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Show I Noted Female Gamblers of the West I By J. G. WEAVER I t GUSSIE; WYiNlOCk (Arizona Girl) I ' II. I J I'll' I . ' . A wild, meteoric and, in a certain sense, a brilliant career, was that of Gussie Wynlock, who from 1894, or 1895, to the beginning of the present century, was known all over the mining camps of Arizona and Nevada, as well as the eastern portion of California, as the Arizona girl. During that time she succeeded in turning the heads of many of the leading mining men of the three states, and also held the record of being the heroine of more romantic marriages in a given length of time than any woman before or since. Her career lasted scarcely six GUSSIE WYNLOCK. (Arizona Girl.) years, but during that time she was married five times. Each of her husbands was a comparatively rich man when she married him, but each of them was poor when, from one pretext or another she threw him off as a worn out garment, and proceeded to squander the fortune for-tune of his successor. She was still under thirty when she died, and yet it is stated that she had succeeded in spending in the neighborhood of a million of dollars, the greater portion of which she lost at the tV" gaining tables, with which every camp was plentifully supplied. She even tried her hand at Monte Carlo, and for a week was the talk of that noted seat of the goddess of Fortune. She was born at a little mining camp just outside Phoenix, Arizona, Ari-zona, her father being a mining operator of considerable note in that section of the state. She was the only girl in the family, her brother 1'cing some years her junior. Her mother was a woman of considerable consider-able refinement, being a native of California. The girl's infancy was passed in the mining camp, and she early developed a freedom and daring that only these environments could give her. At an age when most girls are kept closely under the maternal ma-ternal eye, she visited, unattended, all of the many camps in the neighborhood, neigh-borhood, even going as far as Phoenix, and remaining day it a time 'K-i;' Jit the homes of family friends in the city. Though a child .c was ait excellent horsewoman, and during the summer season spent the most of the time in the saddle, touring the mountains far and near. She early gave promise of great beauty, and with ;her saucy manner man-ner of conversation which was spiced -with a wit beyoid her years, she. became a gene'ral favorite among the miners, Her mother tongue was the vernacular of the cult, and she knew more of mines and prospects H and minerals than many persons three times her age. The miners dc- H lighted to humor her, and she generally got from them what she, H wanted. The fact is she was about as badly a spoiled child as could H be found, though nothing of a vicious nature was known of her at H this time. H Gussie was in her thirteenth year when her father made his first H strike of any magnitude in his mine, and in the course of a year cleaned H up a competence. The mother had always been opposed to the free- H dom which was given the girl, but had been overruled by the father, H who indulged her in all her whims. As the girl was verging on young womanhood, and as his prospects in life were assuming a high posi- H tion, he at last listened to the pleadings of the mother, and Gussie was sent to an eastern boarding school, where she remained until she had passed her eighteenth year. It is said that the teachers at the school were at their wits' end H to manage Gussie, as she set all rules at defiance, but that she became H 'is great a favorite both with preceptors and classmates as she had H been among the Arizona miners. Withal she was quick and even bril- H liant in her studies, and in some of them, notably music and drawing, H was the show pupil of the school. When she graduated she took a I high place. The rough manners of the mining camps had been ob- I literatcd during the years of association with refined companions, and H her beauty had ripened into something akin to loveliness. There was H a dash, a freedom about her, however, that only the West could give. H In fact she had the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the girl of H the camps with the added brilliancy of the accomplished young lady. H Her return to the mining camp was a red letter day in its annals. The miners met her down the road and would have taken the horses H out of the carriage had it not been for the presence of Mrs. Wynlockk H who protested against the proceeding! A ball was given in the only I hall the camp contained, and mine owner and miner vied with' each I other for the favor of their old favorite, how the full' fledged butterfly I who had emerged in so brilliant a manner from her chrysalis. I It was at this ball that she met the mail who was to be the partner I in her first matrimonial venture. He was a young mincowner of a I neighboring camp named West, who was superintending a mine in I which he was deeply interested, and which was just then entering1 the I list as a shipper. He was a native soii of California and was constd- I ercd to be the best catch in that part of the country: The young I man was carried "off his feet by the brilliant young debutante, and I pressed his suit with full western ardor. Before the year had passed I the two were married. I It was on the wedding tour that for. a larli the young husband I took his wife to a gambling house, forming two of, a party .of young I people who were out taking in' the sights of .the to.wn. From that I moment the girl was like a person possessed. The excitement of the I gaming table seemed to satisfy a craving in her nature. She went I again and again. West protested in vain. When, he refused her the I money with which to gamble she flew into a. passion, and in order I to avoid a scene he generally gave her what she wanted-, Sometimes, I novice though she was, she was successful. At these times she seemed I like a woman transformed. An eye Avitness has told the writer that in I all his experience he never saw any one so perfectly carried away with I the excitement of play as she was at this