The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-17
NEWSPAPER Man
VICTIM OF AN OPAL
How Possession of Jewel En-.
tailed Upon Him a Streak of
Miserable Luck

Don't buy an opal, Sam, not on your
life,'' said J. NJ Raymond, a travelling
salesman, to his friend Samuel Wilson, an
other knight of the grip, in the corridor of
the Frederic last night. sJust wait until
you hear this hard luck opal story of mine.
and you'll pass up.opals forever
The pair were looking over the samples
of jewelry salesman from Chicago, and
Mr.. Wilson had picked out large opal
which he priced and looked at with long
ing eyes.
met a newspaper man in st. Louis a
year ago last May, and the question of
unlucky opals came up in our converse :
ton, continued Mr.. Raymond. 1.-THE
newspaper man had forsaken his craft for
the time being and was managing a stable
Of prize lighters, among whom were Tom
my Feltz and Gus Gardner He was GER
tain that opals would not bother his bust
ness, so he purchased an opal necktie pin
and wore it to the fight that night, which
was between Feltz and Brooklyn Tommy
Sullivan.
''Deltz won the fight on a foul in the
eleventh round. but was so badly injured
that he had to go to the hospital two
weeks afterwards. That rather depleted
the stable. but the manager took Gardner
to Port Huron, Mich, and there fought
Mike Ward.
The Opal Again
GARDNER had Ward almost out in the
second round, and looked like sure win
ner. The manager was fondling the opal
in the third round, when Gardner, anxious
to finish his opponent hit in a clinch,
something which is forbidden in Michigan,
and lost on a foul
The newspaper man then took Gardner
to Saginaw, Mich. and fought Jimmy
Duggan. In the seventh round Gardner
knocked Duggan so cold that the people
thought he was dead.
The manager, still fondling the opal,
went to the box office to collect his money
and found there deputy sheriff. with an
attachment, preferred by one of Gardeners
former managers. who claimed to have a
prior contract with the pugiliSt but which
Gardner repudiated in favor of the news
paper man.
"The scribe was by this time disgusteG
with the boxing business, so next morning
paWned his $500 diamond for half its value
and started South, having been offered a
position as umpire in the Southern league
at salary of $50 per week, which looked
rather soft to him.
HE was umpiring all right. when, three
weeks later, he was taken down in Ala
bama with malaria He fought it off I'M
til he got to Nashville, Tenn, and there
was ordered to the hospital by the doctor.
OF course, he had to resign his place on
the umpiring staff.
Luck Still Against Him
''The doctors finally ordered him north,
offered him a good position as sporting
editor and he prepared to report in a
week. Three days afterwards the malaria
returned and they took him to the hospi-
tai in a hack. He was in the hospital SO
long that the paper was compelled to get
another man.
when he came out of the hospital he
went to a hotel and registered. Two days
afterwards his former nurse called on him.
and when the pair were in the cafe dis
cussing something good, in came the
newspaper mans sweetheart. who, by the
way, was worth lot of money and who
was Detroit girl The engagement was
broken there and then, and the news
paper man began thinking about the opal
He gave it to the elevator boy in the hotel
in lieu of a tip, and while in Detroit last
week picked up a paper and read about
an accident in which the elevator boy who
had been given the opal had dropped four
stories and been killed.
.'They buried the opal with him, and
now 1 would not be a bit surprised to
hear that somebody had filed up on fusel
oil, and set the cemetery affre.'