The Osceola times., 1880-02-28
A "Crapping" Mortgage.

you pretend TO tell US you don't
know what crapping mortgage is?'
Such were his pretcntions.
"Then you're no Southerner,"
the old mar continued, $50 I'll tell
you something about 1t. A crap.
ping mortgage-well, l gin enc of
them burned things once myself.
The way of it was just this: You
see alters manage to keep little
money ahead to buy tho few little
things we needed on the plantation,
and l generally went down to our
little town to buy themOnce week.
Well, as | was down there trad
ing one week, the storekeeper said
to me "What's the use of your
bothering along this way every
week paying out your small change!
Why don't you give me a crapping
mortgage, and then send down when
you want anything and let me put
it on the books, without bothering
about the change, and then when
your crap comes in you can send
down bag Of cotton and pay it
all off at one swoop."
"Well, it didn't look like q bad
idea-sounded sorter easy like-so
| told the storekeeper l thought I'd
do it. SO he filed out q crapping
mortgage which he had already
printed, and as / could not read
very well, 1 signed it on his word
that it was all right.
"Well, sir, them crapring mort,
gage IS curious things! Before |
got halfway home with my load l
got to studying about it. As soon
as l had signed it the storekeeper
told me that now my name was
good IN his store for anything |
wanted, and to send right along as
often as l pleased. That was what
l was studying about, and then
pretty soon | got to studying what
/ wanted, and that internal crap
ping mortgage, or something else,
made me think of things l must
have that ! never wanted before.
You see | always had fought shy OF
debt all my life, but all these neigh
bors was trying their hands on
crapping mortgages, and | thought
I'd 90 in for little too. Well, l
did. l kept on a wanting things,
and ! kept on Citing things.
We all got along fine, and the store
keeper sold the old woman lots Of
nice things we'd never wanted be.
fore, but that We was bound to have
after | had signed the crapping
mortgage. They breed wants, they
do,
"At last the crap came in, and ]
sent bale of cotton down to the
store TO pay off the crapplng mort
gage. 1t didn't do it. | then sent
another bale that was hot enough
Next sent all the cotton l had,
and finally all my corn and fodder
and it wasn't still paid, the old wo-
man got up all her chickens, ducks
and turkeys. and sent them down ;
still that miserable crapping mort
gage was not satisfied. So ! went
down to sec about it, The store
keeper said it was all right-all
paid up but about $500. and that
did not make any difference;
could still have Whatayer | wanted
on it.
"But, sir, somehow or other, |
did not like the way things were
going, so l took out my wallet
and paid off the balance on the
crapping mortgage, and took the
blamed thing home with me, though
| couldn't help thanking the store.
keeper for offering to still let me
have goods after my crop was all
gone. When l got homo, me and
the old woman put on our specks
and took a look at that crapping
mortgage, and what do you think ?
Why, III be burned il that crap
ping mortgage hadn't been spread
over all my land, horses, mules,
stock, farming utensils, kitchen and
household furniture-everything |
had in the world was flung into it,
and if | had a stayed there another
year I'll bet high, everything | had
would of gone through it.
"Well, let me tell you: Don't you
never sign one. You never will
get through paying 1t; and then
them store fellers tell you how easy
it Is to get things now and pay for
them in the fall, you remember
what | tell you about crapping
mortgage"
And having finished his descrip.
ton OF these little engines Of OPP
preston, he pulled out his twist of
homemade tobacco, that looked as
rich and brown as walnut wood,
cut off chew with his horn- handle
knife, put it in his mouth, put the
knife and tobacco into his brcechcs
pocket, and walked away. lie
turned round after walking little
way, and said rcfectively:
"Don't you never sign one in the
world T; if you do, you will never
get through paying it off,"
He might have added: "For the
reason that you'll be sure to buy
hundreds of things that you'd get
along without, did you have to pay
the cash down" That thing called
"good credit" is remarkable
thing = Exchange.
A shirt has two arms, Just as a