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

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