Has Charmed Life

1919

Deer Holds Record of Many Close Escapes From Hunters.

LEWISTOWN, Pennsylvania. — In the Seven Mountain region near here there is a deer that seems to bear a charmed life. This deer, known as old "Barney," has been seen by hunters for many seasons, but they have failed to bag him. A few years ago a hunter managed to cripple him in one leg, but he got away. It left him with a stiff leg.

One day a hunter got close to Barney, but when he went to shoot his gun held fire and Barney got away.

At another time, three hunters were getting warm around a little bonfire when Barney, frightened, ran right into their midst. One of the hunters got a shot at him at close range, but missed.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 8.

Ornaments Supposed to Ward Off Disease and Bring Luck

1911

Guard Against Evil

London. — Perhaps the instinct to avert the evil eye is born in our natures. Civilization had lessened it to a great extent, but in every race we find an instinct exists. The wearing of nearly all personal adornment seems to have originated in an idea of pacifying evil deities.

The savage wears ornaments symbolizing the protective powers supposed to be able to keep away harm or danger. In the West Indies there is a bean or seed which the natives think possesses many valuable properties. If carried in the purse they say the owner will never want for money; if hung on a watch chain good luck will ever be with the wearer. But woe betide the man who loses his precious charm. The East Indian leaves a tiny corner of his embroidery unfinished to propitiate the gods; the dusky mother calls her baby hard names for fear her love should bring ill fortune upon him

In England superstitious country folk tie amulets around their necks to prevent disease. Some of the earliest of those were skillfully wrought by the people who inhabited this country thousands of years ago and treated flint much the same as a cameo, producing varied effects by cutting through into the different layers of color. Several examples of this practically lost art may be seen in the museum at Ipswich. They are carved to represent the heads of men and women, birds, fishes and reptiles, and are for the most part cleverly and prettily done.

The fossil belemnites found on many of our coasts embedded in the rocks were once thought to be thunderbolts and were worn as charms by fisher folk. Farmers in ancient times decorated their horses by hanging amulets and gypsy fetish charms among their trappings to insure a good harvest. These amulets were frequently associated with the worship of the sun and were of Egyptian, Moorish and Persian origin.

Although most people profess to laugh at the idea of wearing them purely for luck or from superstitious motives, yet charms are worn still with good humored toleration and, for reasons none can explain, secretly favored, just in the same way that sober minded men and women cling tenaciously to a crooked sixpence and treasure a three-penny bit with a hole in it as omens of good luck.

A pink coral band in Italy is supposed to ward off the evil eye and plays its part in ornaments. Ruby ornaments are supposed to disperse evil spirits and are considered a protection from poison and other dire evils. Emeralds banish blindness. Garnet ornaments are supposed to keep one in good health; the sardonyx insures happiness. The sapphire keeps off fever. Amethysts keep off worries. A turquoise means that you will never want a friend. A four leaved clover in a crystal locket is a favorite charm and is said to bring good fortune and long life to its wearer. Jade also has a reputation for a luck bringer.

Ancient Coin Recalls Old Rome

1919

2,000 Years Old — Surpassing Historic Interest

A coin 2,000 years old, which may have reposed in the treasure box of a Roman senator, passed from hand to hand in the dice games of members of the Roman imperial guard, been tossed to the rubble by a patrician as he passed through the streets on his way to the baths, or thrown to a victorious gladiator by one of the vestal virgins, now is in the possession of Arthur S. Hibler, United States immigrant inspector at New Orleans. On its way to Mexico, where it was obtained by its present owner, the coin may have been carried as a keepsake by one of the Spanish conquerors and exchanged for the gold and jewels of the Aztecs. Two thousand years afford ample time to pass through a few adventures.

The coin is valued by Mr. Hibler, not only for its age, but for the queer history attached to his gaining possession of it. While he claims he is not superstitious, he admits he regards the coin as a good luck talisman. The piece was sold to him by a Mexican, who wished to cross the border at Brownsville, Tex., and had not enough money for his toll. To pay his way across the international bridge he offered the coin with several others to Mr. Hibler, asserting that it had a strange significance and a blessing attached to it. It had been given him, he said, by the mother of a member of Villa's band, who had been murdered in a cafe brawl. As he lay dying, he had begged the man to take a handkerchief, stained with his life blood, to his mother. The Mexican had sworn to fulfill the trust, and delivered the handkerchief to the old woman. She opened the corner of the handkerchief, which was knotted tightly, and took out several coins. Then she retired into an inner room and, returned, placed a small silvery disk in the messenger's hand, saying it was a talisman that would mean much to its possessor.

