The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-01-27
JIM'S INVESTMENTS
A CoIored Citizen Demonstrates Why
signs of Good Luck are Useless.

A CoIored Citizen Demonstrates Why
signs of Good Luck are Useless.
Century
Jim knowed all kinds of signs. He said Se
knowed most everything. 1 said it looked
to me like ali the signs was about bad luck,
and so 1 asked him If there warn't anv good
luck sings. de says:
Mighty few-an' dey ain no use to a
body. What you want to know when good
Iuck's acomin' for?-want to keep il of?'
And be said IF you's got hairy arms en-
hairy bress', it's sign dat yous agwyne
to be rich. We'll, dey's some use in sign
like dat kase it's so fur ahead. You see,
NAV be yous got to be po' long time fust,
en- 50 you might git DISCOURAGE en- kill
yo'sef 4 you didn't know By de sign dat you
gwyne to be rich bymeby."
"Have you got hairy arms and q hairy
breast, Jim"
What's de use to ak dat question? Don't
you see has?n
well. are you Tich@'
mo, but ben rich wunst, and gwyne to
be rich again. Wunst l had fo't teen dol
lars: but tuck to specu atm en- got busted
out"
What did you speculate in, Jim?n
We'll, fust, tackled stock"
What kind of stockr'
put ten dollars in a cow. But ain gwyne
TO resk no mo- money in stock. De COW up
an died on my hams"
80 you lost the ten dollsrs?'
No, l didn't lose ii all; only los bout
nine of it. l sole de hide en- taller for
dollar en- ten cents.''
You had FIVE dollars and ten cents left.
Did you speculate any more?"
"Yes. You know dat one-laigged niger
dat b'longs to ole Misto Bradish2 Well, ne
sot up bank, en- say any body dat put in a
dollar would git TO dollars mo- at de en- ef
de year. Well, all de niggers went in, but
dey didn' have much. / WIZ de on'y one
dat had much. SO / stuck out for mo- dan
TO- dollars, en- l said 4 didn' git it I'd start
a bank myself. We'll, o. course dat nigger
want TO keep me out er de business, bekase
he say dey warn't business 'nough for two
banks. so he sag / could put in my i've dol
lars en- he pay me thirty-five at de eA' er dc
year.
so done it Den reck' md I'd inves' de
thiIty-fve do aIs right off en- keep things
s-movin'. Dey wuz niger name Bob, dat
mad ketched wood fat, en- his marster
didn' know it, en- bought it off-n him. en-
told him to take de thirtyfive dollars when
de en- er de year come; but somebody stole
de wood fat dat night, en- mex day de one.
laigged niger say de banks busted. So dey
didn' none Nv us git no money!
What did you do with the ten cents,
well, az gwyne to spen' it. bat had q
dream, en- de dream tole me to give IL TO
niger name Be um-Balum's Ass dey call
him, for short; he's one er dam chuckle.
heads, you know. But he's lucky, dey say,
en- see Tsrnt lucky. De dream say let
Balum inves' de ten cents en- he'd make
raise for me. Well, Balum he tuck de
money, en- when he WIZ in church he hear
de preacher say dat whoever givs to de po'
lem to de Lord, en- boun' to git his money
back hund'd times. So BslDm be tuck en-
give de ten cents to de po', en- laid ow to sec
what wuz gwyne to come of it,"
Well what did come OF it, JIM
Muffin never come of il. / couldn't
Dansge to kleck dat money no way; en-
Bslum he couldn'. l ain gwyne 10 len no
mo- money 'dout L see de security. Boun'
TO git yo' money back a hund'd times, de
preacher says Ef l could gi. de ten cents
back, I'd call it squah, en- be glad er de
| chanst"
We'll, it's all right anyway, Jim, long as
you're going to De rich again some time or
other"
"Yes-en rs rich now, come to look at il.
] owns myself, en- rs with eight hund'd dol
lars. But live stocks too resky, Huck. !
wish ! had de eight hundd dollars, en- ssme-
body else had de niger"
MARX TwAIS,