The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-16
HISTORY OF 4=-=H---I4.
A colored Woman In Chicago Once
Had Dream.
ST. Louis Republic.

St. Louis Republic9
The heart of many a colored policy
player was made glad yesterday morn
ing when "4-11-44" came out in the
red book-the first time since April
that the favorite gig" of the colored
folk has been drawn.
The policy shops were hit exception
ally hard. 1t seems as if the previous
night had been productive of dreams of
the kind that cause the playing of
what is usually called the policy gig"
Thousands of dollars were paved to
winners, and every policy shop in Chi
cago registered losses on the days
drawings.
In the "levee" district in the evening
there was an informal but widespread
celebration of the momentous, occasion.
Colored men VINO had won 5000 or more
or less on investments not to exceed 81
or 81, naturally felt that the time was
one for jubilation. and money passed
over saloon bars at an unusually rapid
rate. Many decorated themselves in
honor of their luck. and pedestrians in
State and Clark streets could tell by
the ribbons that adorned canes and by
the boutonnieres worn by colored swells
that the famous ''4-11-44," or some
other popular combination, had come
out in the policy books.
1t is singular that on this occasion,
as at previous times. but few white
policy players won in the drawing. The
hackers of the policy books always
dread the coming out of the gig, be-
cause the colored betters invariably
play it at the right time. 1t is not of
record that ON days when the combina-
ton is not a winning one there is any
of r1la cd
This fact strengthens the superstitious
tendencies of the black men.
The '4-11-44" gig has been famous
since fifteen years ago, when, on Christ
mas night, it came out after it had been
played for thousands of dollars in every
big city in the country. Tradition has
it that a Chicago colored woman had a
dream which she told to a friend, with
the advice to play the number 4, il, A.
In a few hours the counsel was spread
among colored policy players all over
the city, was telegraphed to every part
of the United States, and accepted with
blind faith and marvelously lucky re-
suits by the majority of those who re-
ceived it.
Having come into prominence in holt
day time, the gig is a favorite choice in
holiday seasons but the influence of
dreams is, of course, the most potent
factor IN guiding DettefS- 10 cream OF
a locomotive, of a train of cars, of a bill
"a laundry bill or any other account
of a, horse race or of several other
things is the signal for the playing of
the ''4-11-44" gig, or of other combina-
tons in which the three numbers ap-
pear.
1t is said that the dream of a colored
porter in q State street saloon Wednes-
day night was the cause of the heavy
playing in Chicago of the gig this time;
and some of the winners are supersti-
tieus enough to declare that it was the
cause of the coming out of the combi-
nation. Policy players say it is drawn
more frequently than any other popu-
lar gig or row. With two drawings
daily in both the red and the green
books. four drawings in all, it Is con-
sidered odd that about twice a year on
the average. is the record for the COM
ing out of the '4-11-44' in the last ten
or twelve years.