The coin is small and white, resembling a modern United States dime in size and color. On its front is a relief of a Roman emperor, with the inscription: "Domitian VIII, Imp. Caesar," and several other characters which are indistinguishable. On the reverse side is what seems to be a reproduction of the temple erected in Jerusalem by Solomon. It is worn thin by the touch of the millions of hands in which it must have rested.

"I have no doubt that it is genuine," Mr. Hibler said. "But how did it come into the possession of the Villista bandit? Well — quien sabe?"

Bowlegged Fellows Are Not Likely to Face Poverty

1919

Bad Luck for Turn-In Toes

There is an old saying that a bandy legged boy will never lack warm stockings, meaning that he will never be in want of money, so that folk whose friends are apt to be rude about their manner of walking may find consolation therein, says a writer in London Answers.

On the other hand, persons who walk in a fashion which quickly wears down their heels are likely one day to be in need of cash, while knock-kneed folk, though they have the ability to get wealth, have not the power to attract love — so it is said.

A long stride and a swinging walk are good — they imply that there may be ups and downs, but good fortune will never get far away, and will come out on top eventually.

Bad luck follows in the train of those who habitually turn in their toes, however, and an ancient adage has it that the man who always walks on the tips of his toes is likely to end his days in prison.

So watch your step!

Puss Sailed Away

1900

Went Aboard a Steamship and Made Herself Quite at Home

If there is anything in the popular superstition among sailors that "a cat brings good luck," the voyage of the British steamship Thalia will be a pleasant one, says the Savannah News.

A fine, large Maltese cat went aboard the day before she sailed, and composedly curled herself up on the heavily upholstered crimson sofa in the officers' saloon, and when the vessel sailed she was a contented passenger. "She is an old traveler," said the steward, as he stroked her soft fur "and this is not her first voyage. Cats like a change, and they will visit one vessel and then another in port until they find one that suits them; and they are knowing animals, and seem to have some intuition when a vessel is going to sail.

"Do I think a cat brings luck? Oh, yes. It's good luck to have a cat come to you. Why, that's not a superstition of sailors alone. Did you ever see a landlubber that didn't believe it? That cat will have the best treatment on board; besides, there's no end to the rats on board, and the cat will be useful as well as lucky for us."


Friends Are Discovered

Friends are discovered rather than made; there are people who are in their own nature friends, only they do not know each other; but certain things, like poetry, music and painting, are like the Freemasons' signs — they reveal the initiated to each other. — Mrs. Stowe.

Simply Cannot Kill This Man

1908

Marvelous Record of One Born For Narrow Escapes

Easton, Pennsylvania. — Granville B. Snyder, an Easton printer, has had more narrow escapes from death than most living men. Some of his friends will tell you that he bears a charmed life, but Granny, as he is commonly called, scoffs at that idea.

"I guess it was ordained that I should die a natural death," he says, "and luck always seems to have stepped in and saved me from shuffling off this mortal coil in any other manner."

The first time Granny faced death he was six years old. Leaving home one morning and walking a short distance to Mount Ida, an immense rock 110 feet high, overlooking the Lehigh canal and river, he determined to climb to the top to gather honeysuckles. The north side of the rock is a sheer precipice, and toward this perilous point the lad's steps led unconsciously. He found flowers growing in profusion, and in his enthusiasm lost sight of the danger he was in. He reached for a stem, took a false step, and plunged over the perpendicular wall 110 feet to the towpath. Although he suffered a fractured collar-bone, both legs and arms were broken, and he lost a great quantity of blood from three gashes in his scalp, the doctor pulled him through.

When eight years old Granny fell through the trap in the haymow in Peter M. Correll's stable, in Bank street, while playing chase with companions and landed in the water trough. The other boys, terrified, ran from the building. When a stableman pulled the boy out of the trough he was nearly lifeless.

