Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-09-22
LUCK.
Superstitions of the Gamblers hen
the kerds are Coming We fIay 'Em Fur
. 5allThcy'ro WORTH"

the dealers eyes start out OF thelr
sockets, and don't stop the lick till
you've busted the machine, or luck
changes. This advice was given me
the other day By one of the old
timers, during a conversation regard
ing faro and other games which are
played at most frontier towns openly
and publicly.
II mado a run at Gracia's one
night and scooped 'em to the tune of
$1,000, and before they know'd they
were hurt, and when Charley was
bankin', L tapped him for over $4,000
inside cf thirty. minutes, and then
turned damned fool and blow it in
at Colds. My rule, young fellow,
is to stop when luck changes, and it's
a burned good rule, but l can no
more follow it than a doctor can his
own medicine. When Pm winnin' !
want to break the bank; when l lose,
I play on hoping for good streak.
Sometimes she comes, sometimes she
doesn't"
GAMBLERS SIGNS.
Speaking about good streaks,
gamblers are very superstitious about
signs and tokens, suppose?
"Superstitious! / should say SO.
They may look bold and free and
easy, but [ tell you every one of 'em
has more superstition to the square
inch than mule has kicking power.
Look at old Hill-quiet, clever man
rs ever lived, generally speaking, but
if you want to see him riled just
interfere with one of his pet super
stitions and he'll curse a blue streak.
He's great believer in spiders. Let
one of them black, ugly things be
about him while he's dealing and he's
as happy as a dead Injun. Why,
one night stranger dropped in
during the game; the bank was win
ming every lay out, and, spying a
spider crawling ON Hills shoulder,
he brushed it off and killed it. Well,
such yelling, and swearing! Hill
stopped the game, and the startled
stranger left the place in hurry.
Since this Hill has had bad luck. and
attributes it to the spiders death.
81 lost cool $1,000 one night by
just having a feller's boot on my
chair during the game. When L
found out the case just raised my
voice with both hands and made a
very pretty speech. The feller apol
ogized AMI staked me with a hundred
and took his foot away. started in
and soon swamped the bank. 1 tell
you l want no mans foot on my
chair while I'm handling the paste
boards. Why that's Brownie, I've
seen him throw many five dollar
gold piece away, just because some
one would beat his faro game. He'd
look through his money, and if he'd
find the piece the player had changed
in, he'd throw it over the housetops,
just because the money was bad luck
for the bank.
"Uh. tell you these things sound
funny, but there's something in them.
Why, sir, one OF our boldest dealers
gets nervous and shaky il certain men
visit their rooms during q game.
Now, there's Mac, he's a good 'un
and bold; still, he thinks Murphy's q
hoodoo or bad luck for him, and some
times he'll stop dealing when Murphy
comes in. His partner, Eddleman,
is just as superstitious.
"There's Joe. Just let him meet q
strange LADY and the devil himself
couldn't persuade him that he wasn't
going to have good luck. But let his
wasberwoman bring home a collar
ironed on the wrong side and he be-
lieves bad luck will follow him for a
week. Pve seen him stop big game
because he happened to find he had
put on different pair of socks from
what he had intended Ii his servant
should forget to black the heel of one
of his boots, Joe would consider this
q sign of good luck, and would back
his faro game to any amount
"Ned's the coolest of all. He be-
lieves in a streak of luck; and also
has some net superstitions. He be-
lieves good luck will follow him If he,
by mistake, puts on his stockings
wrong side out, and is never so happy
at dealing faro as when he finds the
bow of his necktie has slipped under
his right ear. If it's gotten under
his left ear he gives the dealers box
to Brownie"
wHIMS OF PLAYERS.
"How about the players who buck
the game, are they cranky also?"
"Yes. There's Cooley Bearer, for
instance. I've known him to follow
an old woman along the streets just
to get the nib of her cigarette. This
he'd keep for several days in his
vest pocket, on the left side, and then
90 and buck the tiger. If he'd win,
he'd say the cigarette brought good
luck. If he lost. then he'd say the
woman must have been praying when
she was smoking.
"Then there was Lance his hobby
was that if he could touch hump
back person upon the hump without
the party knowing it he would be
fortunate and strike a bonanza.
Last summer ono of the Boston tour
lists had hump. He followed him
to the old churches, curiosity shops
and other public places and several
times was on the eve of stealthily
the hump, when the gentle
man would turnSaround. So persist
ant did Lance become that the gen