New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-11-29

John COOK TO open accounts mere.
| We shall get you all mixed up. You would
| MT like the other Lewis and the other Cook
| to have your money placed to their credit,
or to cheek against your accounts, would
your
"Then Patton laughed until he got as red
| in the face as d turkey-cock. and called
| Clay, the cashier. and he laughed too. and
we all laughed.
".TIl tell YOU how to fix it, said Clay.
| you. sir. sign your name Samuel Lewis, c;
| and YOU. sir, sign yours John Cook, T..
That means Samuel Lewis. coppersmith,
1 and John Cook. cOppersmlth: the other
gentlemen Of your names are both Mer'
| chants'
| 80 we appended 'C' to our names.
! "'Where's your money. gentlemen I said
| Patton.
".Here it comes said Lewis. as his man
rolled in his kegs.
..Well. at last, with some help, Patton
| counted SamueFs money. Then he counted
mine, and laughed like fury when he was
done. Why said he. Cook, yon had more
in your copper pan than Mr.. Lewis had on
| his dray.'
"When he counted the money couldn't
help smiling. He kept wiping his hands.
for the pieces were slippery and bothered
him good deal. AS | was going
out OF the hank he hailooed to me.
Cook. don't bring any more greasy money
here. Wash il. before sou make deposit
| 1.-The way it came to be greasy was this.
| You see. frequently had my remittances
! come in barrel of bacon or lard. Old Mr.
| Whittlesey, my agent in Kentucky, would
! send me, say, twenty barrels oi either, and
| in one Of the barrels he would pack my
money, and advise me what was the mum.
Der on the head Of it. The barrels would be
| numbered from one t" twenty. tor instance,
| SO "a not to excite curiosity.
| ,-..I. (s.oI, ...l.., ,L;pG;uO 10 Nod
nothing further in the way OF story to tell,
was about TO stop here. My wife looked up
| from her sewing uneasily. then laying it
| down and folding her hands. asked him if
he ever met with any loss by such manner
| of conveyance.
| "Only once" he continued. land a pretty
| round sum it was too. did not think 1t
| worth while repeating the story to Mr..
| Slaughter. | will do so, however. ii it will
! interest him and Ajax. There is a deal Of
mystery about the matter. which l suppose
! will never be cleared up. Perhap. l did
not follow it up as oug Int to have done. 1t
happened in this way.
MY old agent in Kentucky died having
a smart sum of money IN hand. To con-
iolm to law had TO apply and make GER
! tain Oaths In person. and therefore went
| out. After delay OF two or three weeks
got il from his executors. ] bought ten
barrels of lard and put them in the ware.
house of Whlttlesey s successor. One day.
alone, pretending 10 examine the quality
of the lard. took the head out of one of
the barrels put in my gold, and headed it
| up. | marked the numbers on them. and
this one was number seven.
81 had promised Mr.. Lewis that I would
come home by way OF Plttsburg and the
| MOnOngahela river. and collect some money
| due him from distille-s there: SO sent my
lard home by a trusty Lancaster county
Dutch WAGNER. who had come out
from Philadelphia with load OF
Whittlesey. l was good while on the
way, and found when got home the lard
| had arrived the day before. Glanciug at
| the barrels, number seven cid not look like
the others. 1t was not my marking. and
| vas of rather different shape. With much
anxiety l opened it. and to my dismay
| found no money. | then examined them
| all with as little success.
| Il Immediately wrote out to the man in
whose warehouse had opened the barr ell
| to put the money in. l waited a month for
| an answer, and then wrote 70 his brother.
! informing him of my loss. After some delay
| he answered that Whi,tlesey's successor
| had gone west of the Mississippi on tradin <
! expedition. Six months later the news
| came that he was killed by a drunken In.
| dian AT one of the trading posts.
"In the meantime questioned the Dutch
| wagner frequently and closely. He declared
! that the barrels were 'he same that the
storekeeper had helped him to put into his
| WAGON. The Dutchman's character was
! above suspicion. and having no p, Oof that |
| had money into any barrel he brought from
| Kentucky, l had no legal claim against
him even if had been disposed 70
prosecute him. Three years after this he
] was taken sick and expected TO die. So ne
! sent fox me and made ,iiis confession.
..Ile came home by the Winch SER route.
On the way his wagon broke down, and he
| was obliged to unload oI th. roadside and
| take it to blacksnith shop. a few miles
away. to have it repaired When he re.
| turned next day the barrels of lard and
bacon had been knocked about. and one ST
| them was missing. 70 preserve his repu.
| tatiOn as an honest aud careful teamster he
bought another barrel OF lard in Winches.
! ter and put the same number on il. When
| he arrived in Philadelphia and found me in
| such an anxious state of mind about the
| missing barrel, he concluded it had money
| in it, for he had brought remittances in
| this way for me before. Fearing he
| would be accused of theft. he insisted.
| up 20 the time that he was taken SO dan.
| gerously i'll. that none Of the barr. Is
had been exchanged or replaced ON the
| way. Now nd wished to die with a clear
| conscience. and acknowledged that he had
| other. To the surprise OF himse elf and every.
| body else he recovered: but he always in.
! sisted that his las! statement was the truth,
! the whole truth. and nothin. but the truth
| So in the end, all thar l ever 90, from my
old collectors estate by going out to Ken.
| lucky was a queer sort of u gold piece.
which carried i'll my pocket for goud
many years. and when Sue. shere. was a
| baby, gave il 80 her W on. her teeth on !;
| think it must have been an old medal at
| some kind. but the inscription had .ome.
! how been olIliteratea a. il was about :he
! size of doubiooH l took for that in
settlement. l always told Sue if ever got
the money back that lost in that barrel of
| lard. j. should belong TO her. And don't
YOU think the jade brought q paper out tc
Germantown this morning all formally
! drawn up by a lawyer. binding me- to my
| promise. / think. Sue." turning to her.
! .'yOu must have "A soft place III your head.
Why. bless you. child. would have signed
| it twenty times, and in presence OF ten
| witnesses instead OF two. for all the good
! that will ever come OF H.
laughed at Uncle Cooks story: for Wy
| wife. although she was pOrtioness bride.
had frequently told me- in hex merry moods
| that she had fortune somewhere. if she
| could only find it. Uncle Ben did not join
serious.
Looking around at Sue. I saw what had
not noticed until then. There was blue
ribbon around her neck which belonged to
the old medal that Lule our baby. had
been mounting. and cutting her little teeth
against. just as Sue had done twenty years
before-the same medal that Uncle Cook
had given her.
Uncle Cook" said Sue. show much