The same year he was bitten in the hand by a copperhead snake while playing in a yard near his home. His arm swelled to an enormous size. To the surprise of the physician Granny began to recover, and in a short time he was running around again.

When ten years old, and again when 12, he had two more narrow escapes from drowning. Upon the former occasion he broke through the deck of a sunken canal boat in the Lehigh and was rescued in an unconscious condition by James Herrin. The second accident resulted through him falling through a raft that parted along the old sawmill.

He had a thrilling escape from death on the New Jersey Central railroad in 1877. In attempting to jump from a rapidly moving coal train as it passed the Fourth street station his right hand caught fast in the side rod, he was thrown to the ground and the wheels clipped off his cap. He was dragged 25 feet, struck a signal target, hurled back against the car and thus his hand was released. Outside of a few slight bruises and torn and soiled clothing he was none the worse for the experience.

Twice he narrowly escaped death while handling firearms. The accidental discharge of a self-cocking revolver he was handling sent a bullet into his hip. The ball struck a bone, took a downward course, came out and then re-entered the leg. The lead is still there.

Upon another occasion, during a Fourth of July celebration, he picked up a loaded revolver belonging to a friend and discharged it in the air five times. Then, jokingly placing the weapon against his temple, he remarked, "good by, fellows!" and pulled the trigger. The hammer caught and Snyder lowered the weapon to examine it. He almost fainted when he discovered that instead of it being a five-chambered weapon, as he had imagined, it contained six chambers, and there was still a loaded cartridge in it. Only the fact that the hammer caught saved him from blowing out his brains.

Fountain Pen Saves Life

1909

Deflects Bullet Fired by Woman in Waldorf- Astoria Hotel

New York. — If you expect to be shot, carry a fountain pen in your vest pocket. It may save your life.

William D. Craig, a lawyer, was thus protected when Mrs. Mary A. Castle, a decidedly good-looking woman, tried to kill him in the crowded Waldorf-Astoria hotel and instead of a mortal wound he bears only a scratch, because the fountain pen deflected the bullet.

Craig, who is a member of the Rocky Mountain club, which has a suite of rooms in the hotel, was on his way to the club rooms to dress for dinner. Mrs. Castle, who had been waiting for him, tried to detain him, but Craig shook off the woman and went to the elevator. Mrs. Castle kept pace with him and as he was about to step into the elevator, she shot at him when the muzzle of the revolver was within an inch of his coat.

"He is the cause of my trouble. He has thrown me over," was her explanation.


Storm Panic At Circus

Roar of Lions Terrifies Crowd at Battle Creek

Battle Creek, Michigan — During a windstorm which uprooted trees, blew down fences and telephone poles here, the menagerie tent of Barnum & Bailey's circus was blown down and two women seriously injured. A large crowd was thrown into a panic. None of the animals escaped, but the roars of the lions created a panic.

Miss Adelaide Hathaway of Schoolcraft, Mich., sustained internal injuries and a fractured hip. Miss Bernice Platt of this city was severely injured. At Athletic park, where the local and Jackson teams of the Southern Michigan league were playing, Catcher Stringer of the local team was struck by lightning on the field and thrown to the ground unconscious.

People Retain Belief in Amulets

1910

Superstitions That Once Were General Throughout the World Not Yet Entirety Gone

Faith in the virtue of amulets was well-nigh universal in ancient days; Lord Bacon says the historians had firm belief in them. Indeed, much of the art of medicine consisted in the direction for their employment. Gems, gold, stones, bones, bits of parchment with sacred writing, cylinders of stones, unicorns' horns, all of these would protect against the invading spirits or the influence of the evil eye.

This is the origin of countless popular superstitions that remain to this day. The form has been handed down, while the theories which prompted it have long since been lost sight of. This is why some people carry in their pocket a horse chestnut or a new potato to ward off rheumatism; this is why others tie around the necks of their children a tarred rope as a preventive against all the diseases common to children; this is why others think a gold chain will prevent quinsy sore throat, or a string of root beads worn around the neck will help children to cut teeth.

