The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-01-06
FLUSH TIMES IN MISSISSIPPI.
Legislators ON Bum-A Governor and
Judge Tackle the Tiger at a Horse
Race-In a New Orleans Debtors PriS-
crespondence Courier-Journal.l

! :, correspondence Courier-Journal
WAsE}71--s- Dec. % (Ebbit House. y
| have thought brief account of my visit
to Mississippi might not be EGrGGlnteresting
to the readers Of the Courier-J oufI..aL=.l
shall have to spin some pretty stiff yarns,
but they are as true as Holy Writ. A large
majority of the persons living at the time
are now ancestors, and it will be perceived
that they were as full of human nature as
their descendants.
The first town in which 1 called halt
was Jackson. The Legislature was in SEES
sion, and many of its members were in high
larks. One night, after | had gone to bed
in the hotel | heard a tremendous noise be-
low the stairs, like the breaking of chairs
and bottles, accompanied by loud laughter.
l arose and went down. There l saw a
crowd of very prominent gentlemen in big
frolic. l call them gentlemen, for they were
so regarded by their acquaintance. Ger
tain it is, that if any man mad dared to in
innate that they were not gentlemen he
would have been knocked down in much
quicker time than it took the Indian to eat
the woodcock.
They broke every chair, every glass and
everything that was breakahle in the room.
No effort was made to restrain them in their
wild debauch. | heard one of them say
that he had lived in several States, but of
all the States give him Mississippi, for if a
gentleman did not live so long there, he
lived faster and had more glorious enjoy
ments than in any part of Gods earth.
At what hour they retired to rest | am
not able to say, but | do know that they
walked up to the landlord next day and
called for damages. "Six hundred dollars
said he. "Here's your money" said they.
Thought | to myself, that's a performance
that will do to keep, and | stored it away
in my memory.
At that time the Brandon Bank, the Holly
concerns were in full blast. There was
scarcely man who wore good clothes and
went clean shaved who had any difficulty
in borrowing their bills.
As | was out sightseeing / went to the
RAYMOND races There / saw the Govern
or of the State and one of the judges Of the
supreme court fighting the tiger, or in other
words, betting at the game of faro in the
open field. They were both very popular
men.
now come to more important facts. All
were rich, or were going to get rich, as they
thought. Speculation was riding on high
wave. would buy a plantation and me-
groes of B for 10000, and sell them to G
for 100000. Every transaction of the kind
was based entirely on credit. Not dollar
passed between the parties. In this way
immense fortunes were made on paper.
Such bubbles were obliged to burst. Such
castles sooner or later, were obliged to fall,
and fall they did. Yes, they came down
with a crash in April, 1887. Men who
thought they were the possessors of great
fortunes yesterday found themselves bank
rupts to-day.
Looking around amidst the ruins, anxious
to discover some person or persons on whom
to cast the blame of their own folly and
short-sightedness, they soon fastened on
Jackson and Van Buren, as the culprits.
About this time happened to be in Vicks-
burg. / heard gentleman, in one of the
hotels, giving his friends an account of a
trip he had just made to New Orleans. 81
went there" said he ito make some arrange
ment with my commission merchant about
bill of exchange he had accepted for me
last year and which had fallen due. He
wanted me to pay him part of the money.
was not able to do it. He then said that
I must get some solvent men to indorse a
new~bill and take up the old.
It was entirely out of my power TO do
that, and the first thing / knew he had me
locked up in the calaboOse. That is an in
stitution specially adap5ed to the incarcera-
ton of foreign debtors. When / got in
saw some of the finest looking men and the
best dressed men / had met in all New Or
leans. They were smoking their cigars,
drinking their champagne and talking over
their indebtedness. One of them had been
caIahoosed for Sc, 600, another for 500, 900,
and some as high as $3.50, 900.
/ sat there like POOR man at frolic,
having nothing to say TO anybody. At
length an impudent little rascal slapped me
on the shoulder and said aWell, my old
rooster, how much were you jugged for p
replied, $ Fifteen hundred dollars"
Turning round to his comrades he exclaim=
ed: Why, curse his pitiful soul, gentle
men, Il rs raise mp the money and turn him
OUT They had no idea of permitting
fellow like him to associate with eentles
n. AN 0Lp -F0FY.
~ sxehange speaks Of man being
bred BY an angry bull a. il q good
ured bull would do such ! thing
nd dn Lac Reporter,