The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-10-25
A MILLIONAIRE PAUPER.

leans Just now is the case OF the old octOroor
Francois Lacroix, last week millionaire, to-day
. frendless beRgar, sold out for taxes which ht
could but would not pay. He was the owner o.
stores, dwellings, and plantations-paying two
months ago an aggregate monthly rental Of
more than $4,000. Yesterday I saw him sitting
on the steps of the auctioneers rostrum, snok.
while the last remains Of his fortune was being
waited away on the echo of the crer's voice.
i Lecrolx's history is singularly interesting. A
quarter of a century ago he was the fashionable
Cordieville L.croix was on st. Charles street,
one or two doors below the present site Of the
st. Charles Hotel. Both were colored men. Cor
dieville was hashy, snowy fellow, gu te an OK .
quisite, prone to brawls and duels. but polished
artist in his line, He affected France very
greatly; had . chateau near Paris, whore, during
the greater part Of the year, he used to maintain
an establishment Of great luxury and splendor.
Finally he withdrew from New Orleans to spend
the remainder OF his life in his favOrite country
lacroix was . man Of different tastes and habits.
An octorooa like Cordieville, he was, unlike him,
pe nurious, fruga, plodding. Cnce a year he
went 70 II belle France for five or six weeks,
and wild stories are told Of his extravaganza
but here at home he lived in
positive meanness. His house on Dumaine
street, in the French quarter, where by the way
he still lives. is an old colonial structure, built Of
scarcely better than the average plantation cabin
certainly not half SO cheerful and attractive /
went down and took look at it the other day,
though the survey was attended with difficulties.
The interior ID picture OF disorder and discom-
fort with four rooms in the main building, divided
off by partitions of what seemed pasteboard-one
great room, SO far as sound or smell might be
concerned. The outer apartment, the only one
gained access to. was crowded with preposterous
old furniture, NANCY BLOCKING bundles, boxes,
odds and ends, the whole forming collection
which negroes call "plunder." Enthroned in
the midst of all this confusion, propped in a
huge and infirm rockingham was an appalling
old wOman-Lacroix's mother. I had not ex-
pected this. Lacr0ix is . trife over seventy
himself, and never anticipated being called on
to confront his mother. Much to my surprise
she spoke little broken English; much to my
disappointment she informed me that her boy
room-a perfect chaos Of curiosites, useless but
ancient. What anybody wanted with such lot
Of absurd old traps l cannot imagine. In only
one instance did see an article that pertained to
civilization or the nineteenth century. That ar
ticle was q safe-an iron safe Of ancient pattern.
It looked as though it might have been pur-
chased when LacrOix was a growing infant,
bought in some extrauagant outburst by his
father. suppose it contained title deeds and 80
on. As bowed myself out observed Hima-
layan head-dress Of yellow and red cotton sur
mounting LacrOix mere.
Here the miser lives and has lived since the |
time when the now fashionable district of New |
Of sS.s %us sns
up IS hugh IS 500. This, with whatever he
spend in those Partisan revelries, made up the |
total OF his expenditures; and all the rest, for
nearly half century, has been going into new
lands, more lots, and additional houses. He
made money at a tremendous rate 80 years ago.
His shop was the centre Of fashion. His coats
were the sine qua non Of society. No dandy Of
that day could hope to shine in the foyer OF the
r . |
him for the effort. The bloods Of Dau-
phine and Royal streets never dreamed
of strutting near the shadow of Cabildo or the
Pontalba palace until Lacroix had dressed his
egs. Money was no object then. 1t came easily
20 these young rovsterers, and Lacroix had no
great modesty as to his charges. Making inn
meme sums and spending nothing putting his
'ccumulatlons into property that rose every day
n value, he grew rich by almost magi al adj
'ances. A tailor's shop would scarcely seem the f
han wealthy man: F. had properties in every )
rowing quarter Of tho city, mortgages on a
core Of plantations, md rentals Of rincely
magnitude. He was Lacroix the millionaire.
How his tax troubles commenced no one seems r
xactly to unders' and fancy he has always Y
cen ''tax resister." The city books show some | b
cry cd delnquencies. The hIonicles of the T
ity's htigations record q thousand hard-fought v
emma, were bare short q ruin. Apparently he
ever paid until the last moment, nor without ;,
liter conflict. Three years ago, however, his Il
ase assumed promineneo. At that time the Il
acroix city tax bills had mounted up to some r,
81, O0O He tried usual to evade it, but War I,
loth's free lances were rough and hungry and >;
nd they drove him hard. At last he gathered -
'gether the required amount, and, 80 rumor !,
lys, gave it to his son 70 make the settlement u
18th. Here comes in the secret Of the drama. II
hey say the young man lost the money or was Il
heated out OF it in some way, and weeks ell
the old man was made suddenly aware m
lat the So, 900 was still unpaid and his property b
emblAg in the balance. Then he broke down. .,
the best of times, and this disaster filed his u
lp. Report hath it that he cast the prodigal lie
nth with curses, and from that moment fell into 10
stold, obstinate inactiOn which nothing could sc
Ouse. Numerous attempts were made to in. m
Ice him to some measures Of self protection Ia
mixers, brokers. who liked him as relic of the =;
'od old time, or wished, perhaps, to make q -!
asonable profit on the job, offered the funds u
cessary to release his property. It was Of 70 al
s. State and city, reached over $75 OOO and at 81
It, after more than three years Of fOrbearance pa
Q authorities moved, the hammer was uplifted, Or
d Francois Lacroixs colossal fortune began to oh
nmhle. 81
have dropped in once or twice at the Auc- ~ o
neers' Exchange TO watch the progress of the al
ana. ALI its interest centres IN Lacroix him ev
\. He sits on the steps Of the rostrum, ov
'llsh and yet touching figure Dressed in
ell at this throat, smoking-always smoking 70
wretched, dissolu choking cigar, grinning Az ~
cantly whenever the hammer falls, and never Ut Ut
any chance meeting the spectators eye, he is 1u
picture at once torlorn and tragic. They say Sc
is crazy; that he has deliberately furthered m,
8 sacrifice in order to destroy his faithess pa
is inheritance his other son, the darling on es
ON he lavlshed all his love and generosity, ho
3 killed in the Mechanics Institute riot OF nc nc
6. re-
do not know how this is. cannot quite make fla
n ont. His yellow face seems very unmeaning. sti
, struggling white hairs are fraught with dig utt
y. He watches the dissipation Of his superb hi
tune with apparent indifference. Once, when me
ne especially beloved property was disposed Of ast
gave way He sobbed piteously and his hand An
'ried unsteadiy to his eyes for just one in AZ
Mt. That was the only time Before and rev
&c there has been no sign of feeling, or, in be
d, Of consciousness. He is too narrow and fer
picious to be hero. too selfish to be MARTYR fer
ignorant to be strategist. I am bound to ma
eve, as l see HIM looking on unmoved while or
possessions go to sharpers as gift, that he e. e.
poor demented old man, that age and avarice lus
Q driven mad. He is one Of the last of rat
AZ