The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1893-08-18
MEN WHO HAD LUCK.
STORIES CIRCULATED IN GROUP OF
TACOMA SPORTS.

Most of Them Were Told by Professional
Gamblers and May or May Not Be True,
. but an Afidavit Is Required For the Yarn
About the Gold Seeker,
well, that was luck"
The speaker was n of a group of half
, dozen men who were standing on Pa
cifc 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
tin, of this city, who had fallen heir to
$4,000 three years ago and didn't find
it out until a few days ago.
Talk about LUCK" said one of the
group, who was a gambler, 1--WE see plenty
of it. Do you know that one day last
week a man entered one of our gambling
houses with a nickel and won out $500 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 blokie went to the gambling
house with the intention of placing his
5 cent piece on the number 5. He got
into the room when the roulette ball was
whizzing around on its tour of numbers.
He rushed to the table and got down his
nickel on the five just as the game run
ner shouted All DOWN. In a few sec
onds the ball started on its rear end
bouncing, and in a few seconds more the
mar shouted 'Fiver 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 a nickel and tried the game
again, but it didn't CO."
II can tell a story of a man who was
lucky" said a business man. sIn the
early days of the gold excitement in Cali
fornia, there came into San Diego a man
who was ragged and sick almost to death.
He was taken in hand and fed and fixed
up. Then he told a story of a wonder
full find of gold he had made. 1t was
only a few days off, he said, and he would
take a party to the 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 a party of so.
The start was made with that mar as
leader. After a few days travel it be-
came evident that the man had forgotten
the way. They Travelled on, trusting to
luck, however. Indians were 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 off. Then a fever struck the
party, and II more went the way of
death.
''By this time the 10 survivors were
crazy with rage. They had been IA days
out and were travelling in the most arid
country. Food wa growing less and
less, and death faced everybody. On the
afternoon of the fourteenth day the lead
er, who had 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.
well, the three days had almost
passed, and still there was no sign of the
find. The last hour was almost up. It
seemed that the man must hang. There
were only five minutes more, now two
minutes, now n minute, now a half
minute-then came his luck. Just as 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, she
was lucky because if he hadn't died he
would have been hanged"
Another gambler told how a few days
ago a green Swede who knew nothing
about the game, but determined to try
his luck, had won nearly 81, 200. He
had been an onlooker once or twice and
seen big winnings. He went to the rou-
lette wheel with $40, and in a 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
binations or arrangements" because he
was as green as grass and knew nothing
about the game.
81 have a 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 a few
years ago back in Minnesota he made his
discovery. He was a travelling man for
a grocery firm, and while walking to a
train to go from n country town to an
other n day he whitfield a stick.
He had whitfield the stick in a TRAN
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
by millions at Pullman, Ills, making
millions for Perkins and Pu1lmap"