Legends of the Old West - SWINDLERS Ep. 2 | “Riverboat Gambler”

Episode Date: July 26, 2023

George Devol spent 40 years gambling on trains and riverboats. He was clever and creative, and he needed all his wiles to escape some close calls. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A well-built man leaned back against a wooden table. The sounds of footsteps echoed through the room as the bar emptied of its last customers. Footsteps echoed through the room as the bar emptied of its last customers. Night had fallen, and a hushed silence settled over the riverboat as most folks went to bed. The man in the bar area puffed a cigar and enjoyed the quiet until the silence was shattered by an angry shout. A woman was yelling somewhere nearby on the boat. A door slammed. The angry voice grew louder as the man heard hurried footsteps approaching the bar. The man threw a questioning glance at the old

barkeep. The barkeep just shook his head and shrugged. The man asked the barkeep to hand him the gun that was in a drawer behind the bar. The bartender passed it over, and the man waited for the explosive entrance. A young couple burst through the door. The woman was incensed. She waved a pistol in the air and swore loudly that she would either get the money back or kill the gambler. It seemed pretty clear that the husband had lost a sizable sum in a recent game. Her husband tried to stop her, but she pushed past him.

The man who had been peacefully lounging and enjoying his cigar a few moments earlier approached the woman. He introduced himself as a government detective, and he said he knew the gambler she was talking about. He assured her that she would be perfectly justified in shooting the gambler. He just had one suggestion. He didn't think the gun she was holding would fire. He told her that he had an excellent pistol. After all, he was equipped by the government. The man offered her the gun that he had just borrowed from the bartender. The woman took the pistol and handed over her own weapon. A moment later, the door to the bar creaked open. In walked the gambler who was about to receive a dangerous welcome. The woman rushed up to him. She said her husband had lost $600 to him in a single sitting.

The woman demanded that the gambler hand over the money. She raised the gun and aimed it at the gambler's chest. The gambler appeared shocked and said the husband had lost the money in a fair game. The gambler wasn't going to give back a single cent. The woman proved she was willing to take this all the way. She pulled the trigger. But now it was her turn to be surprised. With professional con artists, nothing was what it seemed. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West.

I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this season we're telling six stories of legendary con artists of the Old West. This story is about a man who plied his trade on the rivers of the West. This is Episode 2, Riverboat Gambler. In the late 1840s, an old steamer called the Hibernia docked at a small river town in Ohio. George Duvall stood on the deck dressed to the nines. His gold chain and watch glinted in the sunlight. As he stepped off the boat, he hauled several heavy bags onto the riverbank. The bags were filled to the brim with an assortment of expensive coffees, teas, and sugars.

The last time George stood on this shore, he had been just 10 years old. Now he was home. George was born in Marietta, Ohio, on the Ohio River in 1829. His father was a ship carpenter who spent long periods of time away from home. His mother was left to raise six children on her own. George was the youngest. He was a mischievous boy who took no interest in education. He picked fights and played hooky from classes. He came home from school almost every day with fresh cuts scarring his face. George's mother tried various methods of punishment to get him to change his ways, but they never worked. Elderly members of the family church looked at the young boy with disapproval and often said he wouldn't live beyond the age of 20. But George Duvall

lived to the ripe old age of 74, and he lived a life very different from what any of them could ever have imagined. According to George's account of his life, when he was 10 years old, he was loitering by the river. He saw a steamer docked at the shore, and he made a spontaneous decision. He watched as the ship's crew stepped onto the riverbank. The first steward told George that he could join the ship as a cabin boy. The pay was $4 per month. That sounded like a grand sum for a young boy, and George excitedly agreed. When the vessel set off from Marietta, George was on board. He hadn't told a soul about his decision. As he stood on the deck watching his hometown melt into the distance, George realized he was on his own now.

He made up his mind to work hard, and soon enough, he was given his first job, scouring knives. But George was a quick learner and a fast thinker, and as soon as he learned the ropes on his first steamship, he traded up for a better position on another ship. He earned almost double the wages. After some time, George jumped ship once again, and he was aboard the Cicero, a vessel bound for Nashville, Tennessee. On his first trip on the Cicero, he got into a fight with the pantry man. The captain was furious, and he decided to offload George when the ship docked. George was about to leave the ship when he heard someone yelling and telling him to stop. Impressed by the boy, the steward had convinced the captain to let George stay. He ended up staying with the crew for a whole year.