time. Her natural beauty I became enhanced and she became dazzling .and radiant in her ap- I pcarancc. He described her as appearing to him as the Very spirit of I the game : her life seemed centered in the' excitement of the moment, and even hardened old gamesters partook of her feelings. Wheit.shc I lost, Which was often, she still was carried away with.thc. excitement I of the game. Though not as scintillating as at moments of success", I it seemed that the excitement was all she crav.ed, and that the-act of I winning made little difference to her. She was simply intoxicated I with the play. During the honeymoon , trip which occupied a little I over a month's time, it is said that' she. won or lost in the neighborhood I of $20,000, the young husband being .obliged to cut their Jtmcrary I short, -as she had exhausted ttic entire amount :pt mbfi'ey Jfc ,ii"a.d. oii I hand, nearly all of wlu'ch had gone over tlie 'gaming "tabic. Away from the allurements of .the, grcen.cloth, and among those I with whom she was intimate, she seemed to forget the allurements of I the play and for a few months the young couple were contented and I ! happy. During this time the mine West was working developed into a heavy shipper. He was quickly becoming a rich man, and as his domestic do-mestic life was all that was to be desired, he was considered one of the most lucky men in the state. Winter was coming on, and thinking that the life at the camp at that season was not fitted to his beautiful young wife, it was arranged that she should spend several months at SaH Frdncisco with his family. His duties kept him at the mine most of the time, and it was seldom that he could spend any length of time in the city. 'Frisco society so-ciety received the brilliant young woman with open arms, and she was soon in the vortex of the giddy whirl. It soon became noticed that she was af her best at card parties, and that she Was not altogether alto-gether satisfied when the play was only for a prize. It was not long, however, before she became one of the leading rrie'mbers of a set, who a'ftdr a feW hourS at the opera spent the remainder of the night in a social game. Though to oUtward appearances, members of the sWell society, of the coast city, they formed what, has become known in these days' as the fast set df the metropolis. THe garfies, though given the fiam? of "refiflcd pastime" were those iH which the stakes were ofteH very High, arid ldrgd sltrns often chariged hands in a single evening; even-ing; The did habit Had reasserted itself upbh the young wife. Engrossed With his work at the camp, and flattered by the success 01 his Wife in the' best society of the coast, West gave ho thought that the girl would again develop a fondness for play. Even the fact that she was constantly drawitig dn him for considerable sums of money did not strike him as out of the ordinary, as she had the constant excuse ex-cuse that she Had to' keep up' her position among the Upper ten. Upon cbmirig to the city after the lapse of two months he was astounded to flrid that she Had bdrrowdd large sums from certain of his acquaintances, acquaint-ances, and that in all she had lbst $50,000 gamblirig. There was a Stormy Scene between the ypiing pebplc. But, upon iccciving her solemn promise to cease gambling, he forgave her. He refused to allbw Her any further sums of money, and the case became one of mild scandal among their friends. It was not long after this that a real scandal was sprung upon the upper ten of the city. The bride of scarcely a year disappeared. She had eioped With a man three" times her age a bachelor broker, who was reported to be very wealthy. After several months they were heard of in Europe, and West quickly procured a divorce. Shortly after this she married her paramour, and became Mrs. Van Coulter. It was in Ihcearly autumn that she appeared at Mone Carlo. Van Coulter, though a man past middle age, had become her slave. He denied her nothing, and though he protested against the visit to the Mecca of the gamblirig craft, he, as usual, gave way. The beautiful young American and her white-haired husband became be-came marked the first day of their appearance at Monaco. Before the week had passed she had become the sensation of the season at the principality. The reckl,ess brilliancy of her plav attracted crowds whenever she sat at the tables. Fortune seemed to attend her, and twice she carrie near breaking the bank. Van Coulter vainly tried to draw her away from the place, and it is stated that there were daily scenes between them. The fact was she had tired of her white-haired old husband, and the morning after one of her successful coups she was missing. She had taken her winnings with her, a sum in the neighborhood of $120,000. The old man searched Europe over to find her but in vain. Feeling Feel-ing that she would naturally drift again to the casino, he returned to Monaco, where becoming reckless he soon lost his fortune. What became of him afterwards was never known. In the early spring she reached home and took up her residence with her father. A few weeks of quiet after the excitement of European travel was all she could endure. For the Only time in her career she had been uniformly successful, and she brought with her in the neighborhood of $200,000. She purchased a fine residence at Phoenix, and despite her escapades, became very popular in the Arizona capital. A young Eastern lawyer named Wanlath happened to be in the nty. He was the scion of a wealthy family, and was west to inspect a .numberof mining properties in which he and his family Were inter-esleu. inter-esleu. He at once became enamored of the strangely brilliant woman. Finding some flaw in the marriage she had contracted with Van Coulter, Coul-ter, he married her within a month of the time they first met. Shortly after her marriage she closed her Phoenix home and went east with her new husband. His people had heard of the wild life of the woman, and his parents refused to receive her as a daughter. She laughed in their face, and they started to take a tour of the cities of the Southern states. For a time, they took up their residence at New