The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1893-04-20
A MASCOT and HOODOO.
Almost Everybody Bel ieVeS
Them.
People Who Play Games of Chance
Have Pet Cards or Numbers-A
Hard Luck story OF the
Third Figure.

II is curious how deeply minds can be
affected by such imaginary things as
peculiar conjunctions OF figures or letters.
Men have risked fortunes upon their
lucky numbers in games of chance With
an obstinancy and cold. blooded reckless
ness which are hard to explain. 4 man
who has written policy slips" in New
York for many years recently told
morning Journal reporter that he knows
OF men who have kept themselves poor
playing certain Zine" or combinations
of figures. Day in and day out they
have put all their small change into the
greedy nav of the goddess of chance
with never CENTS return. The well
known "gig" Of "4-1l-44" has been
played to win half million times with
in few years, and has won so few times
ms to be easily reckoned upon the fingers
nj your hands.
In the great American game of poker
almost anyone who has ever played will
| own up to belief in the numbers of
cards, from aces to "ten-spots" which
has influenced his playing upon occasion.
Many man has stood raise on com
paratively small pair with the hope of
filling or lettering, simply because that
particular pair was his pet pair Some
one might write book upon the Fun
drawn hands" at poker, based upon be-
lief that one pair was more lucky than
another. The French game OF roulette
and the "trente-et-Quarante" OF Monte
Carlo are also two games in which lucky
and unlucky numbers figure, and many
a man has blown out his alleged brains
after Glowing in" his fortune on some
number or set OF numbers.
Faro, the sqnarest game of chance,
offers also the chance of numbers, and
one who frequents the lair OF the tiger
will not have to watch the players very
long before discovering that each has
pet card which is always the basis of the
various systems with which men strive
to win. Even the absorbing horse race
has devotees who watch the numbers in
the matter entries and weights or odds
There are men who play 20 to ! - to |,
10 10 l, s to 5, and the whole gamut OF
odds. not on the real or supposed merits
or conditions OF the horse, but the odds
and figures Baseball cranks hang upon
the lucky seventh" and the 'lucky
eighth" or some particular inning. Ia
fact, there is no game nor no occurrence
in life in which the number crank does
not find peg to hang some theory or be-
lief of figure nature. Some men 20
through life resentful because they were
born on day which they believe TO have
been unlucky from numerical stanu-
point. Others wait for days and days be-
fore closing business deals or undertake
ing new enterprises, in order to begin
upon their lucky day. These persons are
frequently the very first to ridicule the
widely advertised superstitions of the
stage, Tor instance, when they themselves
believe in signs and ON ems.
So deeply imbued with the idea of
numerical "hoodoos" do some men be-
come that they do all sorts of absurd and
ridiculous things in order to avoid their
"Jonah." Some cases have occurred in
which men have been driven insane by
the constant recurrence OF their "hcodoo"
number. Abraham Danziger's case in
New York recently, affords Il pathetic
illustration OF this queer belief in hoodoo
OF numbers. In all its aspects Danzigef's
case is singular, to say the least. His
hoodoo was the number 49," ..
He attracted the attention of the police
by setting fire TO his own bed in room
on the third" floor of Mrs. Kopfer-
schmidt's boarding house, 1856 Attorney
street, at "3' o'clock in the morning of
the thirteenth" day OF the month. The
man is a young Austrian Pole. twenty
nine years OF age, and quite good looking.
He was taken to Bellevue hospital and
placed in straight jacket.
Danziger has been in America five
years, and he was welded to fellow
country woman in Boston, who presented
him with three" children. Three"
years ago his wealthy father invited him
to return to Poland and help him fight a
law suit. 1t was successful, and on the
23d day OF the month of August Danziger
set sail for this country again. He was
detained at quarantine and was taken
sick on the 81 of September. When he
finally got out he had only $lS left. He
secured three jobs and lost them, as he
firmly believed. because bis landlady had