are always of the same
material—no figured waistcoats or
striped trousers. Nis neckwear is cor
respondingly simple.
Mr. Fish cares little for the gayety and
conventionalities of Newport, where Mrs.
Fish is so prominent, but takes far more
delight in his farm at Garrisons-on-the
lludson, of which he is wont to speak of
ten to bis callers at the Illinois Central
o trice.
Other Roads Similarly Ruled.
I lie great Rock Island system, since it
passed to the present management, has
been directed chiefly from New York. L.
F. Loree, when president of the Rock Is
land Company, had bis headquarters in
New York, and now Robert Mather, his
successor, has come here from Chicago
to direct the properties. 1!. F. Yoakum,
until recently president, now chairman
of the board of directors of the 'Frisco
system is supposed to have his main of
fice in Si. Louis, but he spends more
time in New * ork than there. It is prac
tically true that the. Rock Island system,
the largest in the worhi, is in the hands
of bankers, and is directed by them from
New York, a- are the Harriman, Gould,
< n-1 Illinois Central systems. With the
exception of the Wabash, none of (lie
Lues of these -ysteins comes nearer New
ork than lHtffalo or Pittsburg, while
most of them do not extend east of Chi
cago, a thousand miles from New York.
\\ ith tin' exception of the Rock Island
j• 11 the great' railroad systems mentioned
are specimens not only of the new style
of railroading outlined, namely, the di
rect i <ll of a great Western railroad prop
erty by a banker from his New* York of
fice, but also of one-man power, both in
Hie organization of the properties and
their management.
Another example of the one-man-pow
er regime is W. K. Venderbilt, head of
flic large system of railroads bearing the
name of his family. Mr. Verdcrbilt is
president of only a few of the companies
in the Venderbilt system, but he is the
supreme authority in every company,
nevertheless. All matters of importance
must have his approval, and if lie is
abroad he passes upon them by cable, if
of sufficient importance, otherwise by
mail. As a matter of fact, because of
his long trips abroad, Mr. Vanderbilt
transacts more business from London,
I'aris and other European centers than
from his office in the Grand Central sta
tion in New \ ork.
Another that might lie. mentioned in
the Southern Railway, Samuel S]>encer,
its president, has spent most of his time
in New York, although the main office of
the company is in Washington, D. C.
It should lie said in passing that Mr.
■spencer has managed his property with
marked success, having brought the pre
ferred stock u)> to the full 5 per cent
dividend basis from a point where the
share holders received no return on their
investment. —Wash. !'o>t.
e
TWO DAYS OF POKER ENOUGH.
Finish of a Man Who Made a Business of
Warring on River Gamblers.
"There was men traveled the Missis
sippi River when I was a young feller
that von don't rotash lib,* Ym now,"
■id Caleb Mix. the veteran bai lend'-r on
the river packet City of Natchez. "It
must be ni.rh fifty years since 1 begun
jugglin' bottles .11 the old Cn de Helle
-that was the first 1 at I worked 011.
An' thinas ain't no more like what the.
was then nor a mule is like a mulberry
tree. Hie (J KM is different an' people is
different.
"One thing yon won't n-ver come
across again on the river taints is draw
poker the v.-nx if, was played them days.
*ll 112 don't never see notanlv like the
men t uster make n business o" plavin'
it. Fhe» v. as a hard k>t, an' 1 ain't say
there's anv -.rest call fort- have no
body like 'em oil th 6 Isxit.s to-day; but
they «uie IY,I . interest in", un' >.vhcn they
troweled the beais like they did there
was gen'a'ly some doin's aboard afore
the trip was over.
"There's lots of 'em I c'n remember,
thai was all of a sort. Reekie** dare
!«»ils, re.' !y 1 risk their lest, dollar in a
1 tleii ivM in.l fight, nt'-ru i«
pi::en ni'*l ways, but hearty an' free
•rough with their money at the -nee
time. They wa'u'l no earthly good *0
eobody iar then-selves, an' monstrous
iit tie to their owns elves.
"But there was one feller't aster trav
el with 'em an' pluy with 'em almost con-
stant. that was different I'm any I ever
knowed. 'Pe-ired like lie went into the
game different, an' had different idees o'
must everything I'm what tin? others
had. I never right Jcnowod whether you
c'd call him a p'fessional gambler or not,
but 1 never knowed him to do nothin'
else but play poker.
