The American West is filled with intriguing tales, but one of the most captivating is that of a gambler and master card player whose appearance might lead you to believe he was a burly man with a thick mustache. However, in reality, this figure was not a man at all but a woman named Eleanor Dumont, famously known as Madame Mustache.
Few people know much about Eleanor Dumont’s life. Born as Simone Jules in 1829, her exact place of birth is uncertain, with some suggesting New Orleans, while others believe she was born in France and moved to the United States in her youth. Known for her beauty, Eleanor arrived in San Francisco between 1849 and 1854 and began working as a card dealer in the hotel “Bella Union.” At that time, she was still known as Simone. Eleanor quickly became known for her sensitivity, generosity, and her adept handling of difficult clients. She soon traveled across various states in the American West as a gambler and card player, accumulating significant wealth before settling in Nevada City, California.
Once established in Nevada City, Eleanor’s elegant appearance caused quite a stir in the town, which was less sophisticated than San Francisco. She changed her name to Eleanor Dumont and decided to start her own business. Drawing on her extensive gambling experience, she opened a gaming parlor named Vingt-et-un, which is French for “21,” and operated it professionally. The parlor was exclusively for men, and she was the only woman allowed to gamble there.
Eleanor captivated the men who frequented her establishment with her beauty and charm, though she kept them at arm’s length, allowing flirtation merely to encourage continued patronage without any personal involvement. Her gambling parlor was highly successful, leading her to partner with an experienced gambler named Dave Tobin to open a more grand gambling hall called the “Dumont Palace,” which flourished until the gold supply in Nevada dwindled. With the business declining, the partners closed the hall and left Nevada City.
Eleanor briefly settled in Carson City, where she purchased a farm and some livestock. There, she met Jack McKnight, a well-dressed man who introduced himself as a cattle trader. Smitten by his polite demeanor, Eleanor fell in love, only to later discover that he was a con artist who stole all her money and vanished.
Despite this setback, Eleanor moved on, gambling her way from town to town, although her once-charming appearance began to fade as she aged. Her famous mustache started to grow, and she lost her refined manner of dealing with others. One day, a drunken miner called her Madame Mustache, a nickname that stuck with her for the rest of her life.
Eleanor continued to move from place to place until she reached her final stop, Bodie, California. There, she spent her remaining money and, with funds nearly depleted, borrowed $300 from a friend to open a table in a gambling parlor. Unfortunately, she lost all her money due to a gambling error. According to some sources, she left the casino without saying a word and wandered outside the town. On the morning of September 8, 1879, Eleanor Dumont was found dead with an empty morphine bottle beside her and a note expressing her weariness of life. Her funeral was reportedly the largest in Bodie, as she was beloved by many, marking the end of a woman who dared to challenge men not only in their professions but also in their appearances.
