Newspaper Notes - 1850s (NN-18.5)(1850s) (336 pages)

Gambling in the mining camps lip, and Madame Blackjack, othwas raw and there was no preten_erwise Mrs. Dumont, Grass Valtious or subterfuges about it. The ley, too, had an illustrious hostess gambling saloon of the primitive vin famous Lola Montez, but — almining camp, was it only a calico . though it has been whispered that draped frame structure, was the . the stakes often ran skyhigh, her gambler was unheard of, unseem~{ ly and smacked of heresay, com. me . munity property and equal rights. She opened her blackjack game’ ‘some ten days later and she ran it for a long two years with great J most popular place, in fact only place where could get together, Bean’s Directory of Nevada county says the saloons “were the foci of the mining and trading population, All the games * of chance ever invented were tried ‘In these saloons but monte, faro, ‘roulette, vingt-et-un and poker were the favorite games. Thousands worked hard during the day and with success, only to spend the last grain of dust at the tables or bars of the alluring gambling hells at night. Conspicuous objects the . games were social affairs in’ the “goodfellows” . seclusion of the Mill street home: of the charmeuse, The story of Madame Moystache has been told by Joseph Henry Jackson in his “Anybody’s Gold.” . The latest version, closely follow‘ing his, appears in the October . ‘issue of Westward, a monthly ' published by the Kaiser Corpor-ation and told by W. H, Hitchinson under the title Madame Blackjack. He introduces the heroine this way: “The red dust of the Sierra in one of these places were rows : foothills hung like a thin veil beof tables, on which were heaped . Mexican doubloons and dollars, with an occasional nugget and bag of dust on top of the pile. Around these tables were crowded men in gray or blue shirts, pants more or less begrimed’ with auriferous mud, boots with ample length of legs drawn over the pants, and slouched hats, staking their dust and intensely awaiting the turn of a card that should double their fortune. An occasional woman of easy. virtue was seen sandwiched in among the rough miners and trying her luck at monte. The ring of the money on the tables, the announcements of theyman at the roulette wheels, the cursing of the disappointed at their bad fortune, and the continued calls for “bar-keep” rendered the scene one. rarely td be met with except in california, Now and then a row would suddenly break out, pistols were drawn ‘and bar tumblers’ flew with an abandon only sur. passed by the shooting meteors of; November, 1833. And then, such a getting out of doors, and such swife forgetfulness that the saloon’) would be again thronged and the games going on in fifteen minutesas if nthing had occured.” When feminine beauty and, charm was added to the fascina. tion of the game, there was no’) resistance to the beckonings of . Daime Fortune, This fatal combi. nation invaded Nevada City in the . early fifties and not only held miners spellbound for a long itme . but has furnished an ever-recur. ing subject: for both serious his‘torians and more frivolous sketch\ers through the years. The in. vader has been called _variously . , Madame Moustache, on account of a generous shading of: the upper . (Continued from Page One) ‘hind the vanished Concord coach ‘as it slid down the long grade ifrom Town Talk and braked to a! stop in’ the canyon-cramped com. . munity now called Nevada City, ‘California. The passengers debarked, beating the dust from themselves, and went their ways. One of them, however, lingered before claiming her luggage, to look about her with dark eyes ‘both interested and _ interesting. 'yfer name on the Jehu’s’ waybill . from Sacramento was {Eleanor Dumont but _ this } handle did her an injustice. Firmly plump in all the right, several talented assistants in ai outer room specializing in keno, . of faro, chuck-a-luck and three-card places, well dressed, with healthy glowing complexion olive hue, she titivated the mas-! monte. culine sensibilities of the gathered onlookers.” “She was a topic of speculation until a notice appeare interested parties to ananina—_af—Madame _Dumont's 01 their way in. Business boomed ee vafter these additions to her establishment and they kept on boomparlours on Broad street where there would be free champagne . for all and’the opportunity to test . their skills at assembling a fist . , whose _ total closer to full of cards . counted in the hand of Madame Dumont ‘herself. This notice rocked pips . forward( and maintained a decorMadame} h f? asa receiver brief) finds. She also enlarged her es. vingt-et-un . (twenty-one) than did the cards . the . j staid element of Nevada City like . ‘an overdose of jalap. Theirs was . a respectable community with no more unwarranted homicide than . befitted a prosperous camp on the ‘Lode, There were gamblers in ‘town aplenty, of course there were. But they were male gamblers ‘whose trade was considered no . more dishonest than politics, mar. chandising, or mining stock pro_, motions. But a professional lady . financial success and acumen. During this long period, she operated with sauvity and propriety and the worst charge levelled . against her by both sides of her female sisterhood was that she dressed too well, She dealt an honest game, chaffing the Reirte . ners, consoling the losers, rolling I her own cigarettes with the deft} ness of much practice. She took . an occasional sip of wine, jollied all zhee boyss without becoming um that seems unbelievable. The . net result was that the miners ; from all the northern camps were 4 stacked up in layers awaiting their chance at the green baize table in front of Madame Blackjack. As she prospered, Madame real‘ized with Gallis business sense . that the game of vingt-et-un is! self-limiting. One dealer cannot handle more than six players with due regard to the proper rules. Madame was losing business as a result. With determination not to let this happen, she chose a young mg* named Dayid Tobin to assist of the public tablishment, esconcing Tobin and} an} This anteroom separated . the men from the ribbon clerks) and Madame’s own inner sanctum was reserved for the heavy spendd inviting all}ers or for those who had made ! the grandj@ winning off Dave and his boys . ing until late in 1855 when Tobin . “a gambler himself — laid his . The vr “ x Fa Sond Mee le fo.

