The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-08-25
MEN WHO HAD LUCK.
STORIES CIRCULATED lNAcRoUp or
u TACOMA SPORTS

Abeut Tho Colo seeker
"well. that was luck"
Ina speaker was one Of q group OF hal
dozen men who were standing on Ia
tiac avenue putting away At Havanas anS
talking just TO pass Time away ana e
tlear their throats. The cdhversauon hat
been about the livery stable man, Mar
lin. OF this city. who had fallen heir e
i95O.o00 three years ago and didn't fno
Il out until few days ago.
Talk about luck said one OF bs
1roup, who was n gambler, I'VE see plenty
Sf ii. Do yon know that one day ias'
kvaah man entered one of our gambling
houses with II nickel aud won out 500 IL
three hours? lie had gone clean busted
The night before and found the nickel in
In out Of the way corner in his room the
bext morning.
THAT blokie won't to the gambling
touse with the intontion OF placing his
B cent piece on the number 0. lilo got
INTO the room when the roulette ball was
whizsing around on its tour OF numbers.
Gle rushed 10 tho table and got down his
sickel on the FIVE just as the game run
her shouted an DOWN. In a few sec
bnds tho ball started on its rear end
bouncing, and In u few seconds more the
taan shouted 'FiycF That gave the man
with the nickel $i.15 for his 8 cents
Then no pot 81 Oh No. II. and that NUN
Der came up, giving him SS5 more. tie
continued to play with varying luck
bntil In three hours he had won 300.
And the next day he was broke again.
hIe borrowed nickel and tried the game
kgain, bat it didn't go"
IL can tell @ story Of q man who was
lucky" said a business man. "ln the
aarly days of thegold excitement in Cali
kornia, there camo into San Diego man
whowas ragged and sick almost to death.
HE was taken in hand and fed and fixed
hp. Then he told story OF wonder
kul find Of gold no had made. 1t was
bnly few days off, he said. and he would
talo q party to tho place 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 60
The start was made with that man as
leader. After few days travel it be-
taIns evident that tho man had forgotten
the way. They travelled on, trusting to
luck. however, Indians were hostile at
lhe time, and they started in to NOV the
gold hunters. They picked off one after
bnothsr with their bullets. A score were
thus taken off. Then fever struck the
bsrty, aud II more went the way Of
Heath
"By this time the 10 survivors were
traEy with rage They had been IA days
but and were travelling in the most arid
country. Food wss growing less and
iess, and death faced everybody. On the
afternoon Of the fourteenth day the lead
er, who bad caused SO much misery, was
given three days moro to find his gold
Sind Ii he was not successful by that
time. he was TO hang
"Weli. the three days had almost
passed, and still thore was no sign Of the
find. Tho Inst hour was almost up. 1t
seemed that tho man must hang There
swere only five minutes more, now two
minutes DOW one minute, now a half
hninute-then came his luck. Just as the
time was up for the hanging that man
dropped dead"
| IL don't 500 how he was lucky" put in
the gambler who had told the first story.
J why" eaid the business man. che
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
hbout the game, but determined to try
his luck, had won nearly $1,000. He
had been an onlooker once or twice and
eeen biz winnings. He went to the rou-
bette wheel with go, and in a few hours
he had won ont $500. 1t seemed that no
matter what number he put chips on
hnd he played recklessly. as all new play
brs dot came mp every time. That
was pure luck. The man played no com
binations or arrangements" because he
WAS as green as grass and knew nothing
about the game
81 have friend" spoke up one of the
group, who is connected with the city
government. "who by the merest luck
made "a discovery that is netting him mil
lions. His name is Perkins, and few
years ago back in Minnesota he made his
discovery. lie was u travelling man for
, grocery firm. and while walking to a
brain to SO from ono country town to an
bther one day he Whitfield a stick.
HE had whitfield the stick in trian-
gular shape. On tho train the idea struck
him that tho 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
hot split tho grain, and subsequent
khrinkage would be done away with.
Perkins Submitted his discovery to Pull
nan. and now the spikes are being made
by millions at Pullman, nls., making
millions for Perkins and Pullman"
Another gambler here chimed in with
the statement that during the past week
y gambler from Seattle had won s., 800
ht faro IN Tacoma rooms in two sittings.
Both sittngs occupied IS hours, and the
frat sitting resulted In the winning Of
1850 and the second $1,000. During
Isk 4. a