Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-07
THIS MAN CANNOTLOSE
Wins His Bets, No Matter How
Preposterous.
HIS FRIENDS ALL DUCK HIM
Only Strangers Will Lay Wagers
With Him.
NO ONES LUCK IS LIKE HIS
Some Remarkable Narratives Con-
corning One Luke of New Orleans,
a Member. of Cotton Exchange.

There is man living in New Orleans
| who. if he were to offer to bet that the
moon would hit the earth a wallop on next
| Tuesday week at 3 o clock in the afternoon,
| would probably find no takers among his
| friends. Instead of taking the bet, the
| friends to whom he made this proposition
| would probably begin to wind up their af-
| fairs, in anticipation of the collision of the
| moon and the earth, and the 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 Associa ton. When he wants to make
| any old kind of a bet on any old thing
| nowadays he has to make it with a strang-
! er. His friends and acquaintance duck
| They know that there isn't chance in the
| world for him 10 lose, no matter how i'm
| beetle and hopeless the wager he offers APP
pears.
| And vet this man isn't professional
| gambler-unless YOU would call a member
of the New Orleans cotton exchange-which
| he is-a gambler. He doesn't play cards
never bets on the horses and consistently
| sidesteps all games of chance. He's an
engaging and hospitable gentleman-as l.
who met him in New Orleans only a couple
| of weeks ago, have reason to know. But
lie 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 init
mates, that is to say, call him-Long Shot
Luke-I.uke being his Christian name.
One of this lucky mans associates on the
perfect integrity and wholly dependable
| as to his vera city, told me of some of
| the marvellous long shot bets that this
lucky man had pulled over to his side.
Bet on the Under Dog.
It's hard to begin to tell how lucky
| lie is, said this friend of the lucky man.
! because 1 know of perhaps hundred In
stances of his phenomenal luck.
49, One day. for instance, Luke was walk
| ing along Carondelet street with a friend
| when they came upon a dog fight The
| canine contenders were a likely-looking
brindle bull terrier and blocky fox ter
| rier. Naturally enough, the bull terrier
was putting it all over the fox when Luke
| and his companion strolled along.
| II guess Ia better pull that bull ter
| rer off the fox said Luke's friend The
| fox looks like somebody's pet, and he'll
| be sausage in a minute
| Let EN- alone said Lucky Luke.
| That fox is only sparring for an OPEN
| Ing. and he'll be chasing the bull terrier
| in the direction of Lake Ponchartrain in
less than three minutes. Bet you hum
| dred he Will.
You're on said Lukes companion
| for it's generally a 1000 to 1 shot that
! a bull terrier will macerate fox terrier
| in a fight.
But the bet was hardly made before
| the dogs executed 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 gnawing
| away as If he had a dog biscuit under
| consideration. Then the bull terrier made
| a mighty effort, wrenched himself loose
! from the fox. wheeled with his tail
down and 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
doesn't. know how to lose bets like that.
One night. when one of the battleships was
| anchored in New Orleans waters, he was
| showing a northern friend the New Or
| leans levee. As they passed by one of the
/ waterfront groggeries they were halted by
| the sight of a fight in the saloon between
| a couple of memo -warsmen from the bat
| tleship. One of the bluejackets was a coal
| HEAVIER. over a fathOm high and built like
| a brick smokehouse. The other one was a
| perky little gunner's mate, about five foot
| five high They yanked each other out of
! the gin-rnll and Slugged each other all
| the way across the street to one of the cot
| ton piers. When they reached the dock 9
!
! be 10 chuck the other one into the purlng
! waters Of the Mississippi.
| THAT little tarH be wet in a minute,
remarked Luke's friend from the north.
! Hope he knows how to swim
| - Bet you hundred the little one losses
! the big yannigan in promptly replied
Lucky Luke.
| THAT bets done writ was the quick re-
joinder of Luke's friend, for it looked like a
! pipey hundred to him that the big sailor
would win out something easy.
| THE colloquy was hardly over before the
! little gunners mate, who was wiry. got the
| big coal HEAVIER slowed around that the
latter's back was to the water. Then he
| suddenly bent his knees and bobbed down
ward, giving the big bunker shoveller
| butt in the bread-baslet with his tough
| head. There was a loud splash, and Il
| Greek fisherman was pulling soggy coal
! HEAVIER into his felucca a couple of min
utes later while Luke's companion was
overhauling his nankeens for the foolish
| currency.
How He Stopped Car.
| New Orleans is the town where the
street car companies first inaugurated the
scheme of stopping only at the street
| corners. Two days after the rule was
adopted Luke bet a friend that he could
get even so tough a proposition as 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 hun
| dred-dollar bet-for he knew now much fun
the motormen had in deridng the not-wise
passengers who waited for rides in spots
away from the corners,
! Luke waited for the next electric car "a
get under full speed from the corner below.
Then. the car bore down upon him. he
| spread a newspaper between the rails and
| calmly sat down upon 1t. The cussing mo-
| tormau stopped the car about two feet
| short OF Lucky Luke, who then got Up and
collected. That was q deliberate calcuIa-
tion on LulSe's part, OF course, and not
luck, but II helps 60 show how the coin
| nearly always drlfted his way.
| Luke never bets On the horses. although
| lie likes TO visit the tracks occasionally for
| the airing and the fun of the thing. His
| theory Is that Il Is teo much like cinch-
| playing to put up money on fhe horses
nobody could lose at the game, he expresses
| who plays en- right, One afternoon not
long ago hs was at the new City Park
track with bunch of croslies who were
keen a1tsr the horse-racing sport, The