Alexandria Gazette

A FATAL HAND.

At Los Angeles on Saturday four aces and a joker killed a tough, hairy Yaqui Indian named Cristobal Quahue in the county jail. This is not the first time that four aces have brought about a tragedy, but probably the first time that it has been caused just this way.

Quahue was one of Chief Miguel's band of rebellious Indians who, with their leader, have been in the county jail for a month or so awaiting their trial on a charge of assaulting a school teacher on the reservation. Quahue was a pretty good Indian and was allowed considerable liberty. He became acquainted with the turnkey and being a jolly fellow, was made a sort of comrade by the petty officials.

That evening Quahue was playing a game of poker with Walter Scott, a fellow prisoner. Scott dealt the cards and Quahue picked up his hand. It was a pat one. Quahue looked at his cards and stretched out his hand to raise the ante, when Scott was startled at seeing his fellow player's face change in a ghastly way. He swayed in his chair a few seconds, and fell over on the stone floor dead. An attempt was made to give him medical care, but it was unavailing, and the doctor pronounced it a case of bursting a blood vessel leading to the aorta.

A spectator noticed that the Indian, though dead, still clutched his cards in his hand, and on extricating them from his death grip they were found to consist of four aces and the joker. Quahue evidently thought he had five aces, and it was more joy than he could stand.