The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1848-08-12
Ire I a,tlempted 10 az a.Iy thing, Ia

0OuT, 10 JOOk u Luz. AlC puuuto VI utc
magnificent city Of Barbersville., The
first object that awakened my curiosi.
", was the building occupied by the
president, Directors, and, Company OF
the Bank OF BarbersviIle." Twas in.
debted to the courtesy Of the only ser.
want that was in theIhotel, for person.
al inspec tion of the outside Of the edi.
fee. II was composed Of round logs.
dove.tailed together at the ends, and
was, | should think, about fifteen feet
long, BY six OF eight u width, and might
have beens six or seven feet high. And
this was the banking house thst had al
ready Inundated the State of Kentucky
with series Of beautiful bank notes,
engraved by Murray, Draper, Fairman,
and Company, of every denomination, n,
from one dollar to one thousand. To
me. Inc edifce was an absolute novelty,
though il did not seem to awaken the
especial wonder Of my conductor, the
hostlof. ag J y tGag0fil9{i odE
| The, Jail was indeed a curiosity, in
architecture as well as utility. II was
composed Of logs, erected on super
structure and base of, the same mate
rial, perchedl at least fivefand,twenty
feet in the air. 1t was approached by
a ladder, which its keeper put up and
took away, as necessity, convenience,
or his caprice dictated. The main
door was confined by placing the shaft
Of a tree, some fifty feet in length, a.
gainsts it, with the butt-end foremost,
while the smaller end rested on the
ground. The great weight Of the shaft
re ndered il a foi midable means Of secu-
lri,v and confinement, for it took at
IIeast a dozen men 10 move It. That il
| did afford abundant means Of confne-
ment, was proved by the fact, that at
the time l saw it, il contained two in
carcerated victims, under sentence Of
death for murder asdl 'ise' tpJ .,eirai
Having seen quite as much Of Bar
bersviIe as / desired, | went 10 bed,
slept soundly, and the next morning, at
10 o'clock, called on Col. Joseph, Eve,
the President, and Mr.. benjamin Tug
/ gle, the Cashier, Of the Bank Of Bar
bersville, and desired them 10 iquidate
the claim I presented. go 'f'...l 25t
Col. Joseph Eve was good looking
man, and seemed to be in possession Of
some OF the qualities Of civilization; but
Mr.. Benjamin Tuggle, Cashier, was a
very different kind Of parsonage. He
was blind of an eye; his face bore de-
finite marks Of many bloody affray;
and the haft and hilt Of the long bowie
knife that protruded from his bosom,
made quite an unfavorable impression
on my fancy. Col. Eve looked at the
cheque presented, and remarked that
although Col, Johnson's claim on the
Bank was good one, he could not tell
what 10 do with it, until he had a meet
ing Of the honorable board Of directors.
To facilitate the object of my visit as
rapidly as possible, he said he would
call meeting Of that important body
at once. Hereupon, Mr.. Joseph Eve
applied hunters horn TO his mo nth,
lias "Aud blew blast 80 loud and dread."ee
that it reached the very peaks of the
mountains, and summoned the directors
to attend to the business Of the bank I!
In all good time, het"twelve'' made
their appearance. They were clad in
hunting shirts and moccasins, and look
ei very much like twelve men who had
no especial aversion 10 deeds Of dread.
ful note. A conversation took place
inside Of the banking house, which did
not last long, before Col. Joseph Eve
made bis appearance, and informed me
that the directory had decided that they
couldn'tpay any more cheques Ior Col.
Johnson. s.HiR snalpas /
With this annunciation 1 was not
very well pleased, and was proceeding |
to descant on the inconvenience | had |
subjected myself to, by making Q jour
ney to Barbe, sville, when | was very
decidedly bade to "shut up,n,by Ben
jamin Tuggle, who accompanied the
briei mandate with an intima,ion that
i'll were not satisfied, and though, pro-
per 10 grunbie, might find myself
strung up to the strongest sappling that
could be found IN ali Knox couniy.-
And, as was not disposed to submit
my sell TO any such process Of ele.
vation and eminence, ! very summarily
paid what little debts i had contracted
ia the city Of Barbersville, and made
The best Of anyway to. the settlements.
i This Bank Of Barbersville was a fair
specimen Of the two-and- forty that the
Of Kentucky launched into
in a. single session; and
which, after having imposed on the
,ood people, in the short space Of six
II nine months, some twenty millions
= t...s 1. 80. = Il