Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-08-01

who Is not accustomed to sleeping
there, or a member of the family will
be away all night If your leg itches
at the back under the knee, you will
go on journey. and if the sole OF
your foot itches. you will tread
on strange ground. II your right
hand itches. you will shake hands
with a friend; your left hand.
you will get money. There is an
old saying about this: Scratch it
on wood and it'll come good" That
many are aware of. I've seen men
who ought to know better hunt around
for wood to scratch their hands on,
and, not finding any available. take a
lead pencil out of their pockets and
rub their palms with it A fair Wash
ington belle will not have an umbrella
without wooden handle, because. she
says. she always wants some wood
around to scratch her hand on. Even
the spots on ones fnger-nails come in
for share of superstition. They are
called gifts.
1t is unlucky to cut the 6nger-nails
on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If
you cut them on Friday you are play
ing into the devils hand; on Saturday.
you are inviting disappointment. and
on Sunday, you will have bad luck all
the week. There are people who suf-
fer all sorts of gloomy forebod-
ings if they absent-mindedly trim
away bit of nail on any of these days.
and who will suffer all the inconven-
fence of overgrown fnger-nails sooner
than cut them after Thursday.
Nearly every body has an unlucky
day, although most people look Oh
Friday as day of misfortune. proba-
bly, because it is known as hangman's
day. You can seldom find any one
willing to move on Friday or Satur-
day. Friday is considered unlucky,
and Saturdays fitting makes short
sitting"
Superstition is closely allied to
witchcraft. and so extends to persons.
Every one has heard the expressions:
That fellow is re- ular JONAH" or
Hes hoodoo," or Il never have a
bit of luck when l see so and so"
This is especially so with theatrical
people, racing men and gamblers.
Monkey Charley" successful
steeplechase jockey. rents his spurs
out, when he hasn't got a mount, at
five dollars race to jockeys who
think they can absorb some of his
luck by wearing them. Another
jockey. Kelly. who rode a good deal
at Gutenberg, believes that if he can
touch or pass near or ride near certain
race-track habitues he will win, and
resorts to all sorts Of maneuvers to
come in contact with his hoodoo. An
other recent superstition of racing-men
is that if a jockey dismounts at the post
before the start for any reason what
ever he will win, and when one is seen
dismounting for cause. or one is
thrown. there is An immediate rush
for the bookmakers, and his mount is
backed A mascot" is an in
dispensable member of a base
ball club, and when militia
60 a visiting they carry one also. II
you can "cross the hump" of a hunch-
back with fingers crossed you will
have good luck. This must be done
without the knowledge of the bunch J..
backed person, and if it is darky the
charm is so much more efficaclous. If
you can make the cross with money in
your hand it is sure thing that you
will win any bet you make with that
money. A dwarf is also a mascot for
gamblers. They are often applauded
for their generosity by those who
don't know that they believe that Civ
ing to cripple or beggar brings luck.
1t is considered a sign of coming dis
appointment if the first person you
meet when starting out has red hair.
To catch the eye OF a cross-eyed per-
son is an omen of misfortune which
can be escaped from by turning all
the way round three times. 1t can be
passed on by touching some one else
with fingers crossed; then the mis-
fortune falls on the person touched.
The influence of the evil eye is
known and dreaded the world over,
and even the most practical can not
avoid shudder on finding an eye an
swering its description fixed on him
The harbingers OF death are many.
The banshee of the Irish is fixity
in the Celtic mind, and many weird
tales are told of its visits and grew
some warnings The bowling of
dog under the window of a sick room
is an appalling sound to hear at the
dead of night. and is enough to fright
en- a nervous person into the belief that
it is a warning of death. Dogs have
been known to 60 long dista nee to
howl under the window where some
one was lying i'll. Cats are also sup
posed by the credulous to have the
power of foretelling death If bird
flies into room some one will die
in that room before year is passed.
AZ