The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-12-29
An UnIuckY Hat.

N~'N't IVA hpNnih tAhc hiAts uht
do believe in--well, what shall call
it?-luck. There's certain gamblin'
combinations In which there's millions
o chances agin their happenln'. aud
yet they have happened. They say
lishtnin' don't strike twice IN the same
place. kin show you out In Mulligan
county an old oak that's been struck
to my knowledge three times.
'The curiestest thing that ever han.
pened In my experience was when we
was nghtin' around Atlanta. Some
Georgia troops come so near the tenn.
porary breastworks we'd throwed up
that when they went back they left
several dead right under our noses.
One OF 'em had on a good felt hat.
The reason noticed 1t was because
my hat had become unserviceable, and
couldn't get another In the regular
way. Besides, It was rainin'. l was
stsrtin' to go out and git the dead
mans hat when l sor Bill Struthers
OF our company Jump down on tother
side OF the breastworks, pick up the
hat and put It on his head. But he
took II of ag'in to wipe out the blood.
for the Johnny had been shot through
It In the head. Struthers swabbed it
with the sleeve Of his coat and put It
back on to his head.
There was more or less fightin' that
day, and we In the breastworks gem
orally laid low, cause onct In awhile a
stray shot would come along our way.
struthers was shown his hat to some
OF the boys. not seemin' to keer about
ais head bein' above the parapet. He
took the hat or and poked his finger
through the bullet hole in II, then put
1t on ag'in. He hadn't more'n got It
on when he pitched forward. They
picked him up and found another bull
let hole In the hat close beside the one
he'd been a-showin' 'em. The bullet
had made hole In Struthers' head.
swell, Jim 0'Keefc Of Company G,
next on our left, was wearin' a cap. A
cap out in the rain is the wo'st sort O.
headgear, for when It gifts soaked a
stiddy stream runs right down mans
backbone. 0'Keefe he pressed the
hat into his own special service. My
hat was nethin' more'n a stovepipe
without the t'other end stopped up
and ketchin' all the rain there was. !
was feelin' sorry that l hadn't got
ahead of Bill Struthers, the man that
first got the hat when / saw O'Keefe
throw up his hands and tumble In a
heap. l run up TO him. and what do
you Think There was a third hole in
the hat and bullet through 0'Keefe;s
brain.
"Countin' the Johnny, this made three
men that had lost their lives wearin'
that hat. was just goin' to pick il
up and throw away my stovepipe when
I remembered this and stopped. 1t was
rainin' harder every minute. and the
hat would be a fine perfection. Barrin'
the bullet holes it was sound every
where. Howsomeyer, 1 didn't like
maxim the fourth man to repose my
weary limbs on Confederate soil, and
concluded to let the hat alone. Bof
one or two men pick 1t up, look It over,
throw down their own hats and goin'
to put it on when I hailed EN- and
told 'eIn that three men had been killed
wearin' of it. Mostly they dropped Il
like hot coal but purity soon a lieu
tenant OF Company b come along. lie
hadn't any head GOVERN at all. He'd
been on the skirmish line and been
driven in In hurry big hurry
that he'd dropped his hat and didn't
calclate to stop to pick II up.
"As soon as he sor the hat was
taIkin' about lynn on the ground he
made a dive for 1t. called out to him.
Lieutenant. don't wear that hat says
i. What's the matter with itT says
he. There's three men been shot
a-wearin' it. sWell,' he says. If 1t has
been struck three times there's thou
sand chances to one 1t won't be struck
ag'in mot Just now, anyway And he
cIapped it on his head.
'.Now, that's Just the way these men
who make up systems to beat gamblin'
banks git fooled. Howsomeyer, ita
mighty good reasonin' al the same
IT'S GOOD reasonin' and it's bad reason
In. There's some would argy that the
hat was fated, others that the spirit q
the original Confederate owner had
swore that no cussed Yankee should
wear 1t. | don't believe In any OF
these superstitons. There's only one
thing I do believe in--luck; jist luck
and nothin' else.
about this time Of day the firm
got purty hot. The bullets was singin'
gayly jist : If 1t was lots o fun TO
plug Yankee, some Of EN- cuttin' the
twirs Of the overhangin' branches
spitefuI. sor the lieutenant with the
hat on-tbe hat was tellin' you about
-standin' on the breastWork tryin' to
cit his men out to make q charge
fhev bein short o. ammunition list
thin. / beIieve-when Student ! saw
MIN collapse.
"Hfs comrades picked bin up. and
sor one Of 'em take on his hat and
poke his finger through four diherent
bullet holes in the crown.
ssWelI, BY this tire It was pretty
well understood that the hat had a
streak Of bad luck ia It. It lay on the
ground, and not man weuld touch
II A cood hat gIttin' a wide berth
with men all about wantin' III It
wa'n'tfsuperstition. No one could argy
that there was any more chance OF git
tin hit In It than in any other bat.
and VII no man dared wear IT. I've
thought about it often since and Won
dered what that thing we cnll luck is,