Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1879-12-11
A Flyer in the Fancies.

He wanted to speculate, heard of
everybody making money in stocks, the
newspapers were full Of it, the stock
sale reports began to stretch from one
third of a column in length to two col
hmns In the newspapers. The money
articles were continually reporting how
every species of stock was advancing,
and chronicling general activity in
the market.
Young men, mere tyros, with arms
akimbo and hats knowingly cooked
upon one side invited him to lunch or
dine, and spoke of making five hundred
or thousand 'on the street in this or
that fancy Even older heads, which
were white with the experience of many
winters, spoke with each other in his
hearing of the rise in Erie of the
start in Atchison, of netting five
thousand in Calumet etc. From day
to day, hot as was the summer of 1879,
hotter became the coppers and other
fancies.
Hosts of forgotten companies were
paraded in the stock list, some that
operators of a dozen years ago con
sidered dead and buried past resusci-
tation. began to appear among the quo
tations. rising Ike a fresh crop of as par
agus after recent cutting; new names
that Eastern operators were unfamiliar
with except such as had been in the
California mining districts, or had read
Bret Harte's stories, became plentiful.
Street brokers that had for a long time
been swapping jackknives suddenly be-
came important and busy and made so
much money amid the rush of outsiders
that half dozen of the smaller fry as
tonished their landlords by paying their
office rents. Ninkum was determined
to look into this matter himself, SO one
day he got friend to take him down
among the stock brokers that dealt in
'Spangle,' Red Dog Bulge Swell
ington Farm Big Bullion and all
those stocks which he had seen quoted
in the newspapers and heard his friends
talk so knowingly about. Everything
was booming 100 of this and 1000
of that-'Go yer 200 seller thirty,
take 'em - Sold - What's bid for
any part of 1000 Hardupsp'-'I'll give
ten fur any part of 500 Yeller Gulch -
'one dollar margin - buyer sixty =
my option at thirty days - Ha, ha, ha,
I'll take 100 more These were few
of the expressions that came out of the
almost undistinguishable mass of howl
ings and shoutings that he listened to
coming from a crowd of apparently
half-frantic men that seemed to have
recently escaped from lunatic asylum.
What wonder that he had touch of
the speculative fever-was introduced
to lively broker who would do his
business for him. Yes, Mr. Sharpit
was just the man, spoke quickly, had a
glossy silk hat on aTry and a hand that
was grasped full of powers of attorney
memoranda and other papers, lead
pencil behind his ear and jerky style
of interrupting you as though he fully
understood by your eye all you were
going to say, and didn't want you to
take the trouble to repeat it. He shook
hands with Ninkum, glad to see him
going to be big biz-money easy
things only half value now - going in
half confused by the telegraphic style of
talk, thought he'd go in
'Tiptop chance, said Sharpit, every
thing boomin'-now then what do you
think ofSpangles?'
'Ahl' said Ninkum, they are small
affairs
Yes, but sure to 60 up-shall we say
hundred Spanglesp' T
n lidAAOitA eAtt1 Spank lCS,
said Mink, somewhat bewildered and
thinking of metal instead of stocks.
'Ah, see, go yer 500 then. Now
what dyer say to hundred Red Dogs?'
Hundred red dogsi' said Mink
thunder, I'd rather sell hundred dogs
than buy one.'
.AlI right, old boy said the brisk
broker, making a memoranda; new
then, anything in the ''Slap Up?"
SLAP up?' said Mink, with puzzled
look, and wondering what the broker
was talking about, and trying to look
as If this was species of slang that he
understood.
Yes! new miae-forty foot level just
open-eopper vein six foot thick; news
| from the mine every day; better say
q thousand Slap Ups; cheap thing al
Il dollar
] should say so. too, with copper six
feet thick.
Yes, all right--now then, shall buy
yon some shares in the " Buigsp"'
Yesi OH, yes said Ninkum, that,
what / came down for, to buy some
thing on TIE bulge; that's what m OLE
tEalifbrniH friend told me-" Hhef