The coral beads which ease the troubles of teething children and the amber beads which cure asthma are beliefs which are firmly adhered to to this day. Pliny relates that Domitius Nero used to wear the hair of his wife on his neck, thinking it beneficial because it was amber colored. Amulets for teething are of very old date, and as red was a favorite color for an amulet, it can easily be seen how the coral necklace came to be so popular for infants who were teething.

Red was considered very potent in warding off the evil eye. In time of trouble, when the evil eye was especially triumphant, all the red tape in a certain county in England was brought up to ward off its baleful influence. The remains of this superstition still prevail, for many people believe that a red string around the neck is an excellent remedy for asthma, measles and mumps. The preservation of faith in red still exists, as is shown in the great virtues of red flannel, and the belief that the milk of the red cow is better than that of a cow of another color.

The German peasant, if he cuts himself, thinks he stanches the blood better with a red ribbon. This may be accounted for not only by tradition, but by the fact that blood would not form so startling a contrast when wetting a red ribbon as when wetting a white one.


They Really Believe It

Some people cling to the old-fashioned idea that a man must be a genius if he goes about with hair.

The Story of the Swastika

1916

The Most Ancient of All Symbols of Good Luck

It Comes Down to Us with Undiminished Reputation

BY GARRETT P. SERVISS

Have you a "swastika" about you, or in your house, as a fetish or symbol of good luck? If so you possess perhaps the oldest of all talismans. Prof. George MacCurdy, the archaeologist, says that the swastika is supposed to date as far back as the neolithic period, or the later stone age, which came just before the age of bronze, which in turn preceded the age of iron.

Modern discoveries are beginning to make us somewhat familiar with the people who lived in those prehistoric ages, and it is interesting to find this thread of superstition running through them from some dim anterior period, when man first conceived the idea of controlling his luck by the aid of a magic figure, cut or drawn on wood or bone or stone. The thing about the swastika that has excited the most comment is the form, which is essentially that of a cross. This has been treated as a great mystery by those who suppose that the cross, as a symbol, was invented by Christians, and that all similar forms in ante-Christian art are prophetic prefigurements. As a matter of fact, the figure of a cross, in its many variations, is immeasurably ancient.

The swastika has been found in every quarter of the world, and among the relics of nearly all early peoples. Its connection with other religious emblems, and the traditions which have everywhere clung to it, lead to the conclusion that from time immemorial the idea of good fortune has been associated with it. Various explanations have been offered of its peculiar form.

It was sometimes called "the gammadion," because it is made up of the outlines of four capital Greek letters, gamma, united at their bases. Some have suggested that it originally represented a sheaf of flames, or a flash of lightning, or the rays of the sun — but these explanations are all as fanciful as the figure itself. There are many appearances in nature, among trees, plants and rocks which might have served for its original.

The interesting thing is that it has endured so long, handed down from generation to generation, and from age to age, retaining substantially the same form, although used for a great variety of ornaments, all of which seem to have had an identical signification. Its universality is well summed up by the Standard Dictionary, which says, "It has been found depicted on tombs at Hissarlik, near ancient Troy, on Buddhistic inscriptions in India, in Etruscan necropolises, on coins of Gaza and Corinth, on rock carvings in Sweden and on Celtic stones in Britain. In America in pre-Columbian times it was in common use by the aborigines."

These striking sentences do not cover by any means all the places where the swastika symbol has been found. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes a fine sepulchral urn found in Norfolk, and now in the British museum which has three bands of cruciform ornaments round it. "The two uppermost of these are plain circles, each of which contains a plain cross, the lowest band is formed of a series of squares, in each of which is a swastika."

Among the beautifully ornamented swords of the bronze age that have been discovered in Europe this strange figure appears. One writer says of it, "What is remarkable is that the swords not only show the design of the cross in the shape of the handle, but also in tracery what is believed to be an imitation of the swastika, that ancient Aryan symbol, which was probably the first to be made with a definite intention and a consecutive meaning."

The perpetuation of this emblem of good luck through thousands of years is, in itself, a most remarkable thing. It shows the immense value of reputation. It reveals the secret of the indestructibility of superstition. Once let any object, or belief, become established in the imagination as superhuman in power or origin, and a flood of disproof cannot wash it away, and failure upon failure will not shake it. Under the cloak of a legend the falsest prophet may flourish like a green bay tree, and laugh at exposes. His dupes are like the obstinate opponents of Galileo, who, rather than admit that there were spots on the sun, refused to look through the telescope.