"He were a tall, dark chap, a 1 Knit forty
years old when 1 first khowed him; 't
years old when I first knocked him:
blood into him. Some said 'twas more'n
likely he had, bein' as he came f'm Vir
ginny, an' they do say Injun is reckoned
good blood up there. Mebbe 'tis. Likely
there's different kinds of Injun, different
places. Anyway, his name was Gwalt
ney, an' they said Gwaltney Mas a good
name in Virginny.
"This un didn't do nothin' down in this
part o' th' world for to make it no more
illustrious. First off, he drinked some
pin' desp'rate.
"Everybody drinked liquor them days,
'thouten 'twas some 't had money to
drink wine constant; but this here
fiwaltney, he drinked all the time. 'Pear
ed like it didn't take no hold on him,
neither, on'y to make him quiet an' ug
ly lookin', which he were ugly enough
without it.
"He warn't no great fighter, though.
'l'eared like he was satisfied if he was
let alone. I never seen him draw a knife
but once, nor shoot but once in three or
four years that he traveled the river. An'
when he did fight, he didn't 'pear to take
no satisfaction into it, like a good many
does.
"He just fired once, an' when he seen
his man drop lie turned an' walked away.
An' when he drawed his knife an' the
other feller backed away f'm him, he
just laughed, sort of contemptuous like,
an' put it back in his boot.
"But it was poker I started to tell
about. 'Peared like he played it differ
ent f'm most. There's them that plays
it for excitement, settin' into a game
whenever they nets a chance, ail' playin'
tor big money all the time, but not ear
in' none too serious about the money, fur
as anylxxly c'n see. whether they win or
lose.
"An' there's them that plays for fun,
casual like, whenever it's handy, but not
lookin' for it special, an' not 'pearin' to
cure whether there's a game goin' or not.
Then, o' course, there's p'fessionals that's
ai'avs watch in' out for a game, an' al'-
ays playin' for the money an' nothing
| else, makin' a business of it, cold blooded
an' scientific, but not takin' no interest
in th' excitement of it.
"Well, Gwaltney wa'n't like none o'
these. 'Peared like lie war like a man't
g'ies out gutinin' for bear, 't don't take
no notice o' nothin' else but bear. May
tie he'll see squirrels or pa'tridges or even
icer when lie's out, an' not give 'em no
notice, if lie don't find bear, he'll come
home with his gun loaded, just like it
was when lie started out.
" I hut was Gwaltnev. I've saw him
travel f'm .Memphis, plumb through to
Xew Orleans, 'thoutcn ever touehin' a
card, an' I've saw him play two days an'
three nights 'thoutcn leavin' the game
ten minutes.
"It was this way. He wouldn't set in
to no game on'y wit h p'fessionals. If he
c'd get two or three of 'em together
that'll play with him, he'd set in f'r any
money they liked, an' he'd plav right
along, win or lose, till they'd quit, or
soinepin' 'd break up the game.
"Hut if anybody else 'd set in that
wa'n't a p'fessional, it didn't make no
difference how good a player he mought
lie, fiwaltney '<l drop o' the game in no
time. 'Peared like he hadn't no use for
sucker money, lie al'ays liad plenty of
his own, wherever it come from, but he
were keen as a hawk to win f'm a gam
bler.
"He didn't never say nothin' aliout it
to nobody. 'Peared like he didn't never
care nothin' al>out talkin' to nobody
about nothin'. I never seen him talk to
nobody five minutes at a time. Nor I
never see him readin' nor doin' nothin'
else but drink an' play poker.
"If there wa'n't no game on. he'd come
into the bar ev'rv twenty minutes or so
an' take a big drink all to his own cheek,
an' walk out. An' he didn't never look
like he'd ever had a drink afore in his
life.
"He didn't have to tell nobody, though,
for to be knowed for a man't was look
in for a p'fessional game. Thein things
is found out without tellin', an' 't wan't
often 'the had to look b>ng. Gamblers
wis thicker on the boats 'n crows in a
cornfield thefli days, an they was al'ays
lookin' f'r a man as had money.
"Some on 'em got so they wouldn't
play with him when they'd set in with
him two or three times. Whan a man
pla;, s poker 112 r business he hain't no rel
ish for plavin' with a man 'I he can't
'cat. an' they did say 't Gwal'ney play
ed the best game 'twas ever saw- on the
river. An'lie knowed all the tricks there
was.
"He wa'n't never caught trvin' any on
C M, 1 ut lie wouldn't stand for anyiiodv
else plavin' 'em. He didn't never make
no row about it, nor get ugly, but he'd
sort o' grin an' call for new deck, or say
smnepin' carelesslike about the way
things Mas goin', but he'd say it so's not
to make the other man shoot, just to let
him know 'the was on.
