The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-02-22

There is probably no other country
where so much and SO curious betting
takes place as in the United States, says
the New York Sun. Especially is this
the case at election time. Wizard Edison.
1t is said made his first unusual expert
ment in electricity as the result of bet.
He was a telegraph operator. and the
lunches of the boys were carried In TIN
cans, into which the reaches made their
way, causing much kicking at meal time.
Various methods were tried to get rid OF
them, and finally Edison made bet that
he would suppress them. The next day
the dinner cans were piled in heap, and
the Wizard placed around them circle
of narrow tinfoil ribbon about an inch
wide. and about a quarter of an inch
away another similar circle. and then he
connected both with the current. The
consequence was that every roach, in
trying to get to the cans, placed himself
with his hind legs on one pole Tor piece
of foill and his forelegs on the other, thus
completing the circuit, aud rolling over
dead. The bet was won, and the dead
piled up
LIKE AN IRISH FENCE.
In the civil war the soldiers at the front
spent much of their spare time in gam
bling, and batule-fields would be found
literally strewn with packs of cards. The
reason for this was that, although every
body played more or less, as soon IS the
attack was sounded every man threw his
cards away, for the soldiers were super
stitious about dying with pack OF cards
in their possession. The result was that
after great fight there would not be a
pack of cards left in camp, ana curious
substitutes were evolved.
One OF the most characteristic was the
use OF the ''army grayback," or louise.
Men would gather al campfire with
their pay in their pockets, or with to-
bacco, which was almost as good as
money, the greater part of the time, and
someone would produce fairly smooth
piece of board, on which circle about
two inches in diameter would be made
with piece of charcoal. Around this
circle an outer circle about eighteen inches
in diameter would be drawn. The board
was heated pretty hot and competing
gray backs" were dropped into the inner
circle. AS soon as they touched the hot
board they set off like race-horses to get
away from the heat. The first to cross
the outer circle was adjudged the winner.
Considerable money changed hands.
On one occasion a soldier offered to
race mis- gee" against the whole camp for
all they liked to wager. The bets were
made, and the races came oil, the chal-
lenger winning pretty nearly everything
in sight. He then went TO other camp
fires and did the same thing, enjoying
quite a run of prosperity until someone
discovered his trick. He had found out
that the speediest gray back" was
HALF-sTARVED ONE
And he had three in his leather pock ct
book IN a very advanced stage of starya-
ton, with which he was able to beat ali
A - I
smile at the recollection of these races.
Millionaire Mackay tells story of a
contest he had three years ago with one
of his foremen. The foreman was some
thing of a naturalist and trained one OF
the enormous grasshoppers of the West,
as Mark Twain trained mis- frog, until he
could jump ten feet. Then he interested
Mr.. Mackay in the insect Mr.. Mackay
went out and caught some hoppers and
backed them against the record breaker,
with the result that he was beaten every
time. Then he became determined to win,
and sent several OF the hands out to hunt
Tor the strongest jumpers they could
ind. But all to no purpose, until one
day he discovered a wet spot on the
table near where the foreman's hopper
had sat. Investigating the matter he
found that the spot was very strong am
monla, that the foreman had phiaI OF
ammonia with dropper in his sleeve,
and that a drop of the ammonia made
grasshopper jump hard enough to beat
the record every time. So MIR. Mackay
provided himself with dropper, and
then went To another battle. The same
morning he managed to get hold of the
1oreman's dropper, emptied it and filled
II with chloroform instead of ammonia.
and then kept the foreman with him I'M
I'll the last minute. The grasshoppers
were brought forth, and Mr.. Mackay' s
flew through space, while the foreman
IL H.
over and going to sleep. 1t was not until
the third contest that the foreman found
u out the trick.
One night last April party of railroad
Hien stroiied up BToa.iway alter dinner.
Near Forty-second street the converse
ton turned upon the prices OF cab hire il
different cities. William Hayward, ex.
Railroad Commissioner of Connecticut
said that New York cab fares were
higher than in any other city i'll the
country.
where are you staying?" asked {
New Yorker.
within six blocks" was the reply
''and cabby will not drive me to my
door for anything near S."
A CANBY's FARE.
The New Yorker made a bet of supper
for the crowd that any cabby would
drive him to his door tor dollar.
Bring him along" was the reply
The money was posted, the cabby called
and the address asked for, and given a!
ST. Cloud Hotel, fourth floor. "Drivt
right up to the door" a merrier party
than the one which drove around TO ons
OF the Tenderloin owl cafes would have
been difficult 10 find.
OF late the jumping bean has received
some attention. In the game played III
the downtown offices circle with seven
divisions is drawn and bets are made as
10 which one the bean will lump into
Down at Panama the great holiday game
is cat-racing. In several of the gardens
there are houses or sheds about 100 yards
long, and in the center of these are
boarded-off spaces like a bowling alley
but wider. From end to end of each O.
these are stretched tightly ten thin stee
wires, and at the extreme end of each is
number, which, on being touched, flies
up. When the races take place each ca
IS fitted with leather collar, at the top o
which is an eyelet, through which il
threaded one of the wires, so that eacl
wire has one cat on it. Firecrackers are
attached to the tail of each cat and free
simultaneously. The cats give despair
ing howl ana rush away in the only di
rection possible, namely, straight ahead
guided by the wire. The further they
go the steadier the crackers explode anC
the faster the poor cats lily, until one o
them passes under tho wire. or rather thu
eccentric, which works the mum bers anC
sends up the winning signal. Some o
the cats have split second records, blu
they cannot be worked very often or the,
lie down and let the firecracker s have al
the fun. This appears to be a moCiifica
ton of the electric spur and whip dodg
used ut Gutenberg some years ago.
A story is told OF an actor who was re
= turning home rather early in the morn
ing, and came to an early organ grinder