Saloons
and Gambling Houses
from
the Memoirs of Judge William L. Rea
Mission Saloon in Refugio
Printed in Refugio County Press, 1964.
"There
was no open saloon in the Town of Refugio until Dave Bernard opened his
place in the old Bill Doughty corner, across from the courthouse in 1873
or 1874. Before that time liquor was regularly carried in stock by
grocery stores and general merchandise establishments. The liquor,
whiskey, rum and wine was kept in barrels, in the same manner as
molasses and vinegar, and sold to customers by the quart or
gallon. For this reason many of the grocery stores which kept
small stocks of groceries and canned goods and large stocks of barrelled
liquor were referred to as 'barrel houses' or 'quart shops'. These
stores generally permitted customers to eat purchased can goods on the
premises, and thus they became meeting and congregating places for the
men of the vicinity.
"These stores operated in the county from the
beginning of its history and some of our most prominent and respectable
citizens were among their proprietors. Gideon R. Jaques and E.
White had one at old Aransas City in 1840. Daniel O'Driscoll had
one in connection with his tavern at Refugio from about 1840 to
1850. Others I can name include Captain Philip C. Paul, at Lamar;
George S. Sherman, at St. Mary's, which was operated from about 1857
until he died in the 1880's; Joseph F. Yale, at Refugio, during the
Civil War; a man by name of Clarkson, at Refugio, during the same
period; William B. Doughty, at Refugio from 1868; James Ragland, at
Refugio, during reconstruction. After the Civil War there were
open saloons at St. Mary's conducted by Oliver P. Reid, Jr., and by
L.B.
Randolph. Reid moved to Rockport about 1867 or 1868, and in
partnership with Andrew J. Hogan operated 'The Finish' saloon for
several years. 'The Finish' was a famous saloon of its
period. General Jackson Brown kept barrelled liquors in connection
with his grocery and blacksmith shop on the west side of Mission river
in the 1860's.
"There usually was no gambling in connection with
the 'barrel houses' or quart shops'. But during the 1870's and
1880's there were gambling rooms maintained in connection or association
with the open saloons. Thus one of the biggest and best known
gambling houses was established at St. Mary's about 1866. It was
founded by Reid, who sold to Joe Morgan and Arthur
Haynes. They
afterwards moved it to Rockport. A noted gambling parlor was
operated by Reid and Hogan in connection with 'The Finish' saloon.
"The first saloon in the Town of Refugio was, as
I have said, established by Dave Bernard (also called Burnett) in the
early 1870's. Dave came here from San Antonio for the purpose of
opening this business. This saloon was in the William B. Doughty
building at the northwest intersection of Purisima and Commerce Streets.
It was quite a pretentious affair with fine bar fixtures and furniture
and large mirrors. It was a revelation to old-timers who had only
known the 'quart shops'. When it was first opened the citizens
would stroll by and peek in at the elaborate furnishings.
"Bernard operated a gambling house in connection
with this saloon. The resort became widely known and was the mecca
of the cattlemen of this part of the state. It was the scene of
many affrays and shooting-affairs. It was there that [John]
Holland and Buck Harris 'shot it out' over a poker game in 1875 or
1876. Harris died as a result of the difficulty and Holland was
indicted for his murder and was tried, but was acquitted.
"Those who were in Refugio during the oil boom
will remember the sidewalks on this corner which were constructed of
inverted pottery bottles. Bernard's specialty was imported ale,
which came in these bottles. The accumulated empty bottles were used to
build this sidewalk around this corner. The bottle walk existed
from about 1875 until 1931, when it was torn up, and the bottles
distributed as curiosities.
Ginger beer bottles from the "bottle walk"
in front of the Mission and Doughty Saloons.
These bottles are on display at the Refugio County Museum
Courtesy: Refugio County Museum
"Bernard after several years sold the saloon to
Bill Doughty and went back to San Antonio. Doughty operated the
saloon at the same location for upwards of twenty years thereafter.
"Not long after Bernard opened the first saloon
in Refugio town, Charles Berkowitz moved to Refugio and founded the
famous 'Bull's Head Saloon', at the southeast intersection of Alamo and
Ymbacion Streets. It also had a gambling parlor connected with
it. It became widely known and well patronized. A number of
killings occurred at this saloon. Perhaps the most noted of them
was the gun fight between John McGrew and Luke Porter. There was
some kind of disagreement between the two men, and bullets began to
spatter all over the place. The customers rushed to cover leaving
a clear field to the principals. Present was a Mexican gambler,
who with more courage than discretion tried to stop the melee. He
stepped behind McGrew at the instant that a bullet from Porter's gun
plowed through McGrew's body. The same bullet tore through the
Mexican gambler's body and killed him. McGrew also died of his
wounds.
"The free and easy atmosphere of Refugio and St.
Mary's and the large-scale gambling which went on at both places,
attracted many prominent and some notorious gamblers from all parts of
Texas. Ben Thompson, and his brother Bill, and King Fisher,
frequently played in the Refugio County gambling emporiums. A
gambler named Bell from Rockport was a well-known visitor. He
always played for high stakes. On several occasions Ben Thompson
brought with him a woman gambler known as 'Gambling Jenny'. She
played with the men. Her specialty was faro.
"One one occasion when Ben Thompson and
Jenny
were in Refugio, she was dealing monte at the 'Bull's Head' when one of
the players insulted her. Thompson reached for his gun. A
local citizen threw himself between the offender and Thompson's gun and
pushed his friend out of the way. Thompson, with his hand still on
his gun, looked grimly at the citizen and finally said, 'You are a brave
man. You saved your friend from death. Now get him out of
here.' Ben's brother Bill had killed a man at Rockport and was
under indictment down there. The case was continued from term to
term, but Bill had to be on hand at each term, and Ben always went with
him. Going and coming they would stop a few days at Refugio and
St. Mary's. Bill was finally tried and acquitted, and they did not
visit our county often thereafter.
"John Wesley Hardin went through this county
frequently during his hectic career. he may have gambled at
Refugio but his principal hangout when in this section was St.
Mary's. The Chambless family down there, I understand, were his
friends.
"Another woman gambler who played at both Refugio
and St. Mary's was the noted Sallie Scull. She was well known in
the county.
"The local professional gamblers of the early
70's were Jace Wilson, Bill Tucker, Joe Doughty, John
Holland, Gardner, Garner, and one that was known as 'One-Legged
Heard'. 'Doc' Sweeney, who was a native of this county, got his start here. He
left the county and did not return until 1884.
"The principal gambling seasons here at Refugio
were when the district court met twice a year. When each term of
court convened the gamblers would arrive. The judge and the
lawyers adjourned court and gambled the term out. They had plenty
of help from the local stockmen."
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