Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-07-07
A VICTIM OF FATE,
He Had Tried Various Things, but Luch
Was Against Him.

Was Against Him.
He wasn't tramp exactly, but he was
on the way there. He had struck the mer.
chant for dollar, and the merchant was
rather interested in him.
II don't see," he said, why you go about
asking for money or help. You are an in
telligent man, and should think you could
get something better to do"
81 don't know about that" was the de.
spondent rejoinder. 1.-THE Lord knows ]
tried hard enough to get along before lost
my heart entirely"
"What did you do?"
well, little Of everything. had SONS
money, and thought I'd go to raising rice
in South Carolina and show those people
down there how to do it right. I knew 1t all,
of course, and one day man came along
selling a new brand of seed rice. He was
a nice looking man from New York, and !
liked his STYLE He liked my style, too, he
said, and would sell me the exclusive right
to handle his stuff in South Carolina. 1t
was something new-a seed that could not
be exposed to the light, but that would
yield three times as much as the old vari.
cites. That was what | was looking for,
and very quietly took 1t in, paying 500
for the right and four sealed cans of seed.
did all the work at night, and when 1t
was finished I sat down to wait and to
chuckle over my enterprise. But waited
and waited, and nothing came, and one day
| looked into the old cans and found I had
been stuck with some mean little wheat
grains, and you might as well try to raise
icicles in the bad place as to raise wheat in
-, M inn vso "
THAT was bad luck" said the sympa'
thizing merchant.
$50 | thought, and left the state and
went to raising cattle in western Kansas.
Hadn't more than got my herd set out be.
fore a cyclone came along and blew every
horn of it clean over into tie next county,
and when went after my stock a pious
cowboy who had gathered them in with
his own informed me that they had been
sent to him by Providence, and he'd like to
see any son of II gun try to take them
away. AS he had winchester and lot
of friends with him didn't see my way
clear to interfering with the ways Of Provi-
dence, and left the country"
ITS pretty hard when Providence goes
against man." ventured the merchant
Kindly.
YES, but that isn't all" sighed the dis
consulate one. with what little had
left went to Pennsylvania and bought a
water power gristmill In the mining re-
gions. fixed it up with new machinery,
and for awhile it looked as If my luck had
changed and was going to come out on
top at last. But one night big mine ly.
ing under the stream that gave me my
mill power caved in or sank down just
enough to change the lay Of the land, and,
by gum, the water began to run the other
way, and when | got to the mill in the
morning the water gates were open, the
stream was running up hill, as 1t were, and
my mill machinery had been running back.
ward until every blamed wheel was busted
and the whole shebang was wreck"
The man wiped tear from his eye.
"Then 1t was" he went on, that my
heart broke and laid right down and quit
| Now, do you blame me for what I am
doingY"
The merchant gave him 81, and the man
was in the police court next morning.-De
troit Free Press.