On the Cicero, George learned the skill that would serve him well for the rest of his life, the fine art of cheating people at card games. Gambling on riverboats had become a popular sport. The vessels were full of people who were eager to try their luck. After the supper tables were cleared out, it was commonplace for card games to go on late into the night. Over the course of seven years, as George bounced from one ship to another, he practiced his new skills. By the age of 17, he had accumulated a bankroll of just under $3,000, and he finally decided to go back home. After spending nearly a year with his parents in Marietta,

George set out once again. He found himself in Cincinnati, where he went into business with his brother Paul. By day, he worked hard repairing steamboats, and by night, he lost all the money he had earned at the game of Pharaoh. One evening after finishing work, George pushed his toolbox into the water. And just like that, he decided to become a professional gambler. As a podcast network, our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you. But we also sell merch. And organizing that was made both possible and easy with Shopify.

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And it's not just us. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. Shopify is also the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries. Because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash realm, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash R-E-A-L-M now to grow your business, no matter what stage you're in. shopify.com slash realm. George Duvall learned how to gamble on riverboats, but he didn't stop there. After the Civil War ended in 1865, he plied his trade on railroad lines. The growing network of railroads was a haven for gamblers, yet another place where gamblers could swindle miners and cowboys out of their money.

Duvall was one of them, enthusiastically riding trains from Kansas City to Cheyenne. But he was also the reason why one railroad banned gambling on its trains. Duval was playing a game of poker with four other men in the train car. As the train clattered along the tracks, one of the men cursed as he folded his cards. Another man shook his head somberly and folded. The number of players who were still in the game came down to two, George Duvall and the well-dressed man who sat across from him. As the game crawled on, the pile of chips on the table grew higher. Absently tapping his foot against the floor, George glanced down at his cards. His face betrayed nothing.

When he looked up, he saw his opponent's eyes were darting across the room. The man's frustration and impatience was as clear as day. George hummed softly to himself as he raised the stakes. A few plays later, it was time for George to show his hand. The rest of the compartment grew quiet. George took his time as he laid his cards on the table.

It was an unbeatable hand. His opponent's cheeks turned a dangerous shade of red as George slid the pot to himself. Enraged, the man pointed a trembling finger at George. He loudly proclaimed that George had cheated. George was arranging the chips when he heard the accusation. He stopped his work. There was pin drop silence in the carriage. George fixed his gaze on the man and spoke slowly, calling him a sore loser.

George added that if there had been any cheating in the game, it wasn't by him. George turned to look at the other three men who had folded their cards. None of them dared challenge him. George's opponent was still shaking with rage. He had lost more than $1,000 in a single game. George reminded him that nobody had forced him to make the bets. The man jumped to his feet and asked if George knew who he was. George said he didn't have the faintest clue. The man smiled and said he was a director with the railroad,

and he would make sure that there was no more gambling on their trains. George kept up a defiant front and said nothing, but deep down he knew he had lost out on a good thing, not just for himself, but for other gamblers too. In the moment, he kept a straight face. He stuck with the act of righteous indignation and shook his head in disappointment. The director turned on his heel and stalked out of the compartment. A few days later, George learned that the man made good on his promise. A printed handbill was tacked to one of the train cars. It announced that gambling was now prohibited,

and any conductor who allowed it on his train was threatened with losing his job. George also heard that the railroad had hired the famed Pinkerton detective to patrol the lines hunting for professional gamblers. George shrugged as he stepped onto the platform at the next station. It was a lost opportunity, but he tried not to dwell on it. After all, it was only one rail line. There were plenty of others. In his lifetime, George Duvall gambled on a number of other railroads across the United States. And when George stepped off a train weighed down by the spoils from his gambling, he usually wasn't alone. A small man with a childish grin followed close behind. a childish grin followed close behind.

Like many con men, George Duvall often worked with a partner. In his long career as a gambler, he ran with several partners. One of the most famous was a man named William Canada Bill Jones. George and Canada Bill became fast friends, and together they swindled their marks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Canada Bill was a small man who weighed about 130 pounds. He wore clothes a few sizes too big and walked with a shuffling, awkward gait. He always pretended to be dull-witted in front of his marks. He plastered his face with a kindly grin, and his milky blue eyes lit up every time he asked a foolish question. To suit his boyish voice, Canada Bill never grew a beard. He fiddled with the hair on his head,

twisting it into little ringlets when he was idle. He and George were a physical odd couple, which helped their ploy. George was thick and heavyset. Canada Bill was small and thin. George played the role of the confident gambler. Canada Bill played the role of a bumbling innocent who didn't know what he was doing. innocent who didn't know what he was doing. Canada Bill was actually not from Canada. He was born in Yorkshire, England, and made his way west as a young man. A gambler taught Canada Bill the classic game of three-card monte. In the game, a dealer shows three cards to the player, then shuffles them and places them face down on the table. The dealer challenges the player to identify a particular card. Through sleight-of-hand tricks,

the dealer can make sure the player never wins. On the surface, the game looks like the type that could be found in any gambling parlor. In reality, it's more of a magic trick than a game of chance. It's fully under the control of the dealer, and Canada Bill became a master dealer. When the officials on the Union Pacific Railroad began clamping down on three-card Monty, many gamblers lost heart. Not Canada Bill.

