Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-09-08
MEN WHO HAD LUCK.
STORIES CIRCULATED INAGRoup Of
TACOMA SPORTS.

al
Gamblers and May or May Not Be True
but an Affidavit Is Required For the Yarn
About the Gold Seeker.
We'll, that was luck"
Inc speaker was one of a group of half
dozen men who were standing on Pa
chic avenue putting away at Havanas and
talking Just to pass time away and to
clear their Threats. The conversation had
been about the livery stable man, Mar
TN, OF this city, who had fallen heir to
$3.50, 900 three years ago and didn't find
1t out until few days ago.
Talk about luck" said one of the
group, who was gambler, 1--WE see plenty
OF 1t. Do you know that one day last
week a man entered one of our gambling
houses with nickel and won out in
three hours? He had gone clean busted
the night before and found the nickel in
an out of the way corner in his room the
next morning.
THAT blolie went to the gambling
house with the intention of placing his
cent piece on the number 5. He got
INTO the room when the roulette ball was
whlzzing around on its tour of numbers.
de rushed to the table and got down his
nickel on the five just as the game run
ner shouted All DOWN. In few sec
onds the ball started on its rear end,
bouncing, ara in a few seconds more the
man shouted 'Five3 That gave the man
with the nickel $1.75 for his 5 cents.
Then he put 81 on No. II, and that num-
Der came up, giving him $35 more. He
continued to play with varying luck
until IN three hours he had Won 500.
And the next day he was broke again.
He borrowed nickel and tried the game
again. but ii didn't CO."
Il can tel story of man who was
lucky" said a business man. In the
early days Of the gold excitement in Cali
! fornla, there came into San Diego man
who was ragged and sick almost to death.
he was taken in hand and fed and fixed
! up. Then he told story of a wonder
full find of gold he had made. 1t was
only few Gays off, he said, and he would
take party to the lace if they would
outfit.
! Several men who heard the story of
the great gold in the mountains that was
theirs to go after got up party of 30.
The start was made with that man as
leader. After a few days travel ii be-
came evident that the man had forgotten
the way. They travelled on, trusting to
luck, however. Indians We're hostile at
the time. and they started in to NOW the
gold hunters. They picked Off one after
another with their bullets. A score were
thus taken of. Then a fever struck the
party, and IL more went the way of
death.
by this time the 10 survivors were
crazy with rage. They had been II DAYS
out and were travelling in the most arid
country. Food was growing less and
less, and death faced everybody. On tie
afternoon of the fourteenth day the lead
er, who Ind caused so much misery, was
given three days more to find his gold
find If he was not successful by that
time, he was to hang.
We'll, the three days had almost
passed, and still there was no sign of the
find. The last hour was almost un. 1t
seemed that the man must hang. There
were only five minutes more, now two
minutes, now one minute, now a half
minute-5hen came his luck. Just rs the
time was up for the hanging that man
dropped dead"
81 don't see how he was lucky" put in
the gambler who had told the first story.
why" said the business man, The
was lucky because if he hadn't died he
would have been hanged"
Another gambler told how few DAYS
ago green Swede who knew nothing
about the game, but determined to try
his luck, had won nearly 81 900. He
had been an onlooker once or twice and
seen big winnings. He went to the rou-
lette wheel with $40, and in few hours
he had won out $500. 1t seemed that no
matter what number he put chips on
and he played recklessly, as all new play
ers dot came up every time. That
was pure luck. The man played no COM
binatiors or arrangements" because he
was as green as grass and knew nothing
about the game.
II have a friend" spoke up one of the
group Who is connected with the city
government, ''who by the merest luck
made discovery that is netting him mil
lions. His name is Perkins, and few
years ago back in Minnesota he made his
discovery. He was travelling man for
la grocery firm, and while walking to a
train to so from one country town to an
other one day he whitfield stick.
HE had whitfield the stick in trian-
gular shape. On the train the idea struck
him that the shape would be just what
was wanted for railroad spikes. The
square spikes in vogue were not the right
thing because they split the grain of the
green ties when driven into them, and
when dry the wood shrank away from
them. The triangle shaped spike would
not split the grain, and subsequent
shrinkage would be done away with.
Perkins submitted his discovery to Pull
man, and now the spikes are being made
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