So the swastika is founded on the rock of untold ages of tradition, and in the most enlightened days that the world has ever known educated people feel safer if they have the antique symbol of human credulity cut on a finger ring or embroidered on a pocket handkerchief. There is one beside me as I write, sewn on a table cover, and its silky red gleam and bent arms make me thoughtful when I reflect upon the thousands of years during which its unchanging form has thrilled and fascinated mankind. What stories of faith, hope, desire, disappointment, despair it might tell — this emblem from the stone age.

—The Lincoln Daily Star, Lincoln, Nebraska, Nov. 12, 1916, p. 7.

Comment: Wow, too bad the Nazis ruined this symbol or sign for us. Of course it'd be impossible for us now to simply associate the swastika with good luck or pleasant feelings of security. One place where I lived there was an old house that had swastikas etched in the rock work on each side, up toward the top of the house. Obviously predated Hitler. I used to wonder what kind of comments they got during the war years, not to mention after. And I've had old postcards that were sent as "A wish for good luck" greetings that had the swastika symbol on them. But we can't go back now!

Luck In the Clover

1903

Any one who carries about a four leaved clover will be lucky and will have the power of discovering ghosts or evil spirits. With it under the pillow the lover may insure dreams of the beloved one. A fragment in the shoe of a traveler insures a safe journey. Of the five leaved clover it is declared that if it be worn on the left side of a maiden's dress or fastened behind the hall door the Christian name of the first man who enters will be the same as that of the future husband.

The power of the four leaved shamrock for good is familiar to all, from Lover's once popular and pretty song, the speaker in which pictures what she would do should she find the magic plant:

"I would play the enchanter's part and scatter bliss around,
And not a tear or aching heart should in the world be found."


Centenarian Chances

Taking a million as a basis of calculation, statistics show that at the end of seventy years there will still survive 212,000 out of 1,000,000 persons. At the expiration of eighty years there will be 107,000 survivors of the original million. When it comes to ninety years of existence only 8,841 out of the 1,000,000, or one in 115, will be living. Of the original 1,000,000 only fifty-four will live to see ninety-nine years, or about one person out of 18,500. The century mark will be reached by only twenty-three out of the 1,000,000.

An Odd Superstition — The Name of "Graham" a Terror

1907

British Fishermen Balk at the Name of Graham

One of the most curious of British fishermen's superstitions, the one which perhaps to this day has the strongest hold upon them, is that connected with the name of Graham.

No fisherman will go to sea if he has heard this name mentioned, nor will he do any manner of work upon that day. He will refuse to sail in a boat with any one bearing the name, and a house painter from Newcastle called Graham, who had been sent to do some work in one of the large houses, found his life made so unbearable by the villagers that he incontinently returned to the town, leaving his work uncompleted.

The women who bait the lines in the winter will unbait every hook and rebait the whole length — the labor of hours — if they hear it mentioned. A local tradesman bearing this unfortunate patronymic is never referred to save as "Puff;" another, an innkeeper, is known as "Lucky Bits." No rational explanation is to be found.

One of the most intelligent fishermen being questioned on the subject, he laughed the idea to scorn. Why, his daughter was married to a Graham. But, he added, a strange thing happened, two years ago when he was off at the herring fishing and had not been home for some weeks. Having received a letter at Shields to say that his son-in-law was ill, he hailed a passing boat which had come from the north, asking if they had heard how Jack Graham was. "And, wad ye beleev't, ne soonor had aa syed the words than theor wes a crash, and the mast went ower the side!" None of the crew spoke to him for the rest of the day. — New York Post.

Dice Turn Up "Seven" Five Times for Judge

1920

Negro Caught With "Loaded Bones" is Fined $200

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 18. — The magic number seven failed to bring luck to Al Fields, negro dealer in supplies for crap shooters, in South Municipal Court, when Judge Edward J. Fleming took a turn at the dice. Fields, who was arrested on the street by "Tug" Carter, "ace" of the negro policemen, had in his possession a complete outfit for loading dice as well as a jar containing forty dice which Patrolman Carter declared were loaded.

