The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-04-06
IS the
OF THE LUCKY ONES
Realizes On All His Ventures
Without Regard to the
Chances Taken.
HE is ALMOST UMCANNY
Member of New Orleans Board o
Trade Known as Long-Shot Luke
Claimed by Friends to Be
Luckiest Man in World.

Claimed by Friends to Be
Luckiest Man in World.
From the Washington Star.
There is Il man living in G Orleans
who, if he We're to offer to bet that the
moon would hit the earth a Mallop on
next Tuesday week, at ) o'clock in the
afternoon, woul probably find no ak
ers among his friends. Instead of TAX
ing the bet, the friends to whom he
made this proposition would probably
begin to wind up their affairs, in am
ticipation of the collision of the moon
and the earth, and h consequent end
of the world, according to the terms
Of the proffered bet. For this man is
the luckiest human being alive. He
belongs to the Can't Lose association.
When he wants to make amy old kind
of a bet on any old thing nowadays he
has to make it with u stranger. His
friends and acquaintance duck. They
know that there ISM a chance in the
world for him to lose, no matter how
lmbecile and hopeless the wager he
offers appears.
m yet this man isn't q professional
gambler-unless you would call a
member of the New Orleans cotton eX-
change-which he is-a gambler. He
doesn't play cards, never bets on the
horses. and consequently sidesteps all
games of chance. He's ar engaging
and hospitable gentleman-as l, who
met him in New Orleans only Il couple
Of weeks ago, have reason to know.
But he "sure is" lucky. His fad is to
take the long end of any kind of a bet.
He'll take whichever end of it you
offer him, and, that being the case, he
generally gets the long end. So they
call him-his intimates. that is to say.
call him-Long Shot Luke-Luke be-
Ing his Christian name.
One OF this lucky mans associates
IN the New Orleans cotton exchange,
q man of perfect integrity and wholly
dependable as to his veracity. told me
Of some of the marvellous long shot bets
that this lucky mar had pulled over to
his side.
Bet on the Under Dog.
Its hard to begin t. tell how lucky
he s. said this friend of the lucky
man, because l know of perhaps a
hundred instances of his phenomenal
luck.
One dag, for instance, Luke was
walking along Carondelet street with
q friend VIXEN they came upon a dog
fight. The canine ~contenders We're u
likely looking brindle bull terrier and
q blocky fox terrier. Naturally enough
the bull terrier was putting it all over
the fox when Luke and his companion
stroiled along.
II guess I'd better pull that bun
terrier off the foN.' said Luke's friend.
The fox looks like somebody's pet, and
he'll be sausage in ~ minute
Let EN- alone said Lucky luke.
That fox is only spairing fer an open
Ing, and he'll be chasing the bull ter
rter In the direction of Lake Ponchar-
train in less than three minutes. Bet
you a hundred he WILL
You're on said Luke's companion.
for it'S paoaro11 q 1 1A0 Ia c,Nf th,t
a bull terrier will maerate a fox ter
rier in a fight.
But h bet was hardly made be-
fore the dogs executed a couple of rolls
In the dust. and when they got to their
feet again the fox terrier had his tusks
sunk in the bulls throat and was gnaw.
ing away as if he had a dog biscuit
under consideration. Then the bull ter
rier made a mighty effort, wrenched
himself loose from the fox, wheeled
with his tail down. n made off like a
rabbit dog. only hitting the high spots.
and yelling like a lonesome pup left
In the shed on circus day. The fox
terrier stretched his forelegs, yawned
In a bored kind Of way. and trotted into
the basement of the house where he
belonged.
Long Shot Luke simply didn't, and
Ioesn't. know how how to lose bets no.
mat. One night when one of the battle
hips was anchored in New Orleans
waters, he was showing a northern
friend the New Orleans levee. AS they
passed by n of the water front grog-
yeries they were halted by the sight
II a fight in the saloon between a
couple of men-o'-warsmen from the
battleship. One of the bluejackets was
eoalheaver over a fatho1n high and
built like a brick s~mokenouse. The
other was a perky little gunner's mate.
about five foot five high. They yanked
zach other ont nf tho o;r ,~tl1 -,
slugged each other clear across the
street to one of the cotton piers. When
they reached the docks edge the idea
Of each CT them seeTed to be to chuck
the other one into the purling waters
of the Mississippi.
That little tar'll be wet in a min
nte,' remarked Luke's friend from the
north. Hope he knows how to SWIM
That bets done writ. was the quick
sejoinder of Luke's friend. for it looked
like a pipey hundred to him that the
big sailor would win out something
easy.
"The colloqus was hardly over be-
tore the little gunner's mate, who was
wirey, got the big coal HEAVIER slowed
around SO that the latter's back was to
the water. Then he suddenly bent his
knees and bobbed downward, giving
the big bunker shoveller a butt IN the
bread basket with hts tough head.
There WAS a loud splash. and a Greek
fisherman was pulling a soggy coal
beaver into his felucca a couple of min
utes later. while Luke's companion was
Dverhauling his nanksen for the fool
ish currency.
How HIS Stopped d Car.
New Orleans is the town where the
street car companies first inaugurated
the scheme of stopping only at the
street Two days after the rule
adopted Luke bet a friend that h.
could get ever so tough a proposition
as a Canal street motorman to stop in
the middle of a block. Luke's friends
figured that he would just be eating
this money up-it was Il hundred-dollar
bet-for he knew how much fun the
motorman had in deriding the not-wise
passengers who waited for rides in
spots away from the corners.
Luke waited for the next %eelctric car
to get under full speed from the orner
below. Then, as the n bore Gown
him., he spread II newspaper between
the rails and calmly sat down upon it.
The cuSSlng motorman stopped the car