A GAME AT EUCHRE. 81 



brothers, so we cast lot together, and commenced 

 housekeeping in common. The first night after our 

 meeting a slight amount of disagreeableness occurred, 

 through the elder of my new associates being dis- 

 covered ransacking my pack, as he said, for tobacco. 

 Now tobacco was scarce in these regions, and although 

 I would willingly have shared with a friend, still I 

 objected to be deprived of what was as important to me 

 as my molars, by an individual I knew nothing about, 

 and still more already had acquired an intuitive dislike 

 to. Happily next day we were joined by a new comer, 

 or I believe a row would have taken place, for I could 

 see that an entente cordiale existed between the duo, 

 far from amicable to my interests. However, the 

 stranger's advent acted as a sedative, and the most 

 acute could not have imagined that aught but the 

 most perfect comradeship existed amongst us. Some 

 time after the sun went down, a game of euchre was 

 proposed. Never having cared particularly about 

 cards I said nothing, so the movement was carried 

 without opposition. The stranger was assigned to me 

 as a partner, and the stakes to be played for were 

 tobacco, lead or powder ; in fact anything we pos- 

 sessed. My antagonists were both miners from the 

 north of England, but a long time residents in the 

 new land, my partner a regular down-east Yankee. 

 For some time all went on straight and fair, but it 

 was not destined that such should continue. We 

 had been euchred three times in succession, when 

 both my partner and self detected our opponents pass- 

 ing cards to each other beneath the blanket that 

 covered our knees. Hard language immediately 

 ensued, knives and pistols were drawn, but all thought 