"Them dice ain't loaded, judge," protested Fields.

"We'll see," said Judge Fleming.

The judge rattled the "bones" three times. Every time they turned up "seven."

"That's just luck, judge," insisted Fields.

Judge Fleming shook twice again. Each time "seven" faced him.

"Two hundred dollars," said the judge.

Fields was sent to the municipal farm to work out his fine.

Asleep on Card Table, Man Has Coughing Fit, Dies

Iowa, 1901

DIES ON A CARD TABLE

WILLIAM HANNAH'S DEMISE IN DELMONICO CLUB ROOMS

So Sudden Was His Passing That Those In the Room With Him Knew Nothing of It Until the Man Was In His Death Struggles — Leaves the Text of a Sermon Written In His Note Book

Several men were gathered in the club room over the Delmonico early yesterday morning. One was lying asleep on the table. Several others had just been out for a lunch, and on returning to the room one of them had brought in with him a very large Newfoundland dog, the big shaggy animal making himself at home near the stove. Suddenly a loud coughing or choking was heard, and Osborn Reynolds cried "Put that dog out. This room is too warm for him."

"It's not the dog; it's 'Ditch,' answered one of the men.

"Wake him up, boys," and two or three of them hurried over to the table to do so.

"My God! He's dead," they cried and the limp form was allowed to fall back. The face was of chalky whiteness, and it was not necessary to call a physician to learn that life had fled, though, of course, a physician was speedily, but uselessly called.

Thus, lying on a card table in a saloon club room, William Hannah died. Not the slightest warning had he; probably not a moment of conscious suffering. His heart had filled up with blood and then refused to work. It was all so sudden that the men about the corpse could hardly realize what had happened.

There was considerable difficulty yesterday in identifying the dead man. He was known to several people but only as "Ditch," this peculiar nickname coming from the fact that he worked at laying tile when he worked at all. The remains were taken to the Boies' undertaking parlors and during the forenoon Coroner Fred Lambach conducted an autopsy. In the afternoon the coroner's inquest was held and a verdict was rendered that William Hannah came to his death by cardiac paralysis. The coroner's jury consisted of M. J. Scandrett, William Schwarnweber, and O. K. Wilson.

A Dead Man's Sermon

"There's no fool like an old fool," wrote Hannah in his note book not long ago, and the quotation is the text of a sermon that the dead man is preaching to his fellow creatures. The rest of his sermon is found in the story of his life. It developed at the inquest that not many months ago William Hannah had come into the possession of some money, inherited from an eastern relative. He came to Davenport and spent most of his time about a card table. At first he was successful. He did not play heavily, but he won, and he grew to love the game. Men who knew him say it was a study to watch the face of "Ditch" when he was handling the pasteboards. It often made them forget their own game. But there came a time when "Ditch" didn't win. Every bit of his money was gone. He had been known to the police for the past two weeks as "broke," and when Dr. Lambach examined his stomach at the autopsy yesterday morning it was learned that no food had been eaten in the last 24 hours. It was probably during this period that the text was written in the note book.

System Much Deranged

Though to outward appearance Hannah was a healthy man, the autopsy showed that his system was very much disordered. His stomach was what is known as a "whisky stomach," though there was no testimony to show that he was a hard drinker. His kidneys were in bad shape. His right lung had grown to his side as the result of an attack of pluerisy. His liver gave evidence of a disease from which few men recover, and all tended to weaken his heart.

At the inquest testimony was taken from Captain Fred Hitchcock, Michael Rourke, P. Phelan. Ed Neils, W. H. Costello, John Cahil, Dr. Porter, who was called at the time of Hannah's death, and Os Reynolds, the proprietor of the place where the man died. From the testimony it was learned that Hannah had been in Gallagher's place in the early evening, that he had gone to the Delmonico about 12 o'clock, and had fallen asleep upon the card table, a habit that he had been more or less regular in of late. No one took any particular notice of him until the fatal coughing fit attracted them.

Hannah had previously lived at Williamsburg, Ia., where it is understood he has a sister. He carried photographs of two men, one young and the other old. He had told some of his acquaintances that they were his brother and father, and lived in California. The dead man was about 35 years of age.

