Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-06
THREE VERY LUCKY WINDFALLS
A Whale, n Postage Stamp and a
Quarter Found at the
Right Time.

NEW YORK, Feb. 5.-The conversation
In the little bohemian restaurant had
truned on the question of how a man who
is down and out may get on his feet once
more.
II ran up against the queerest windfall
that ever came my way in Peru" re-
marked a lanky Australian, removing the
pipe from between his teeth. II had left
Sydney three month before to make my
way to New York. Worked before the
mast on q tramp steamer that took me as
far as Valparaiso, Chill, and earned
enough on the trip to pay my passage to
Iquique.
Now ~Iquique's right in the heart of the
nitrate fields and is the most desolate
port in South America. It's an awful place
In which to go broke, and that's just what
happened to me there.
Il got desperate at last and hid myself
on board a c~oasting steamer bound for
Calloa. 1 won't begin to tell you what 1
suffered as a stowawsy. It's enough to say
that the captain discovered me when we
were four days out from I~qufque.
I'VE were opposite a barren u%ninhabited
stretch of the Peruvian coast, and he was
so barbarous as to stop the boat and put
me ashore. He gave me two loaves of
bread and a flask of water, and with that
to sustain me 1 started out to walk to a
town about twenty-five miles further on.
THE next morning I was trudging along,
hungry and thirsty and half dead from ex-
haustion, when 1 caught sight of a noun
famous black mass stranded on the beach
about 300 yards away. On approaching
nearer l found that it was a sperm whale.
The thing had a vile odor. and with barely
one look at It 1 hurried on.
Il reached town that same afternoon, and
some kind soul staked me to a meal. In
the course of conversation 1 mentioned the
dead whale. and what do you suppose he
did,? He spread the news among his neigh
bors. an expedition was organized, and
upon their finding my story to be correct
they dubbed together and landed me $50
in real money.
They said the whale oil would mean a
small fortune to them, and as 1 had dis
covered it 1 ought to get my share. That
$50 paid my wa to Panama, where 1 easily
earned enough to take me on to New
York"
An artist with a tawny beard nodde his
head gravely.
Great story" he remarked, 'but do you
think It beats a experience of mine? 1
slept for three night in Madison Square
with an unknown source Of wealth in my
pocketboOk the hole time.
THE fourth day I made a final despair
ing search through my clothes for some
stray coin that I might have overlooked.
I opened the ~pocketbook, and an old West
Indian postage stamp fell into my lap.
II recalled having picked it up on Broad
way some months before. There was a
stamp dealers place just across the way
on Twenty-third street, and just for luck
1 went over and tossed the stamp on his
counter.
Worth %anything?' I asked.
HE picked it up. examined it under a
magnifying glass, and raised his eyebrows.
Him he remarked, Jamica, l Benny.
coat OF arms, pineapple watermark. Yes,
it's quite rare. III give you SIS for it,
He could have knocked me over with a
feather. 1 could hardly mutter, All right,
I'll sell it, AS soon as he gave me the
money. I chased straight down to this
same restaurant and had the feed of my
life. But just think OF the hardships /
might have escaped II I'd known what
that square OF red copper was worth from
the beginning"
I'm a believer in luck" said a short