He wrote a letter to the railroad offering them $10,000 a year if they allowed him to run three-card Monty games in their trains. Not surprisingly, railroad officials turned him down. It was likely on the railroads that George Duvall and Canada Bill first met. They partnered when time and opportunity were right, and they found themselves in their fair share of sticky situations. With ingenuity, skill, and a little bit of luck, they always found their way out. One memorable night, the pair was working the Michigan Southern Railroad. They had taken a man for $1,200. The man was livid and sent a telegraph ahead for a warrant to arrest Canada Bill.

George knew that they would have to act fast because the compartments would be searched. He hurried Canada Bill into the sleeper carriage. George quickly found a compartment with a top berth empty. A woman slept soundly on the bottom berth. She had left one of her dresses lying on the mattress above. George held up the dress and gestured wildly to Canada Bill. George whispered urgently to Bill and told him to put on the dress. If there had been any light in the room, George would have seen Canada Bill's cheeks turn a bright shade of red.

Bill refused to do it, but he soon realized he had no choice. Canada Bill grabbed the dress and pulled it on. He tied a handkerchief around his head and climbed onto the top berth. A short while later, officers started searching the train for Canada Bill. Accompanied by the conductor, they looked inside each compartment. Canada Bill heard the door of his compartment slide open. The officers entered and their lanterns threw shadows on the wall. Canada Bill squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to move. Speaking in hushed tones, the officers saw two women sleeping and they hastily shuffled out.

Early the next morning, Canada Bill slipped off the train in Detroit and escaped unnoticed. That was close to the end of the partnership between George Duvall and Canada Bill. Not surprisingly, they fell out because each man accused the other of cheating him. It was the peril of having a partner in a gambling scheme where both men were always cheating. Even so, George remained fond of Canada Bill. When Bill died, George said that he had lost one of his truest friends. And as their friendship was highlighted by the amusing incident of hiding Bill in a dress, there was another highlight where George helped a fellow gambler out of a tighter spot, one that could have been life or death.

In the heyday of riverboat gambling, George found himself on a steamer from Memphis. It was late in the night, and George stood at the bar smoking a cigar. It was late in the night, and George stood at the bar smoking a cigar. The other patrons in the bar slowly staggered to their feet to leave. As their chairs scraped loudly against the wooden floor, George exhaled a gray plume of smoke from his cigar. He had collected a good sum of money at the card table. There had been no trouble with angry passengers, and he was content.

The day could not have been better. The steamer gently rocked as it made its way down the Mississippi River. Lulled by the rhythm, George started dreaming about the money he would make the next day. Little did he know just how eventful his night was about to become. In the forty years that he ran cons on riverboats and railroads, George had worn many hats. Tonight he would be forced to don an unusual one, that of a government detective. Earlier in the day, a man traveling on the steamer joined a game of poker. The game was being run by George's partner. As the game wore on, the traveler lost hand after hand. Each time, he grew more determined to win back what he had lost. Visibly frustrated, the man muttered under

his breath. He impatiently pushed more chips into the pot until he had none left. The man had lost a total of $600. He stood up from the table and wearily trudged toward a room to face the most difficult part of the evening. He had to tell his wife the unhappy news. Moments later, a loud shriek erupted from the wife's cabin. The wife was furious that he had lost so much money. Suddenly, she raced into her husband's room. When she emerged, the man was alarmed to see she was holding his gun. She proclaimed that

she would get the money back from the gambler. The woman turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. George was rudely snapped out of his daydream. He opened his eyes when he heard the loud shouts of a woman in the distance. George had been involved in more than his share of scuffles, and he wondered if this could be related to him. He thought hard and shook his head. Nope, it couldn't be him. Today was a good day. He hadn't done anything wrong.