—Davenport Daily Republican, Davenport, Iowa, Feb. 17, 1901, p. 7.

Friday the 13th and 12-12-12

1912

TODAY WAS LAST OF THE HOODOO DATES

Friday the Thirteenth Will Not Come Again Until June 1913 a Genuine Jonah Day.

. .B-e-w-a-r-e! This is Friday the 13th! But, thank goodness, it is the last "hoodoo" day we will have this year. Next year only one Friday falls on the unlucky number. It is June 13, 1912.

Yesterday was Dec. 12, — or, written in business form, 12-12-12. No triple set of numerals will be seen again until Jan. 1, 2001, which may be written 1-1-1.

Christmas shoppers took warning and kept their clutches tightened on handbags and pocketbooks.

The superstitious dread of the number 13 seems to have spread over the earth. It is said Italians never use it in making up the numbers for their lotteries; that the thirteenth card in one of their games bears the figure of Death, and that no house in Paris is No. 13. The Quatorziemes are persons known in Parisian society who hold themselves in readiness to go to any dinner which otherwise would have the fatal 13 at the table.

—Janesville Daily Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin, Dec. 13, 1912, p. 14.


Today Friday, Thirteenth and Yesterday, 12-12-12

Today is Friday the thirteenth, the last unlucky day of its kind until the second week of June, which the superstitious believe will be especially unlucky on account of the year being 1913. Yesterday the date could be Written "12-12-12," and it will be 88 years before the similarity is duplicated. January 1, 2001, can be written "1-1-1."

—Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO, Dec. 13, 1912.


THURSDAY WILL BE 12-12-12

Making the Last of Such Combinations for 88 Years.

Thursday, when the "tired business man" and the busy stenographer dash off a letter headed by 12-12-12 on the date line, few will recognize the fact that it is a calendar peculiarity, the last of a series of twelve such which will not recur again for 88 years, or until the dawning of a new century.

The superstitious may draw satisfaction from the fact that the following Friday is the last that will occur in his lifetime falling upon the thirteenth and having the sum of the numerals of the year likewise make the fateful thirteen.

—The Mansfield News, Mansfield, Ohio, Dec. 10, 1912, p. 8.

A Date with Number 9 — The Rest of Their Lives

1890

The New York Tribune draws attention to the fact that for 110 years to come, no man, woman or child will write the current date without using the figure 9; for nineteen years during that period two 9's must be written — in 1899, 1909, 1919, 1929, 1939, 1949, 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1995, 1997, 1998; and for one year — 1999 — three 9's will have to be set down. Of the people now living, it is safe to say that not one will ever write the date of his or her time without using a 9. Besides minding their p's and q's, the next three generations much give particular heed to their 9's. Nine has never been regarded as a particularly lucky number, but beyond question the years in which it will hold so conspicuous a place will bring benefits of undreamed of value to the world.

—New Oxford Item, New Oxford, PA, Feb. 28, 1890, p. 6.

Hoodoo Too Much For Columbus Girl

1910

Shoots Herself After Dining at Table With Thirteen

Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 25 — Miss Mary Hollenback, 18, if she recovers from a bullet wound in her left breast, will probably have more respect for the hoodoo number 13. The Hollenback family held a housewarming at their home on the North Side. Members of the immediate family were present and when the time for dinner came it was found there were 13 present. Mary was the last to seat herself at the table. "I don't care if there are 13 here," said Mary. "I can't believe in luck anyway."

Shortly after the conclusion of the meal Miss Hollenback, while examining a revolver belonging to her brother, accidentally pulled the trigger, the bullet hit a corset stay, was deflected and entered her left breast, inflicting a serious but not necessarily fatal wound.

—The Mansfield News, Mansfield, Ohio, Nov. 25, 1910, p. 2.

The Fall of Miss Minnie B. Werner, Chicago, 1916

1916

Girl Will Live

CHICAGO, Jan. 25. — St. Luke hospital attendants announced today that Miss Minnie Werner, the stenographer who yesterday plunged sixteen stories from a window of a loop skyscraper, may recover fully from her injuries. An auto-truck load of cardboard boxes broke her fall.

—La Crosse Tribune, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Jan. 25, 1916, p. 5.


