Butte record., 1854-08-19
THE GRAB GAME.

tern steamer, some years since, was
eomical looking man, with an equlVo-
cal squint, and a suspicious redness
about the nose, who professed once to
have seen ''better days" but who was
now a sad victim of what he was pleased
to term the glory times of Mississippi. !"
Having heard much of those Plutonian
days, we listened attentively for infor-
nation. All we heard has passed away
save and except the following incident /:
Said the speaker, looking around with
ezeat affected Importance: "When /
consider what an easy going thing it was
for the knowing ones to make money,
| have always been little vexed to
think / was at the time so entirely ig-
norant of financiering I could do bet
ter now. However, the time was flush !;
money was borrowed on State securities,
that those in the secret knew were Sun
constitutional, and consequently it came
easy and went easier. Property had no
fixed value you could sell any thing on
any time, at any price; put up moon
shine, on one, two, years creait, and
you had notes enough in few days to
sink a ship. About this time was star
ted the Brandon Bank. The directors
paraded the fact before the people that
it WIS to be safe bank'-and putting
IA cast steel axe in the cellar, said the
bills were to be issued on a 'metalic ba-
sis. The popularity of that institution
spread like wildfre; people that were
Independent in circumstances, as we'll as
them that hadn't cent, went to bor-
rowing and so many crowded into
Brandon for discounts that the hotels
overfowed, and the people had to camp
out until their turn came. The cash
ier sat up night and day with the presi-
dent, signing notes which were issued so
fast that no account was kept Of their
number or amount. At last the presi-
dent and directors got exhausted, and
they put their issues in a barrel be-
hind the counter, and passed resolu-
ton that nobody should be accommoda-
ted to larger loan than grab Cen
sequently, when any one put in his note,
if the bank accepted the paper the
drawer was permitted to have one grab,
and no more, as it was proposed to give
all applicants a fair chance.
cat the time we speak of, old Percy
Smith was so much in debt that nobody
will ever know how much and at my
suggestion, he put in his paper for dis
count, setting up 'his claim to a cool
twenty thousand > and, arming himself
with "a slasher.' he went down to Bran
don, and asked for "a discount, sweaar-
ing all the while that "a single grab
wouldn't give him breathinf spell be-
tween drinks The directors, howev-
er, were fighting men, and couldn't be
bullied, and told Percy that he should
not be served any better than the .other
applicants So the old fellow took
new tack: he went over to the hotel,
got up dinner on credit, and invited
all the bank officers to dine l think
Percy told me he had 'em all under the
table, by eleven O'Clock at night-but
the next morning, in spite of Percy's
hospitality, they stuck TO their princi-
pies, and confined Percy to "a single
grab This dicision of the directors
had great effect upon all the other ap-
plicants but Percy was not to be SO cas-
lily satisfied He hung around the bank,
and finally got promise, 'as he gin a
tt eat that he might have the first chance
after the barrel was newly filled up
Upon the stated time, Percy prepared
himself He took some tar and boiled it
stiff, and rubbed it over his right arm to
his shoulders and, wrapping himself
in cloak, he walked over to the bank
for his grab The first dash he made,
he ran his fist down to the bottom of the
barrel-for you notice he was terribly
in debt-he then whirled his arm around
a few times, and took it out, and there
was just thirty-seven thousand five hun
dred and fifty-fve dollars sticking to
the tar Twas the last grab ever made
Oh the Brandon The institution
couldn't stand such draw. 1t shut
down the next day, and thus ended the
glory times of Mississippi ''-Har-
pers Magazine.
ANTIDoTE TO CHLoRoFoRM.-A
French physician has announced that