George exchanged glances with the old barkeep, who looked just as confused as him. As the woman's voice drew closer, George caught some of what she said. She was enraged that her husband had lost a large sum at a poker table. She was going to get the money back from the gambler, and if he didn't comply, she would shoot him. George knew his partner had worked a poker game that day. It was a near certainty that the partner was the gambler whom the wife wanted to kill. Her footsteps grew louder as she marched toward the saloon area where the game had taken place. George acted fast. He asked the barkeep to hand him the gun that he kept in the back, the gun that was not loaded. The bartender passed over the weapon and George waited. The woman burst through the door with her husband

following close behind. She repeated her intent to get the money back or kill the gambler, and she waved the pistol in the air. George slowly stepped toward her and introduced himself as a government detective. He said he knew the gambler who had won her husband's money. George assured her that there were many good reasons to shoot the scoundrel, but George just wanted to make a small suggestion first. He didn't think the gun she was holding would fire. George offered her the gun that he had just grabbed from the bartender. He told her it was a first-rate weapon. After all, he was outfitted by the government. George breathed a silent sigh of relief when she took the gun and handed her own pistol to him.

As if on cue, George's partner walked into the bar. The woman rushed toward him in a frenzy. George's partner walked into the bar. The woman rushed toward him in a frenzy. She demanded that he return her husband's $600. The woman told him that he had exactly one minute to hand over the money, or she would shoot. George and his partner were playing a very dangerous game, but it was one they had played before when circumstances required. one they had played before when circumstances required. George's partner knew that the guns had been swapped. He resolutely told the woman that her husband had lost the money fair and square. He refused to return it, and she pulled the trigger. The hammer slammed down on an empty cylinder. For a moment, the woman's anger was replaced with confusion. George's partner seized the opportunity. He pacified her into accepting $100 to let the matter rest.

It was a risky way to make $500, but the plan worked to perfection. George Duvall's long career as a professional gambler was dotted with highs and lows. He swindled countless men out of their money, but he also won a fair share in honest games. He said he never conned anyone who wasn't capable of doing the same to him. Lots of gamblers claim to swear by that noble code of conduct. It's impossible to know if George applied that standard to a special set of targets, but either way, he took particular delight in swindling hapless ministers. He also loved making a show of it, though in one particular game on a riverboat to St. Louis,

he showed a little mercy and generosity. George sat at a table waiting for his game to start. He straightened the cards and drummed his fingers on the table in anticipation. Then three men walked in and sat down. George smiled. Two of the three were regulars at the table, and the third was a minister. When the men had their cards, they examined their hands. George knew what his first move would be, but he wanted to take his time. He told the minister that he had guessed the man's vocation.

The minister flushed, embarrassed at being called out, and asked George how he had guessed. George said the minister wore his profession like a wine stain. No matter what he did, it wouldn't wash out. The minister said he didn't know how to take that statement. George shook his head and assured the minister that he had the highest regard for his profession. With that, the players turned their attention to the cards. As the game wore on, the other two men dropped out. Only George and the minister remained. George painted a fake look of worry on his face. The minister tried to hide his smile, but he couldn't. It was clear the minister was happy with his cards. Finally, George laid his cards on the table, and the minister's face went very pale. He pushed back from the table with shaking hands.

For several minutes, no words came out of his mouth. Then the minister exclaimed that it simply could not be. George assured him that games of chance could end this way. And then George asked in a more serious tone if the minister was accusing him of cheating. The minister shook his head violently. He said he was referring to his own foolishness. He had gambled away all the money he had carried for his journey to St. Louis. George stood up to gather his winnings. He glanced at the minister, who was still sitting at the table. George paused for a moment, then he held a wad of cash out to the minister.

In a voice loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, he said, Now, go forth and sin no more. As George made his way to the bar, a few fellow gamblers nodded to him in appreciation. He didn't have to pay for a single drink that night. George retired from professional gambling at the ripe old age of 67, but he didn't stop making people believe what he wanted them to. He spent the rest of his years selling his memoirs, which were a heady mix of fact and fiction. He earned more than two million dollars over the rest of his years selling his memoirs, which were a heady mix of fact and fiction. He earned more than $2 million over the course of his 40-year career.

But when he breathed his last in Arkansas, he was a rich man only in his memories. Next time on Legends of the Old West, it's the story of one of the most daring cons of the era. Two would-be prospectors dazzled some of the smartest businessmen of the time with a possibility that was the textbook definition of too good to be true. That's next week on Legends of the Old West. next week on Legends of the Old West. Members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to

week to receive new episodes. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials. And they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships begin at just $5 per month. This series was researched and

written by Ria Perowit. Original music by Rob Valliere. Copy editing by me, Chris Wimmer, and I'm your host and producer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Check out our website, blackbarrelmedia.com, for more details and join us on social media. We're at Old West Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And all of our episodes are available on YouTube. Just search for Legends of the Old West Podcast. Thanks for listening.