Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi

"Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi" is the candid and gripping autobiography of George H. Devol, perhaps the most notorious professional gambler in American history. Spanning four decades of high-stakes action along the great Mississippi River, this memoir offers an unfiltered look into the golden age of the riverboat gambler. Devol recounts his experiences starting from his youth as a cabin boy to becoming a master of card games like poker and monte. Through a series of anecdotes, Devol describes the colorful characters, dangerous confrontations, and ingenious scams that defined his long career. The narrative captures the lawless and vibrant atmosphere of the antebellum South and the post-Civil War era, providing a unique social history of the American frontier. Readers will encounter tales of narrow escapes, massive winnings, and the rough-and-tumble life of a man who lived by his wits and his deck of cards.More than just a collection of gambling stories, "Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi" serves as a fascinating historical document, detailing the evolution of travel and commerce on the nation's most famous waterway. It remains an essential read for those interested in Americana, the history of gambling, and the rugged individualism of the 19th-century United States.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Pagina's: 298, Hardcover, Tradd Street Press