The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-01-15

Jlm's Investments.
i COLORED CITIZEN DEMONSTRATES WHY
SIGNS OF GOOD LUCK ARE USELESS.

4 COLORED CITIZEN DEMONSTRATES WHY
SIGNS OF GOOD LUCK ARE USELESS.
jim knowed ali kinds of signs. He
said he knowed most everything. | said
it looked to me like all the signs was
about bad luck, and 50 asked him if
there warn't any good luck signs He
says:
"Mighty few-an dey ain no use to a
body What you want to know when
good luck's a-comn' for want to keep
it ol1?7 And he said: "If you's got
hairy arms en- a hairy breas', it's a sign
dat yous agwyne to be rich. Well, dey's
some use in a sign like dat, 'kase it's so
fur ahead You see, may be you's got to
be po' long time fust. en- so you might
git discourage en- kill yo'sef # you didn't
know by de sign dat you gwyne to be
rich bimeby."
"hiave you got hairy arms and hairy
breast, Jim ?"
"Whats de use to ak dat question p
"Nell, are You rich y
'No; but | ben rich wanst, and
gwyne to be rich agin. Wunst had fo'-
teen dollars, but tuck to speculatn', en-
got busted out"
"What did you speculate in, jim O.
"Well, tust | tackled stock
"What kind of stock ~
"Why, live stock. Cattle, YOU know.
put so in COW. But amt gwyne
to resk no mo- money in stock. De COW
up n died on my hams
80 you lost the SlO?"
"No; didn't lose it all. l only los
bout nine of it. | sole de hide Ell taller
for a dollar en- ten cents"
"1ou had $40 left. Did you specu-
late any more ~
"les, You know dat one laigged mig
ger dat b'longs to ole Misto Bradish !
Well, he set up bank, en- say any body
dat put i'll a dollar would git fo' dollars
mo- at de en- er de year. Well. all de
niggers went in, but dey didn't have
much. | wuz de on'N one dat had much.
So stuck ont for mo- dan TO dollars. en-
said + didn' git it d start Il bank my
set Well, O course dat nigger want to
Keep NE out er de business, bekase he
say dey warn't business 'nOugh for two
banks, so he say could put in my five
dollars en- he pay me thirty-tiye at de en-
er de year.
$50 | done it. Den reck'n'd I'd in
YES de thirty-1ive dollars right off en-
keep things a-movin'. Dev wuz a mig
ger name Bob, dat had ketched a wood
fiat, en- his marster ddn know it; en- |
bought it otf'n him, en- told him to take
de thirty five dollars when de en- er de
year come but somebody stole de wood
flat dat night, en- mex de one laigged
nigger say the banks busted. SO dey
dldn' none Nv us git no money"
"What did you do with the ten cents,
Jim ~
"Well, | uz gwyne to spen it, but
had a dream, en- de dream toe me to
give it to a Niger name Balum-Ba-
lum's Ass dey call him, for short he's
one er dem chuckle- heads, you know.
But he's lucky, dey say, en- | see | warn't
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 wuz in church he hear de preacher
say dat whoever give to de po' len to
the Lord, en- boun to git his money back
a hund'd times. So Balum he tuck en-
gave de ten cents to de po', en- laid low
to see what wuz gwyne to come of it."
"Well, what did come of it, Jim ?"
"Nutfin' never come Of it. | couldn't
manage 70 k'leck dat money no way ; en-
Balum he couldn't. amt gwyne to len
no mo- money 'dout | see de security.
Boun to git yo' money back a hund'd
times, de preacher says. Eff could git
de ten cents back, I'd call it squah, en-
be glad er der chanst.'
"Well, it's all right anyway. jim,
long as you're going to be rich agoin
some time or other
"Yes-en rs rich now, come to look at
it. | owns myself, en- rs wuth eight
hundd dollars. But live stocks too
resky, Huck. | wisht | had de eight
hund'd dollars and somebody else had
de nigger." MARK TWAIN.