"I Must Be Hard to Kill"

These Are Words of Girl Who Fell Sixteen Stories

Chicago, Jan. 26 — Miss Minnie B. Werner, who fell sixteen stories from a window of the Transportation building last Monday, recovered consciousness today.

Her first words were: "I must be hard to kill."

—St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 27, 1916, p. 1.


She Things She is Hard to Kill

Chicago, Jan. 26. — "I must be hard to kill," was the comment of Minnie B. Werner when she recovered consciousness at St. Luke's hospital and heard how she had fallen sixteen stories to the netting of an auto truck.

Miss Werner, who is 22 years old and lives at 2417 North Washington, sustained a broken shoulder bone and possibly internal injuries. Physicians say she has an excellent chance to recover.

Elsie Werner, a sister, said she fell by accident, although the police were inclined to think that Miss Werner jumped intentionally.

—The Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, Jan. 26, 1916, p. 10.


Excerpt from article called "Escapes a Matter of Luck," originally from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

She escaped with a broken shoulder and a few bruises.

She worked as a stenographer for a publication concern in the Transportation Building, 608 South Dearborn street, Chicago.

One day, about three weeks ago, she complained of being ill and left the office. An elevator took her to the sixteenth floor where there is a rest room for women. From the time she left the elevator until she was picked up, broken and unconscious, no person seems to have seen her. Whether she had leaped or fallen could not be determined until she herself was able to tell about it and then she said she fell.

From the window of the rest room to the ground is a distance of about 200 feet and Miss Werner fell headlong. That she was saved from destruction was due to a queer freak of chance. The driver of a big truck, laden with paper boxes, had stopped under the window. She fell among the boxes and they broke her fall.

When she was picked up after the fall a policeman rushed up and asked if she had leaped. "I fell," she said, although at that moment she seemed actually unconscious. As soon as she could talk intelligently about the matter her sister, Edith, asked her to tell how it happened.

"I did not intend to jump," she said. "I felt dizzy and went upstairs to the rest room. When I got there I couldn't make out the details of my surroundings. I went to the window for air. The next thing I knew was when I felt myself falling."

Then she told of how she found herself plunging, head down, toward the earth. Although she could have been in the air only a few seconds at most, so rapidly was her mind working, that it seemed almost an eternity. Her memory divides the period into two distinct phases, the first of which is clear and accurate in detail; and the second obscure and uncertain. She seemed to have a curious, detached feeling, as if if were not she but another who was falling, a sensation not uncommon in dreams.

Her first impression was that she was suffering a nightmare in which one imagines himself falling through infinite space. She felt that sickening faintness persons frequently feel when an elevator unexpectedly starts downward. Her chest felt compressed, as if inclosed with bands which were squeezing out all the air. The air seemed to pluck at her eyelids as if about to tear them away. There was a ringing in her ears and her body tingled all over.

She realized that she was perfectly conscious — able to stream. She idly wondered if she could move her fingers. She tried and found she could. And then came the realization of what it all meant. She was in full possession of all her faculties and yet she couldn't avert the disaster that lay below.

Then she passed into the second stage. The speed of her fall was accelerated. Now she did not seem to be falling. Instead she was caught in the midst of a canyon and the earth was rushing up to meet her. Where the buildings had been were nothing but white streaks and below them was the black street. She had a hazy impression that she was all right, but that the world had suddenly been turned upside down. Then the white streak and the black merged into one vast chasm of blackness. Apparently she never saw the truck before she struck it. Her fall carried its load of papers with her to the street and a few minutes later she was pulled from the wreckage.

—The Washington Post, March 12, 1916, p. 1, Miscellany Section.


Girl Who Fell Sixteen Floors Ready to Work

CHICAGO, Ill., March 13 — Miss Minnie Werner, the stenographer, who ten weeks ago fell out of a sixteen story window of the Transportation building, will be back to work in a week, it was learned on Sunday.

Miss Werner fell into a truck load of paper boxes, and her most serious injury was a badly fractured arm.

"If you ever had a dream that you fell out of the mountain you know something of what my experience was like," said the young woman. "Any way it shows that the popular idea that a person dies after falling a hundred feet is not true."

—The Racine Journal-News, Racine, Wisconsin, March 13, 1916, p. 2.