The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-06

| tor on the rung of ones chair brings
! bad fortune. I confess l can't stand Ii
Not long ago I was playing In a friend
| ly game at a fishing club on the lake.
side, when a man sat down behind me
and rested his foot carelesely on my
chair. Instantly luck left me, and az
ter l had lost five or six good pots In
! succession l got desperate and tilted
forward in the hope of shaking the fell
low off. Thereupon he removed his foot
from the rug and put 1t on the floor
I glanced around and seeing II directly
beneath the rear chair leg decided to
take q horrible revenge. So / settled
back and came down square on his
toes, but to my amazement he never
turned a hair. He was chatting with
somebody at the time and seemed to be
totally unconscious of the fact that the
chair leg was resting on hie pedal ex-
tremity with q pressure of about two
hundred pounds to the square inch
That uncanny episode made me so ner-
vous I quit the game. Later on,
learned that he had a cork foot An
other queer thing the old clubman
went on, lis the way a player will at
tribute changes In luck to the most
grotesque and outlandish Incidents,
Years ago q friend of mine vete-
ran river captain, was one of poker
party In hotel at Hot Springs. He
was losing steadily and glanced around
slyly to find a mascot, A gentleman
wearing very long frock coat was sit
ting near him with his back turned,
and the captain quietly picked up one
of the flowing coat-tails and tucked the
corner under his leg. He did so on the
theory we'll known to confirmed poker
players that some outre act will change
the run of the cards AS chance
would have 1t, he Immediately began to
win and was on the high tide Of success
when the other man started to get up.
Hold on!' exclaimed the captain, cling
ing like grim death to the coat-tail, for
heavens sake don't take away my mas
cot.' But, confound 1t, sir!' replied the
other, when the situation was ex-
planned, do you expect me to sit here
all night SO you can keep nay coat-tatl
under your leg? A bright idea struck
the captain. I'll tell you what I'll do
he said, I'll buy your coat. What do
you want for it7' A hundred dollars
answered the stranger. All right said
the captain handing over the money,
now slip out OF it as easy as you can.
Next morning he told me that the deal
had netted him nine hundred and Atty
dollars profit
"Out in Arkansas" continued the sto-
ry-teller, "the throwing of match
stump or a half-burned paper cigar
lighter under a players chair Is sup
posed to be hoodoo of a deadly type.
An ex-judge Of the supreme court told
me once that no man had ever been
known to fill q bob-teiled flush while
seated over charred match. I don't
pretend to account for It, SIR he said;
IT Is simply one Of those mysterious
laws of nature that are beyond human
ken The way to remove the hoodoo,
according to experts, Is to pick up the
partially consumed fragment. burn 1t
completely and rub the ashes on the
head of the individual who deposited 1t
under the chair This ceremony gene
rally requires an assistant to hold the
other fellow. Cats and dogs cut a large
figure In poker superstition, but opin-
ions vary so widely that no rule can be
laid down. Some hold, for instance,
that the appearance of a cat Is a sure
omen Of good luck while others believe
the exact reverse. I know an irascible
old physician who has an absolute hor-
ror of the animals. One night last
spring he was playing little game of
draw at a mountain resort In Tennes-
see, when portly German strolled into
the room and took seat In one corner.
Directly afterWard the doctor was beat
en- twice in succession on good hands.
The second time he lost he wheeled
around abruptly and glared at the
stranger. What is your name, sir?' he
demanded fiercely. Kats' replied the
astonished German. 7 knew it, ex-
claimed the doctor and stalked out Of
the room.
Almost every old poker player has
some pet superstition of his own that
he is generally ashamed Of, and tried to
observe on the sly. I used to play oc-
casionally with an insurance man who
would invariably slip a ring off his left
middle finger and transfer 1t to the 9TH
er hand before beginning the game.
He had done that one night years be-
fore, and won some extraordinary
amount of money. and the incident
gave birth to the ceremony Another
old crony had a pair of lucky shoes
and insisted he could win in no others
They became so shabby in time that he
kept them at the club, and would
change Just before he sat down to play
One evening he became disgusted with
q streak OF bad luck, and, swearing
that the shoes had suddenly turned into
hoodoos, he threw them out of the WIN
dow. They hit an Italian candy vender
on the top of the head, and instantly
the fellow began to howl and talk about
a damage suit. My friend gave him
twenty dollar bill as compromise.
What did I tell youn he said, they
have already started on their mission |
of crime, and unless they are destroyed, |
obliterated wiped absolutely out of ex-
istence, there is no telling what catas-
trophe they may occasion. With that |
he subsidized the janitor, got him to
start a fire in the furnace, and reduced |
the fatal footgear to ashes That !
prompt and sagacious proceeding laid !
the hoodoo forever" New Orleans
Democrat.
] "A TEST THING TN prAp TYhpc