Orleans, where she inaugurated such an era of extravagance in living as to make them the talk of the town( Gathering around them a fast Set, they literally painted the town red. Young Wanlath, like Van Coulter, completely (Continued on pigc 15) NOTED FEMALE GAMBLERS lr ' (Continued from pace 6) surrendered his will to liers, and to keep up with the pace sold off all his securities. She also went deep into the funds she had amassed in her European venture. The time came soon that the young man's money was all gone. This was a signal to her to withdraw her affections af-fections from him. Making a pretext that he had become too intimate with a woman of their set she left him after a stormy interview. It was the merest pretext, for young Wanlath fairly adored the woman who had ruined him. Again she appeared at Phoenix. Her supply of money was low, though she still kept possession of her home. If anything, she lived higher than before, and though the higher circles of society in the city looked with doubt upon her, she still retained a large number of her old acquaintances. It was not long, however, before it was whispered in the city that if a quiet game was wanted there was always a room at her house where it could be fotind. The fact is, that in order to keep up she had tn reality opened up a private gambling house. Those who frequented the place were in the main the wealthier cf the mine operators. She discouraged all others. It is stated that nightly more money passed over the tables in an evening at her house than in all the other gambling hells of the city, and there were many of them there. Among those who frequented the place was a man slightly under middle age named Mark Rankin. He was uneducated and crude in his manners, but was reputed to be one of the most astute mining operators opera-tors and promoters on the Pacific slope. Though beginning life as a common miner, he had succeeded in amassing a considerable fortune in money besides being interested in mining properties all over the intermountain country. Man of affairs though he was, he was completely com-pletely carried off his feet by his hostess, and pushed his suit as assiduously assid-uously as he pushed through his many mining deals. The field was not entirely alone to him, however, as a much younger man was entered in the race with him. This latter was the profligate son of a well-known San Francisco millionaire, who happened to be at Phoenix, ostensibly keeping an eye upon a copper property owned by his father, but in reality rusticating in the smaller metropolis, while allowing a scandal to blow over in the home city. In the meantime she had applied for a divorce from Wanlath, upon the grounds of failure to support. While her suit was pending she played her two suitors one against the other, though it was generally gener-ally thought that she was all the time fishing for the elder man, and took this means to render him' all the keener for the chase. Pie this as it may, the day after she was freed by the court from her marital ties, she became the wife of Rankin. And now began the life which was to brand her as the "Arizona Girl." She accompanied her new husband all over the western country, coun-try, stopping mostly in the mining camps where he had interests, and helping him in many of his many deals, as only a woman can. He was a man lacking in all sense of proprieties, and she had lost to a great extent the refinement of feeling peculiar to her sex. Her penchant pen-chant for play had grown far stronger than ever and this Rankin rather encouraged than discouraged. She appeared openly and frequently fre-quently at the public gambling houses of the camps. Eye witnesses at this time state that Rankin generally accompanied her, and that his infatuation was so great that he actually took pride in all her vagaries. There was only one possible end. He eventually gave up his business, selling off his mines to make up for the losses she sustained at the table. It was sure to be a lively night at the house she chanced to patronize, as she was one of the most reckless gamesters who ever ,v sat at a table. Though her winnings at times were heavy, upon the whole the losses were greater. In less than a year she had dissipated Rankin's entire fortune, and had even mortgaged her home in Phoenix. When the end came her husband returned to the mines, while she started a private gambling house at Los Angeles. It Was while at the Southern California city that she met her fifth fend last "affinity." He was the somewhat noted Jack Roach, who at that time had reached the zenith of his career as a gambling man and all round sport. For a number of years he was a well known figure in the gambling halls of tlie West, and though it was never known for certain, it was generally-thought that he was an. accomplished crook-as crook-as well. ' Rankin, away from the influence oi the woman was a different ! man. He had paid dearly for his year's experience as her husband, and when she applied for a divorce, he made ho objection, though infidelity was the charge upon which she gained the decree. . . w A few days after being again set free by the court she contracted her last matrimonial alliance. .' I Roach, of all her husbands, seeriied to understand her the best,' 1 Ind had the greatest control over her. She appeared no more in the I ! public gambling houses of the country, though it is stated that she acted as a decoy for him, and that many men were by her enticed to ; ' (heir ruin by the woman during the short time she lived after her(last J marriage. ; ' j Her death occurred within the year of her union with Roach. By t some means she contracted the smallpox. It was whispered that her j jiusband was a secondary cause to her taking off, as he feared shcr; J would lose her beauty, and thus become a burden instead of a 'source ' I 61 gain for him. h All that was mortal of the beautiful and brilliant, though mis-It1,, mis-It1,, guided girl, lies in the cemetery at Butte, Montana, where her death; occurred. The last account of Roach was that he was following the! j business of a faro dealer in a third-class gambling house somewhere in j the Northwest. |