THE BOOT ON THE OTHER FOOT. 



MAJOR HENRY ROMEYN, U. S. A. 



By his associates and neighbors in the 

 Chickasaw Nation, he was known as Black 

 Sam. The baptismal register, had there 

 been such a thing in his shack, would have 

 fixed his family patronymic as Jasper. He 

 was well known among his fellows as a skill- 

 ful manipulator of pasteboard, and his 

 " deals " at poker were always carefully 

 watched. The facility with which he could 

 shuffle and cut was known also to many of 

 the Texas cow punchers who traveled across 

 the territory every year, with herds for the 

 Northern plains. This is shown by an oc- 

 currence which we will allow him to de- 

 scribe in his own language. 



He had been called to Fort Smith, Ar- 

 kansas, as a witness in a whiskey selling case, 

 before the United States Court. Rumors of 

 his having been " done " by a cowboy in a 

 wayside game were floating about, and Sam 

 was asked if they were true. 



M Yes sah; I reckon dat am a fack. You 

 see it was dis yer way. I wuz wukkin' in de 

 cornfiel', 'longside de trail, an' wen I 

 corned out to de end ob de row, by de road, 

 dar wuz one ob dem Texas fellars settin' on 

 his hoss and he gib me howdy; an' wen we 

 talked a little he done says, says he, 



"'Ain't you Black Sam?' 



" And I says ' dats wat dey dun calls me.' 

 An' he sez, says he, 



' Ize heerd as how you plays a right 

 smaht game o' draw, an' if you don' keer, I 

 won' mind havin' a game wid yer till de 

 chuck wagon comes erlong. Ize been 

 warin' out de boys in de outfit, an' yer kin 

 have de boodle if yer kin git it.' 



"An' I said I wuz willin'; an' I done 

 dumb de fence, an' he done pulled ofT his 

 coat, an' we set down in de shad ob a tree. 

 He got^ de deal, an' done dole me a purty 

 fa'r han'. I didn't had much money wid me, 



so we on'y played fur haf a dollar ante fust. 



1 let him win mos ebry han' till he got ter 

 feelin' mity good an' beginned ter laff. An' 

 he axed me could I play any odder game bet- 

 ter nor I could play draw? 



" So I reckoned I'd begin on him, an' 

 wen I got de deal I jes stacked 'em on im, 



2 or 3 times, till I mighty nigh broke im. 

 Den I let im win one han' an' den it wuz 

 my deal. I dole him 4 jacks, an' den I done 

 dole myse'f 4 kings an' a ace, an' den de 

 fun begin. 



" Bimeby we bof had all de money up an' 

 den I tole him I bet my boots agin hizzen, 

 an' he says he see me, an' go me de britches 

 bettah. 



" I jis sorter larfed to myse'f wen I tink 

 how hede look gwine to de outfit widout any 

 boots ur britches. An' den he says, says he, 



"'Wat yet got?' 



" An' I showed down. An' den he says, 

 says he, 



" ' I kin beat dat.' 



" An' I axed him how wuz he gwine ter 

 duit?" 



" An' he says, says he, ' Ise got 5 jacks.' 



"An' I sez, how's dat?' 



" An' he jis lays down de jack o' dimons, 

 an' den de jack o' hearts, an' de jack o' 

 spades, an' de jack o' clubs, an' wen I axed 

 him where was his oder one, he jes nach- 

 yally pulled his gun an' shoved it inter my 

 face, an' says, says he, 



" ' Dats de jack o' all.' 



" An' I reckon it wuz, for he done made 

 me git out o' dem does an' git ober de fence, 

 an' he done clum on his hoss, an' rid off up 

 de trail hollerin' like he wuz plum crazy. 



" He done cotch me widout my gun or 

 dere wuddent bin no laffin on his side yer 

 can bet. An' I haint nebber goned widout 

 it sence." 



RECREATION. 



THOMAS M. UPP. 



It brings the freshness of the fields 



To workers mured in city walls: 

 The reader dreams — the rod he wields, 



The lordly game before him falls. 

 It leads him back to boyhood days, 



Ere bitter fight for gold began; 

 From toilsome town, through Nature's 

 ways, 



A wiser and a nobler man. 

 193 



