The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-11
Capt. Crooks First Experience of Green
backs.

Capt. Crooks First Experience Of Green
backs.
From the New Orleans Bulletin.
! Among the old river men who nave
for years navigated the devious wind
ings of the turbid Red is that prince of
good fellows, whose heart is as big as
any steamer that ever run, Capt. Jim
Crooks. During fthe late unpleasant
ness Capt. G was engaged in some up
pr lake with his palatial steamer,
Blanton, getting out ties for the Con.
federate Government, and a short time
after the close of the war, we think it
was during July or August, 1865, he
was hastily engaged, one day, in lift
ing his steamer off a stump, when he
was hailed from a shore by IA return
ing soldier: ''Hallo, Cap, what are
you doing?''
"Why, getting out the. ties for the
Government.
"What Government, Cap!
"Why the Confederate Government,
of course you don't suppose I'd be
Shipping ties to Boston, do you?''
II say, Cap, that Government has
been done gone up for two months. -
''The deuce you say says Capt.
Jim, and with that he unties his float.
ing palace from the sapling to which
she was anchored, and floated down to
| Shreveport. Striking the landing he
contracted with Federatl A. @. NJ. to
carry $50 barrels of pork to Jefferson,
| at two dollars a barrel. Arriving at
Jefferson his shipper drew out 5000 in
greenbacks to pay the freight. Capt.
Jim demurred, and says: ''Cap, I've
Just got a basket full of paper, new
issue, in my office, and I want money,
gold, for my bill" The A. @. NJ. in
formed him that the United States did
not deal in gold as currency, and if he
did not take greenbacks he should do
| without. Capt. Jim says that he did
not like to hurt so many soldiers by
having a row about it, and thought he
would take the paper currency, and
trust to luck to get rid of it. Coming
down SO Shreveport he wandered up
Texas street to the corner of Spring ;
he looked into store, and to use his
own expression, he s'saw more calico,
shoes, and Yankee tricks than he had
seen for years, and wondered if that
green.looking chap behind the coun-
ter would not take paper money and
walking quietly into the store, he in a
mild, childlike, innocent way inquired
| the price of pair of shoes.
The young man behind the counter
blandly Informed him eight dollars.
"Whew!' says Capt. c., s:that's
cheap;" he having6paid 5000 for the
pair he had on; and he quietly slipped
ten.dollar bill from his roll, gather
ed up the shoes and made for the door
thinking that the c0nfounded Yankee
might not want to take that kind of
new issue, and take back the shoes.
To his establishment the merchant
called him back and gave him two dol
lars in change. Capt. Jim was so ut
terly astonished that he called friend
OF his, another river man, and says:
"Bose, don't you want some clothes ?
I've found a COMPOUNDED Yankee who
takes this new kind of new issue. and
I've got $500 of it and want to get rid
OF it while I've got a chance Bose
got inside a new set of harness and
went down Texas street, and met Capt.
D., another river man, who was anxious
| to know where he got those clothes.
| ''Capt. Crooks got EN- form You 90
up to the corner of Spring, and he'll
get yot suit which he did. Thus
Capt. G. got rid of his $500 and said he
spent the balance of the day chuckling
to himself how he'd beat that con.
founded Yankee out of $500 worth of
good clothes.
The New York Express says that
Tilden is about to commence proceedings
against Hayes, to contest his right to the
Presidency in the Courts. 3. +. Merrick Of
Washington 70 named % tho attorney havin~