The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-01
NICKELs IN THE SLOT.
Story Of a Lucky Nickel and Some
Others Not SO Very Lucky.
From the Chicago Herald.
011 rya- xu;#I rlae,r ..l-..-

From the Chicago Herald
An old man with shaggy eyebrows,
slender and notified hands and hair that
was almost white and very long stood be-
fore slot machine in a saloon. He slipped
q nickel into the hole and watched it
tumble in its disastrous course to the re-
ceptacle below. Then he walked UP TO
the bar, leaned his arms upon the pol
ished wood, and, calling the cocktail
mixer to him, said:
There isn't much use going against
that machine. That's the third nickel |
| put into it to-day and l haven't made A
cent. l did heap better with a single
nickel out in Helena fifteen years ago
but it was something of an accident, /
suppose. How was that2 Well, Helena
| was hot town then. They were striking
| gold and silver all around and everybody
had money. One day things came my
way, and all through a nickel, too. I
had been out the night before
| with some of the boys, and was
on my way home, when a nickel-and il
was the only one had with me-slipped
| through hole in my pocket and fell upon
the sidewalk. 1t rolled a few feet, and
then disappeared through a crack. A
nickel wasn't anything in those days, but
that was the only one | had, and so t he
gan prying up the boards with an old
| AAAAtAOl pm L no bulEu DlOW i STRUCK
missed the boards and sunk into the
ground. AS l drew the pick out noticed
that the stones that were dragged to the
surface looked suspiclously like the
quartz had seen in Virginia City. 1 got
| so excited that didn't look any farther
for the nickel, but thrusting some of the
stones in my pocket hurried up town to
the nearest essayer. Examinations showed
that the quartz had flor it was Quartz
carried gold to the value of $50 ton. 1t
didn't take me long to stake off claim
and begin operations. But like many a
man--like old Marshall, of California;
got frozen out by the company Iorganized
and got less than $4,000 for my find But
that was pretty good return for nickel
and l had little reason to complain With
in ten years over $40, 900, 900 in gold was
taken out of that street, and all because
had hole in my pocket. But the slot
machine is too tough for me. can't beat
it,"
The old man walked slowly out of the
saloon and disappeared.
Queer fellows go against those ma
chimes" the bartender said, as the door
closed behind the retreating form "Thev
are the greatest introducers YOU ever
saw Why, have seen men who had
never met before get well acquainted
with one another before they got through
playing. heard of aicase up at 600 Biue
Island avenue, where q fellow was drop
ping nickels in the slot. He had been
playing for twenty minutes or more when
another man walked up to the machine
The two fell to talking about chances of
winning at the game. The conversation
then took wider range, and in the course
of an hour it developed that the men were
cousins. They had not met before in
eighteen years.
SLOT MACHINES CAUSE TROUBLE
The machines provoke trouble as well
as merriment,' the bartender continued
up in the saloon at Noble and Ingraham
streets Pole dropped nickle after niclKle
into the machine until he had piked away
dollar or more. Finally coin went
right One of the doors flew open and
the gambler thrust his hand into the re-
ceptable, expecting, of course, to get some
OF his own losings and the nickles Of other
untortunates. Besides the nickle which
had sprung open the door, the Pole found
four suspender buttons. He raved and
tore about the place and threatened to
break the glassware. The bartender
called policeman, and the fellow was
taken to the station. Who plays the ma