Gambling in the mining camps lip, and Madame Blackjack, othwas raw and there was no preten_erwise Mrs. Dumont, Grass Valtious or subterfuges about it. The ley, too, had an illustrious hostess gambling saloon of the primitive vin famous Lola Montez, but — almining camp, was it only a calico . though it has been whispered that draped frame structure, was the . the stakes often ran skyhigh, her gambler was unheard of, unseem~{ ly and smacked of heresay, com. me . munity property and equal rights. She opened her blackjack game’ ‘some ten days later and she ran it for a long two years with great J most popular place, in fact only place where could get together, Bean’s Directory of Nevada county says the saloons “were the foci of the mining and trading population, All the games * of chance ever invented were tried ‘In these saloons but monte, faro, ‘roulette, vingt-et-un and poker were the favorite games. Thousands worked hard during the day and with success, only to spend the last grain of dust at the tables or bars of the alluring gambling hells at night. Conspicuous objects the . games were social affairs in’ the “goodfellows” . seclusion of the Mill street home: of the charmeuse, The story of Madame Moystache has been told by Joseph Henry Jackson in his “Anybody’s Gold.” . The latest version, closely follow‘ing his, appears in the October . ‘issue of Westward, a monthly ' published by the Kaiser Corpor-ation and told by W. H, Hitchinson under the title Madame Blackjack. He introduces the heroine this way: “The red dust of the Sierra in one of these places were rows : foothills hung like a thin veil beof tables, on which were heaped . Mexican doubloons and dollars, with an occasional nugget and bag of dust on top of the pile. Around these tables were crowded men in gray or blue shirts, pants more or less begrimed’ with auriferous mud, boots with ample length of legs drawn over the pants, and slouched hats, staking their dust and intensely awaiting the turn of a card that should double their fortune. An occasional woman of easy. virtue was seen sandwiched in among the rough miners and trying her luck at monte. The ring of the money on the tables, the announcements of theyman at the roulette wheels, the cursing of the disappointed at their bad fortune, and the continued calls for “bar-keep” rendered the scene one. rarely td be met with except in california, Now and then a row would suddenly break out, pistols were drawn ‘and bar tumblers’ flew with an abandon only sur. passed by the shooting meteors of; November, 1833. And then, such a getting out of doors, and such swife forgetfulness that the saloon’) would be again thronged and the games going on in fifteen minutesas if nthing had occured.” When feminine beauty and, charm was added to the fascina. tion of the game, there was no’) resistance to the beckonings of . Daime Fortune, This fatal combi. nation invaded Nevada City in the . early fifties and not only held miners spellbound for a long itme . but has furnished an ever-recur. ing subject: for both serious his‘torians and more frivolous sketch\ers through the years. The in. vader has been called _variously . , Madame Moustache, on account of a generous shading of: the upper . (Continued from Page One) ‘hind the vanished Concord coach ‘as it slid down the long grade ifrom Town Talk and braked to a! stop in’ the canyon-cramped com. . munity now called Nevada City, ‘California. The passengers debarked, beating the dust from themselves, and went their ways.

One of them, however, lingered before claiming her luggage, to look about her with dark eyes ‘both interested and _ interesting. 'yfer name on the Jehu’s’ waybill . from Sacramento was {Eleanor Dumont but _ this } handle did her an injustice. Firmly plump in all the right, several talented assistants in ai outer room specializing in keno, . of faro, chuck-a-luck and three-card places, well dressed, with healthy glowing complexion olive hue, she titivated the mas-! monte. culine sensibilities of the gathered onlookers.” “She was a topic of speculation until a notice appeare interested parties to ananina—_af—Madame _Dumont's 01 their way in. Business boomed ee vafter these additions to her establishment and they kept on boomparlours on Broad street where there would be free champagne . for all and’the opportunity to test . their skills at assembling a fist . , whose _ total closer to full of cards . counted in the hand of Madame Dumont ‘herself. This notice rocked pips . forward( and maintained a decorMadame} h f? asa receiver brief) finds. She also enlarged her es. vingt-et-un . (twenty-one) than did the cards . the . j staid element of Nevada City like . ‘an overdose of jalap. Theirs was . a respectable community with no more unwarranted homicide than . befitted a prosperous camp on the ‘Lode, There were gamblers in ‘town aplenty, of course there were. But they were male gamblers ‘whose trade was considered no . more dishonest than politics, mar. chandising, or mining stock pro_, motions. But a professional lady . financial success and acumen. During this long period, she operated with sauvity and propriety and the worst charge levelled . against her by both sides of her female sisterhood was that she dressed too well, She dealt an honest game, chaffing the Reirte . ners, consoling the losers, rolling I her own cigarettes with the deft} ness of much practice. She took . an occasional sip of wine, jollied all zhee boyss without becoming um that seems unbelievable. The . net result was that the miners ; from all the northern camps were 4 stacked up in layers awaiting their chance at the green baize table in front of Madame Blackjack. As she prospered, Madame real‘ized with Gallis business sense . that the game of vingt-et-un is! self-limiting. One dealer cannot handle more than six players with due regard to the proper rules. Madame was losing business as a result. With determination not to let this happen, she chose a young mg* named Dayid Tobin to assist of the public tablishment, esconcing Tobin and} an} This anteroom separated . the men from the ribbon clerks) and Madame’s own inner sanctum was reserved for the heavy spendd inviting all}ers or for those who had made ! the grandj@ winning off Dave and his boys . ing until late in 1855 when Tobin . “a gambler himself — laid his . The vr “ x Fa Sond Mee le fo.