OC ROULETTE WEEK 9 SUBMISSION – MHD

David H. Munny, known in certain circles along the Mississippi as “Henry,” was born and raised amidst the swamps of Louisiana, where from his earliest years he was accustomed to the life of a fisherman, poking at the waters among skiffs and flatboats. Yet it soon became evident that his talents did not lie solely with the net and line, for he displayed, even in his childhood, an uncommon aptitude for cards, dice, and games of hazard.

So marked was this inclination that, upon gaining his eighteenth year, he set out to make his own way in the world, where he purchased for himself a traveling gambler’s kit and took passage aboard one of the grand steamboats that traverse the length of the Mississippi River, from one distant port to another.

In this calling he proved himself most capable. Within a short span, Munny amassed considerable winnings at poker, sums which might well have secured him a life of ease and independence, yet that time and again he risked all he had gained, only to win it back anew, appearing to live as though each day might be his last, and caring little for what the morrow might bring.

His end day came at last in the city of Atlanta, in a saloon of some reputation, where, upon a charge of cheating laid against him by a fellow gambler, a violent altercation ensued. What began as harsh words soon gave way to gunfire. Munny, it is said, was quick upon the draw, unsheathing a Colt pocket revolver he had carried since his youth, and discharging it with deadly effect upon the two men who sought his life.

Though he survived the encounter itself, he did not escape unscathed, suffering from grievous wounds, and from the ill effects of lead lodged within his body, he lingered but a week before succumbing to his injuries.

Thus ended, in the year 1884, at the age of twenty-nine, the life of a man whose name yet passes in quiet talk along the river, spoken with equal parts admiration and warning.

David “Henry” Munny
June, 1855 – April 3rd, 1884