The Floating Poker Game Fleecing Klondike Gold Miners

Seven or eight men, who never turned a spade in the North and never engaged in any legitimate enterprise, arrived in the city on the steamer Humboldt. Most of their wealth was gathered during the past fortnight, and there were no blisters on their hands when they reached Seattle. The men are gamblers, and their operations reveal a startling tale. A Klondiker, whose name for obvious reasons is withheld, told a Star reporter: 'Thousands of dollars made by Klondike miners last winter have passed into the hands of gamblers who work in a most systematic manner. I have been informed by a man who was at one time one of the gang, that a syndicate of the slickest card men in the country has been formed to fleece northern miners who have struck it rich. The operations of this syndicate extend from Dawson to Seattle. The most successful operations have been carried on between Skagway and this port during the five-day trip. On the City of Seattle during her last trip down, thousands of dollars passed into the pockets of the gamblers. It is difficult to tell them from the ordinary miners, as they usually wear rough clothes and have hung round mining camps long enough to pass for miners. The games, usually black jack and poker, are started as soon as the steamers leave Skagway, and they are carried on night and day until Seattle is reached. I came down on the Humboldt and saw something of the operations of this syndicate. The games went merrily on, morning, noon, and night in the smoking room. The miners, as a rule, were willing victims. They simply packed the room, and in some instances, a single bet ran as high as $100. The syndicate made a small fortune out of the Humboldt alone.'