m the New York party. Then he began to kick,
and said the game was not fair; that he was going to have his money
back, and threatened to bring up the crew of seventy-five men that
he had on board, who had been working on the levee. I sent a
message to the mate telling him what to watch out for, so he armed
all of the boat's crew, roustabouts and all, with clubs and stone
coal, and stationed them at the foot of the stairs; that brought
matters to a stand-still. The contractor's men weakened, and the
players who were the heaviest losers wanted the throw the contractor
overboard, as they said the game was on the square and perfectly
fair. There was so much noise made, however, that the passengers
began to come out of their state-rooms. The Captain hurried down
from the hurricane roof, and ominously shook his head; so I cleared
the game, and all was quiet once more. I settled my bar bill,
which was $375; and, counting over my money, found I was exactly
$19,000 winner, and had I not been disturbed or molested might have
won $150,000, as there was more money on board then I ever saw in
my life before, and all the men were "high rollers."

That night the contractor and his men got off; the players sobered
up, and we resumed operations; but the playing was not so large,
nor the players so venturesome. Still I kept the game open till
we reached our destination, and came out a few thousands more ahead.

HE NEVER KNEW.

There are always men who have some scheme on hand--some trick or
device that is a sure winner. It may be a system, a combination,
marked cards, or something of the sort. Such a man was John Brogan,
of Alexandria. His stronghold was marked cards. He had played
with them for years, and had been remarkably successful, having
accumulated considerable property. I was once coming down the Red
River, when I made the acquaintance of a shrewd fellow named Neice.
He used a small concave reflector about the size of a gold dollar,
which he placed in the pile of chips before him, and which in
dealing the cards enabled him to see every card, and where it went.
He generally played with gamblers, and so adroit was he in his
manipulations that they were unable to catch him. I made up my
mind that we could both make some money, so I told him that I had
a man for him who was well heeled. He was willing to help me, and
we started for Alexandria. I got the Captain to land about three
miles above the city, and put o