The cause of my own ruin had
been the grounding of a steam-boat; the same accident happening again
set me on my legs. Just as we turned the southern point of Illinois, we
buried ourselves in a safe bed of mud. It was so common an occurrence,
that nobody cared much about it, except a Philadelphian going to Texas;
he was in a great hurry to go on westward, and no wonder. I learned
afterwards that he had absconded from the bank, of which he was a
cashier, with sixty thousand dollars.
"Well, as I said, we were bogged; patience was necessary, laments were
of no use, so we dined with as much appetite as if nothing had happened,
and some of the regular 'boys' took to 'Yooka,' to kill the time. They
were regular hands, to be sure, but I was myself trump No. 1. Pity we
have no cards with us; it would be amusing to be the first man
introducing that game into the western prairies. Well, I looked on, and
by-and-bye, I got tired of being merely a spectator. My nose itched, my
fingers too. I twisted my five-dollar bill in all senses, till a sharp
took me for a flat, and he proposed kindly to pluck me out-and-out. I
plucked him in less than no time, winning eighty dollars at a sitting;
and when we left off for tea, I felt that I had acquired consequence,
and even merit, for money gives both.
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