"Tin 'y time't ever knowed him to
look sort > ' half way happy was when
he'd p'ay son:* gambler t>> a standstill,
an' have him qui! the game broke, or
back out altogether, an' say flat-footed
as how }i« mil In't play no more with
him. Two'n't necessary 112 r h:m to give
no reason*, fiwaltney knowed it was
because fit* otliei feller war afraid ut'
his game, an' that 'peared to give him
some satisfvation.
"Stands (• reason, though, that a man
like him WHS <r.»in' to find men that'll
give him a run for his money. He wa'n't
the ony min n the river 't knowed the
ga.ne. v A' \T ; n't the on'y one't were
ready to take a chance.
"The queer thing altout it to me was't
he lasted as long as he did, r-tackin' up
ng'in the best men there was on the river,
year in nn' year out, for the better part
o' four years, but that's what lie
"Jfc got to be talked about, natural, an'
there was players f'm all over lister come
aboard the I>oa.ts to meet him, lay in' for
a game, lie never had no pal, an' he
never backed out of a game, but he never
got much the worst of it till Charlie
Hales an' his pal happened along late one
fall nn' got pickin' up suckers on the old
Creole Helle.
" i hey are saiil to be f'm up North
somewhere*, nil' they sure was a quiet
lookin' [tair o' boys. Neither one on 'ein
wa'n't thirty years old, an' Hates were
as innocent lookin' as a school inarm.
Hut they got hold of a couple o' planters
I :ii Mississippi an' done 'em up shameful
inside of a hour.
"Owaltney were lookin' on, an' he seen
plain enough what they was. So just
naturally he laid for them, an' belli' as
they took him for another sucker, he
didn't have to Jo no hard work for to
get another game started with on'y three
men into it, an' him one o' the three.
"Well, they played all the way to
\ icksburg, an' Owaltney dropped over
s.'{,ooo in the game. 'Peared like that
were all the money he had with him, an'
he had to stop off an' send for more, or
somepin' like that, so him an' Hates an'
his pal parted there, but Owaltney made
'em promise to let him know when they
come tack.
"They wa'n't noways alow alvout that,
natural enough, an' all's they did was to
go down with the Ixmt to New Or
leans an stay aboard for tli' up river
trip. Owaltney was waitin' for 'em, an'
the three on 'em was shut info a state
room with cards an' chips afore the Cre
ole Helle had took oil the freight 'twas
waitin' on the levee.
'1 was called into the room tol'able fre
quent for the next two days, l»ein' as
Owaltney was driirkin' right along same
as usual, hut Hates, he didn't drink
nothin . an' his partner, Ferguson, on'y
took a nip now an' again, same as most
anybody. 'Peared like the}' was lookin'
for Owaltney to get drunk, but he never
turned a hair, On'y i c'd see f'm what
little I did see, 'the were losin' again.
"Just naturally I watched out the best
I knowed for to see whether there was
any crooked work, but if there was it
must ha' taen the slickest kind for to
get past Owaltney, an' 'twa'n't likely 't I
c'd spot it. Anyway, I didn't, but there
wa nt no doubt as Mates an* Ferguson
was two o the best players 't evercome
down the river. 1 seen that, an' 1 seen,
too, 't Owaltney was gettin' rattled.
Next t hing I knowed the game broke
up. Hates an' Ferguson went oil' to bed,
an' Owaltney come into the bar an' took
a drink. I lien he lit a cigar in' went
out on deck, like lie wer® goin' fer a
walk.
"A'ter thai there wa'n't nothin' ever
knowed of him. Hi; was missed 'fore we
•got to a landin', but he wa'n't nowheres
on the l>oat. liates nn' his pi I traveled
the river for a year or so more, till the
war In- ke out, an' they went North, an'
then I never heard no more on 'em.
ears a'ter, I met a feller 't knowed
Owaltney up in \ irginny, an' lie said 't
Owaltney\s father an' two brothers had
all shot tlieirselves fer losin' all they had
at cards, an' this here one hail took an
oath to make war on gamblers its I;>ng as
he lived. lie made a good fight of it
while lie lasted, but he'd bit off a tol'able
big mouthful when he tackled the p'fes
-ionals on the Mississippi."—Chi. linter
cean.
"So Maude is happily married?"
"Happily? I should say she is! Why
she married a somnambulist, who gets up
in his sleep every morning and builds
the lire."
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RP tf Delevan, N. Y.
W. N. Y. x. U,—20.18