Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men: Nineteenth-Century Mississippi River Gambling Stories (Southern Literary Studies)

In 1836 Benjamin Drake, a midwestern writer of popular sketches for newspapers of the day, introduced his readers to a new and distinctly American rascal who rode the steamboats up and down the Mississippi and other western waterways -- the riverboat gambler. These men, he recorded, "dress with taste and elegance; carry gold chronometers in their pockets; and swear with the most genteel precision.... Every where throughout the valley, these mistletoe gentry are called by the original, if not altogether classic, cognomen of 'Black-legs.'" In Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men, Thomas Ruys Smith collects nineteenth-century stories, sketches, and book excerpts by a gallery of authors to create a comprehensive collection of writings about the riverboat gambler. Long an iconic figure in American myth and popular culture but, strangely, one that has never until now received a book-length treatment, the Mississippi River gambler was a favorite character throughout the nineteenth century -- one often rich with moral ambiguities that remain unresolved to this day. In the absorbing fictional and nonfictional accounts of high stakes and sudden reversals of fortune found in the pages of Smith's book, the voices of canonized writers such as William Dean Howells, Herman Melville, and, of course, Mark Twain hold prominent positions. But they mingle seamlessly with lesser-known pieces such as an excerpt from Edward Willett's sensationalistic dime novel Flush Fred's Full Hand, raucous sketches by anonymous Old Southwestern humorists from the Spirit of the Times, and colorful accounts by now nearly forgotten authors such as Daniel R. Hundley and George W. Featherstonhaugh. Smith puts the twenty-eight selections in perspective with an Introduction that thoroughly explores the history and myth surrounding this endlessly fascinating American cultural icon. While the riverboat gambler may no longer ply his trade along the Mississippi, Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men makes clear the ways in which he still operates quite successfully in the American imagination.

In 1836 Benjamin Drake, a midwestern writer of popular sketches for newspapers of the day, introduced his readers to a new and distinctly American rascal who rode the steamboats up and down the Mississippi and other western waterwaysùthe riverboat gambler. These men, he recorded, ôdress with taste and elegance; carry gold chronometers in their pockets; and swear with the most genteel precision. . . . Every where throughout the valley, these mistletoe gentry are called by the original, if not altogether classic, cognomen of æBlack-legs.AÆö In Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men, Thomas Ruys Smith collects nineteenth-century stories, sketches, and book excerpts by a gallery of authors to create a comprehensive collection of writings about the riverboat gambler. Long an iconic figure in American myth and popular culture but, strangely, one that has never until now received a book-length treatment, the Mississippi River gambler was a favorite character throughout the nineteenth centuryùone often rich with moral ambiguities that remain unresolved to this day. In the absorbing fictional and nonfictional accounts of high stakes and sudden reversals of fortune found in the pages of SmithAÆs book, the voices of canonized writers such as William Dean Howells, Herman Melville, and, of course, Mark Twain hold prominent positions. But they mingle seamlessly with lesser-known pieces such as an excerpt from Edward WillettAÆs sensationalistic dime novel Flush FredAÆs Full Hand, raucous sketches by anonymous Old Southwestern humorists from the Spirit of the Times, and colorful accounts by now nearly forgotten authors such as Daniel R. Hundley and George W. Featherstonhaugh. Smith puts the twenty-eight selections in perspective with an Introduction that thoroughly explores the history and myth surrounding this endlessly fascinating American cultural icon. While the riverboat gambler may no longer ply his trade along the Mississippi, Blacklegs, Card Sharps, and Confidence Men makes clear the ways in which he still operates quite successfully in the American imagination.

Contents......Page 10 Introduction: The Many Lives of the Mississippi Gambler......Page 16 Prologue......Page 40 From Social Relations in Our Southern States......Page 42 Early Days......Page 46 The Vicksburg Tragedy......Page 48 From Col. Crockett’s Exploits and Adventures in Texas......Page 53 Putting a Black-Leg on Shore......Page 65 From Richard Hurdis; or, The Avenger of Blood......Page 72 Antebellum (Mis)Adventures......Page 82 From Excursion Through the Slave States......Page 84 Sketches from the Spirit of the Times......Page 90 The Bivouac; or, A Night at the Mouth of the Ohio, A Sketch of Western Voyaging......Page 98 Taking Good Advice......Page 106 From Zilla Fitz James, The Female Bandit of the South-West......Page 110 Turning the Tables......Page 122 Breaking a Bank......Page 124 Dialogue Between a Gambler and a Travelling Agent......Page 128 How Dodge “Dodged” the Sharpers......Page 134 The Gamblers Outwitted......Page 145 From The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade......Page 151 Gamblers and Slaves......Page 158 From Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter......Page 160 From Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb......Page 163 From The White Slave; or, Memoirs of a Fugitive......Page 168 From Hatchie, The Guardian Slave; or, The Heiress of Bellevue......Page 181 The Pilot’s Story......Page 187 Gilded Age Memories......Page 192 From The End of the World: A Love Story......Page 194 From Wanderings of a Vagabond: An Autobiography......Page 206 The Professor’s Yarn......Page 220 From Old Times on the Upper Mississippi......Page 226 From Flush Fred’s Full Hand; or, Life and Strife in Louisiana......Page 230 From Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi......Page 239 Three Portraits of “Canada” Bill Jones......Page 253 Epilogue......Page 266 From Poker Stories......Page 268 Works Cited......Page 280