Poker Alice

Alice Ivers would become better known as "Poker Alice."
A teen bride whose husband was older and callous.
But he taught her about cards
With tricky sharps and friendly pards,
And it birthed a dream about having her own poker palace.

She was still a teen when she moved to Deadwood,
Where she was asked if she could deal cards, and she could.
Her husband was soon dead,
She became devoted to gambling instead,
And roamed the West like any good sharp would.

She smoked big black cigars and downed shots of whiskey.
She played for high stakes and dared to be risky.
She knew when to hold,
And she knew when to fold,
And there were times she did both if she began to feel frisky.

One thing she despised was a gambler who'd cheat.
And word got around that she always packed heat.
Her purse draw was quick,
And her dress draw quite a trick,
But more often than not the cheat would beat feet.

Alice was back up in Deadwood one August day,
When she was asked by Wild Bill Hickok if she wished to play.
But she couldn't sit in,
She had a promised game to win,
But she got a funny feeling as she turned to walk away.

Sometime later she heard a shot then shout.
She rushed to Saloon No. 10 to see what it's about.
Hickok lay dead.
Back-shooter McCall fled.
But they soon found the quivering cowardly lout.

As time moved on Alice married once more.
But his mediocre ways brought trouble to the door.
But when a man knifed her hubby,
She gut-shot the tubby,
And left him bellerin' and bleeding on the floor.

With a big win she bought a big spread.
But life threw in some unexpected dread.
The ranch flopped,
Her hubby dropped,
And Alice thought all her dreams were now dead.

Alice moved to Rapid City, a thriving western hub.
She found herself a new dream, sorta' like an English pub.
Just playing her cards,
And drinking with pards,
She never got her palace, but lived the rest of her life with a poker club.

Lovers of Myra Belle Shirley: aka Belle Starr

Cole Younger and Belle fill under a spell

that lasted many a day.

He was on the run for things he had done

so they shacked up in a cabin to play.

Soon time was at hand, he rejoined the band,

leaving Belle who started to show.

Soon out popped a girl, who she named Pearl,

and it's still thought her father was Cole.

The next man to feed, a man named Jim Reed,

a robber just like the last.

The pair up and looted, then quickly scooted,

only to find they spent it too fast.

But Reed's luck was raw, and he was slow on the draw,

and so he bit the dust.

Yet it was soon found that a new beau was around,

Blue Duck now gave Belle his trust.

Their new gang would hustle the livestock they rustle,

and some would actually say these two did care.

It was proven when Blue Duck ran out of luck

and Belle did more than her share.

He was sentenced to die, the ol' "hang 'um high,"

but Belle kept the legal fight going.

There would be no noose, he was eventually cut loose,

but for Belle there would be no knowing.

Not one to tarry, Belle would soon marry

her aka namesake Sam Starr.

But their wheelin' and dealin' got them six-months for stealin',

and their romance was now from afar.

When they left jail behind, right back to the grind,

they always sought a dishonest dollar.

But Sam would soon fall, killed in a brawl,

and Belle found another man to collar.

His name was Jim July, another on the sly,

it was obvious Belle had the itch.

She packed her own gun, joined in on the fun:

today they'd just call her a "bitch."

But a life of crime dunks a soul in slime,

and there's always victims who hurt.

So when one is despised, don't be surprised,

like Belle... to be shot and left in the dirt.

Laura Bullion AKA Della Rose: outlaw

Laura Bullion had an alias -- Della Rose
With famous outlaws she did more than just pose
With outlaws she laid
Til they taught her their trade
Until her wardrobe became prison clothes

Belle Siddon: Gambler, Pal Gal, Madame

Belle Siddon,

aka Madame Vestal,

aka Lurline Monte Verde,

was at first dealt a good hand

from well-to-do stock,

an' she was highly educated in Missouri.

But times, they do change,

Civil War took the reins,

an' many a plan became blurry.

From Southern lass

to Confederate spy,

Belle parlayed her status

for information with lies.

But wars go away

an' loyalties change,

an' Belle later married

a U.S. Army sawbones:

stationed down Texas way.

Stayed as true as she could

til his last breath did pass,

then found she must fend fer' herself.

No trophy wives then

like there is today,

Pride had some sway

an' Belle filled her own shelf.

She had a knack fer' gambling,

an' ran a few casinos

in Wichita, Denver, and Deadwood.

Supply and demand

always goes hand-in-hand:

clean cards,

dirty women,

straight whiskey.

And if she was cheatin... she was good.

Lawmen an' badmen,

both gunmen fer' hire,

sought Lady Luck in Belle's place.

They'd gamble an' cuss,

drink sour mash an' fuss,

pinch bottoms

an' get a slap 'cross the face.

If Lady Luck's a no show,

they'd bed them a "ho,"

or belly on up ta' the bar.

They'd swear off of gamblin',

but always return,

even if the trip was quite far.

Once a Southern Belle

not always a Southern Belle,

she knew all her needs

an' did fill 'um.

But she still was a woman,

a romantic at heart,

an' fell hard when Cupid came callin'.

Yet her choice of men

in her new life an' trade

would even cause whores ta' start bawlin'.

Archie McLaughlin,

notorious robber,

he craved the strong-box from the stage.

Yet robbing ain't easy

with love in the mix

cuz' Archie would tell Belle his plans:

after all, she'd been a spy.

But Belle's tongue had loosened

since the days of the war.

With too much ta' drink,

or in a rage,

Belle would speak out of turn.

Her slip of the tongue

sent vigilantes on the run,

an' they caught up with Archie

still ridin' the stage.

They brought the noose.

Arch brought the neck.

They had themselves a "necktie party."

Out in the boonies,

swingin' from a tree,

that was the end of "poor" Archie.

Belle took it hard,

he was dead cuz' of her,

an' how could she love a dead lover?

She wept out of grief,

she needed relief,

she wanted to hide undercover.

Deadwood's a place

where you pick yer' poison...

an' Belle, she soon was addicted.

She tried ta' forget

her disgrace an' lost love.

She traded her memories fer' opium.

Then off ta' the coast,

San Francisco was calling,

time ta' begin again.

Belle thought she knew what she wanted,

but she was still haunted:

Pain had hitched a ride.

For lack of her lover

she puffed on the pipe.

They found her sprawled out

in the opium den...

unconscious,

on the night that she died.