The Indianapolis journal., 1902-09-21

for that same afternoon he had lost $500 at
Delmar Park in st. Louis. I asked him IL
he wasn't afraid that the stuff might cause
him TO have bad luck in other ways, but
he said in all seriousness that so far it
hadn't effected his fortune except in the
matter Of playing the races. 1 have not
been able to make out whether or not he
actually does believe in the power of the
hair tonic TO hoodoo him. but there's no
doubt that he is unwilling to give it an
other chance To lose 800 for him.
MEN THAT PLAY RACES.
Men that play the races are the most
superstitious class of civilized human be-
ings in existence. anyway, Followers of
turf matters say that most people who bet
on the horses carry some kind OF so-called
mascott about in their clothes One man
whose winnings were s56 the other after
noon in local pool room attributed his
good luck to buckeye which had been
presented to him that morning by a friend
But the funniest incident in connection
with superstition that ever occurred in a
pool room took place on the afternoon re-
Gently that Captain CASTOR won an i'm
portant event at the Sheepshead Bay track.
Captain CASTOR was a "forty-to-one
shot in the betting in race with thirty
six starters, and the only bettor in the pool
room fortunate enough to pick the cap
tain to win was little Chinese laundry
man who Is often TO be seen in the gam
bling establishment wagering his hard
earned silver dollars on the flyers of the
turf When the telegraph operator shout
ed out that Captain CASTOR wins" and
the crowd present became aware of the
fact that the little yellow-faced man with
the chidlike smile had received $40 as a
result of his lucky one-dollar bet there was
an exchange of glances among the regular
hangers-one about the place, and one of
them vouchsafed the information that 'he
had felt all along that the Chinaman must
have an occult tip of some kind" And
when the Mongolian won his next bet there
was a general move in his direction. for ii
had become whispered about that 1.-The
only way TO strike a winner was to rub
against the Chinaman for luck"
There are queer superstitions attached to
several prominent business houses in the
city. Many Indianapolis merchants in the
wholesale district would not. under any
conditions. occupy Offices or desk room
in certain building that is regarded as ar
| ill-omened structure: and most of the dray-
| men and drivers of vans will not accept
| employment with a certain wholesale mar
who has the reputation of being hoodooed
| with fires and other disasters which, they
| say, are likely at any time to throw the
| employees out Of work. There Is a drug
| store not far from the business center o1
the city whose proprietors have for the
| last twenty years clung to peculiar super
| stition. The store, which is one of the old
| est and best known in town, is situated al
the intersection of three streets, and q
| large sign bearing the words drug store
has been placed upside down along one Of
the outer walls of the building The sigr
was originally put up in this way for the
| purpose of attracting attention and thu:
| advertising the store. Many people have
expressed surprise that place of busines:
with such an established reputation should
| continue such an old and cheapening meth
| cd of advertising. but the truth of the mat
ter is that the proprietor doesn't want Il
run the risk of changing his luck. The
store has always been successful, and. al
| though its ownership has changed hand:
| several times, the old sign still remains a:
erected by the man who first placed 1t ir
position a score of years ago.