The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1872-01-23
nOUTDLasS Ag1aEsTY.
NeVy TltH DidU'i NafEc Five ESEa-
,lred SsiiiipHa.

lesy Tlsk Didn'' 2aEc Five EEnn-
dred SsiiiioHa.
Oliver Dyer tells the following ancc-
dote Illustrating the bound.ess audacity
Of Fisk:
He went South in the winter Of 1854
and '63 TO buy cotton, and IS the Con
(ederacy sbegsn to weaken under the
pressure Of Grant and Sherman, he saw
the surrender of Lee looming in the.
distance, and then taking the whole sit
uation into the account, he conceived
one of the greatest financial schemes
that ever came from the brain of man.
The Confederate bonds were thcn sell.
ing at eighty dollars on the onehundred
in London. Fisk saw that the moment
the news of the collapse of the Confrd
9racv should reach that city the bonds
would tumble indefinitely; and what
prodigioas opportunities that might afY
ford.
"If I could only get a man into Lon
don few days ahead of all competi-
tors" said he to himself, latter | knew
the Confederacy had gone up, what q
haul 1 could make selling those bonds
short"
He at once came to N!w York; took
q few other capitalists into bis conf
dence, and ulfoded his plans to them;
tfey saw the point, and agreed to fur
nish all the money that should he nec-
essary in addition to Whist Fisk had
himself and told him to go ahead.
Mr Fisk Immediately purchased the
fastest ocean steamer aaoat; manned
her with skillful captain and trustwor-
thy crew, sent her to Halifax with or
ders to bank her fires and have steam
on ready to shoot from the wharf at
moments notice; placed on board of
her trusty and capable agent, from
whom the captain was to receive his or
ders to start, and who was to work the
scheme in London; made such arrange,
ments with fifty miles of telegraphic
wire that no one could get the news
ahead of him, and then awaited the re-
suit of the fighting down in Virginia =
For thirteen days the fires of that steam
er in Halifax were kept banked, with
every thing in readiness for Instant de
parture At last the death blow of the
Confederacy was struck.
"Go"
was the word thst the lightning hurled
at Fisk's agent in Halifax: and away
went the steamer, without soul on
board Except the one confidential man)
having the slightest inkling OF the news
which was already beginning to set the
western continent abiaze.
There was no Atlantic cable in those
days, and 80, fortune favoripg,the swift
gliding steamer would arrive in Liver
pool long way ahead of any other
craft which could bring the news. For
tune did favor the adventure. The
steamer crossed from Halifax in six
days and half, and reached Liverpool
five days in advance of the arrival of
the first steamer that left New York
with the news. What could not have
been done in those hve days? But, alas !!
one poor Old weak kneed associate, un-
beknown to Fisk, had secretly telegraph
ed to the agent at Halifax not to
60 beyond five millions in his London
sales Of Confederate bonds. This knock.
ed Fisk's gigantic scheme square on The
head The agent sold five millions of
bonds short, at the rates then ruling in
the London market Before the day Of
delivery came about, the news OF the
fall of Richmond and of Lees surren-
der arrived, and the bonds tumbled to.
TWENTY-FIVE dollars on the hundred. The
London brokers Of course paid the dif-
ference (as, for the benelt of readers
not familiar with such transactions, We
will state is the custom) between the
price they had agreed to pay and the
actual price for which the bonds were
selling on the day of delivery, which
difference amounted to over two million
of dollars. The profit on the specula-
zion was therefore handsome one, after
deducting all expenses, but it was a,
mere drop in the bucket in comparison
with what it would have been had tho
other parties to the enterprise been as
sagacious and plucky IS Colonel Fisk
was. His plan was to sell Confederate
bond, short in London as long as any
body would buy them; and to follow
the market clear down to zero. or
course the bonds would never have been
called for, and the buyers would have
had to pay the differences. Had Fisk
not been betrayed, as we have stated, he
would probably have cleaned out Lon
don. and made five hundred millions OF
dollars
When Fisk heard of the trick which
had been played him, he was probably
the maddest mar on the American Con
tinent, with the single exception of Old
Hickory Jackson when he heard any
thing said against the character of mis-
wife.