The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-11-22

4 I Il II ~ E.f
humanity, to take the work of punishment in its
own hands. II they would save the Innocent
saey would save the citizens of the United
states everywhere and anywhere in this bread
continent, any small remains Of confidence in
the projection OF its laws-if they would save
the Northwest from An Indian var of years du-
ration, which millions Of dollars will not con.
ciude-they will see to it that justice has now ito
full and final course. :"
ssThe Old Merchants OF New Yorr,, yy.~
mmass. rme speeuiaseA and Returned
We recently noticed gossipiue hood .s,,.d
"The old Merchants Of New York" Tbe foI.
lowing anecdotes are specimens Of manv NOR.
| which Wilt found in its pages The hero ~
the subjoined is Nathaniel Prime, Of Prime
Ward &King notoriety: '@~ iIfT
Robert Kermit once started line of sssaint,
ships. He owned the ship ssSt. George and
he persuaded Stephen Whitney and old Nat
Prime to become owners in Q new ship called
the 'St. Andrew" The line never succeed
ed, although the latter once made very short
passage in the year 1884, snd brought the ins
telligence Of an advance in the price of cot.
ton in Liverpool, She came in late one Christ
mas eve. Old Mr.. Prime lived at that time
at the corner Of Broadway and Marketfeld
street, (now Battery Place Mr.. Whitney
lived !only few steps distant, on the corner
of State Street and Bowling Green row, These
old heads and two or three younger ones had
the exclusive news, and they intended to make
the most OF it, TWAS certain not to be made
public until theday after Christmas. Letters
Of credit were prepared in the front parlor of
M I fnp AV,a mill sl1li -
ter Barrett was selected to leave next morning
for New Orleans, BY way of. Wheeling, hop
ing that he would outstrip the great Southern
mail, leaving two days ahead, carrying these
credits in favor Of Thomas Barrett and John
Hsgan of New Orleans, both eminent mer.
chants in those days. The letters ordered cot
ton bought as long as there was bale in first
hands in New Orleans. Mr.. Barrett, the bear.
er Of credits and orders, was told to spare no
expense in order to beat the mail 1t was now
eleven O'clock Christmas eve. No one had
thought about money for the expense of the
messenger to New Orleans. Banks were all
shut-brokers too. Mr.: Prime seized blank
check, and went up with it to the City Hotel,
"Wihsrd for what amount can you cash my
check to nightf' ia ~, ,-..-
Chow much do you wish Mr.. Primes"
zone thousaid dollsrs" u 'sF"f
| Mr.. Willard had the money and gave it to
Mr.. Prime It was in the pocket Of Mr.. Wal;
ter Barrett the next morning, when he ems
| barked at six o'clock in the boat for Amboy,
commanded then by the since famous Captain
Alexander Schultz. az 10 .2EEcf1 '@
The messenger, by bribing stage.drivers,
paying Mississippi boat captains $50 or SIS
not to stop and receive freight, reached New
Orleans in eleven days. It was daylight when
he got into the old City Hotel in New Orleans,
kept then by Mr.. Bishop. Two hours after,
John Hagan and Thomas Barrett had the lets
tiers of credit and orders to purchase cotton
The Southern mail did not arrive for three
days. Before night over 80, 900 bales of cot
ton had been purchased at II to IL cents or
about $50 per bale. The cotton was sold at
IL and Is cents, when cotton went up few
| days after. Some was sent to Liverpool. The
profit was on some lots ever $50 bale, and
was divided up among the New Orleans houses
of Barrett & Co. and John Hsgan & Co. and
the New York operators. The messenger had
the profits of 200 bales awarded him and his
expenses paid.
| Another story is given of " old Nat Prime"
which If true is not much to his credit:
| Old Nat Prime was an extraordinary man,
stout, thick, short and heavy in person yet he
was wonderful shrewd calculator. 1t was stat.
that he, the original head of his firm, was in
early life q coschman to the rich William Gray
an eminent merchant of Boston. Mr.. Gray
loaned him small sum of money with which
to commence the brokerage business in very
small way. The ex-coachman shaved notes and
got bravely ahead, He was invited to din
ner party where there were several gentleman
and one planter of wealth from Georgia.
The. conversation turned upon the best mode
of investing money. Mr.. Prime took q part in
this conversation, and, after giving his fnan-
cial views, added "If had $4,000 could
invest it tomorrow in manner that would
enable me to double the sum inside of year"
"What security could you give me Mr..
Prime, if lend you the sum named?" asked
the Georgia planter. : a.a
''The word Of an honest man. said Mr..
Prime. "You shall have the money on that
security Alone" said the Georgian. He gave
Mr.. Prime 5000 the next day. The broker
did double the sum and within year returned
the 5000 with interest, to the generous and
confding lender. But there Is sequel to ths.
| not go pleasant to narrate. Some years after
the $4,000 transaction, the Georgia planter
became embarrassed. His plantation and slaves
were mortgsged, and he wss unable to pay tho
interest and prevent . foreclosure and SALE
He could not raise the money. In this emer~
gency he thought Of Mr.. Prime, who ad mean
while become the great Wall street BANKER
He went to him and recalled himself to the
memory of Mr.. Prime, and then stated his des-
perate circumstances. "I need" he added,
about the amount once loaned you"
"What security can you give :" asked Prime.
"The word of On honest man." replied tho
Georgian. a,...,.: ,r.,..-,. 49, .-......
"That will not pass in Wall street, " said
Prime, and he refused to make the loan, and
ttxnv xlnn kAA H.. 49,
THs AaE OF OUR EARrH.-Among the as
founding discoveries Of modern science is that
Of the immense periods that have passed in the
gradual formation of the earth. So vast were
the cycles of the time preceding even the ap-
pearance of man on the surface of our globe,
that our own period seems al. yesterday when
compared with the epochs that have gone be-
fore it. Had we only the evidence of the de.
La nkox IL Al