The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-02-11
Ancient Millionaires.

! Astor, Stewart, Vanderbilt, Mackey,
Keene, Gould and the other fellows
who eau buy rawberries at one dol.
lar per box but the richest of them
are mere vagrants when compared to
some of the ancients. There was
Minus. for instance. He was the son
of Nimrod. the old hunter. who made
lions scratch for holes and tigers take
to bitches. Old MIN left his boy
about El3O,OOO.O 600 i'm cash, besides
l2O, 900 cattle, q piece of land about as
big as Arkansas and $4,000 likely
slaves. There were no lawyers IL
those days who made speciality OF
breaking wills. and young Minus
quietly took possession and cast abaut
for some plan to keep himself out ct
the poor house. - =
He was considered poor young
man, and had he been seen Juggling his
girl to an ice cream saloon ar riding
out in a lively rig. his friends would
have said he bring up in a garrat Bya
lucky capture of tel eiritory from The
As>yrians, together with 81. 900 slaves,
125. ZOO. cattle, ten wagon loads of
-ilver and jewels, and few other
trifles. Minus walked up the social
ladder until big hugs asked after his
wife aud babies and he could lose
three games Of billiards without won.
dering if the owner Of the saloon
would take "stand off" He was
worth 1850. .00O. .0OO when he died, and
yet for the last i've years of his life he
went without mutton because the
price had raised to three cents per
pound.
The heiress with a $50, COO bank ac-
count considers herself some pump
kins, hut what three cent piece she
would have been alongside of Queen
Semiramis. She not only had the
Iucre left hy Minus. but in ten years
she had increased it twOf0ld. Just
multiply 1850. 100000 by tw0 and
you have the amount of her bank
balance. to say nothing of jewels and
clothing and furniture and palaces
and slaves and cattle. Had she sold
out and cleared up she could hayp
drawn her little check for about
f70O.000 GEO. She didn't worry about
where her spring bonnet was to come
from, and when new style of dress
goods came out she didn't sit ut.,
nights for fear some neighbor would
secure a pattern first. While she
made it lively fur her enemies she
was soft on her friends. She gave her
waiting maid SjOO, 900 i'm a lump fnr
dressing her hair in II new style, and
she tossed the same amount tO her
dressmaker as a reward inr the ex.
cellent fit of one particular dress.
One day when she saw Il poor old
man travelling the highway on foot
she presented him with 500 asses to
ride on, and insisted on his accepting
10000 10 pay his toll and tavern
bills.
Cyrus, king of Persia from the year
538 tn $40. had some little change to
begin with, and in ten years he could
draw his check for f60O. .0O0.0O He
didn't haggle over the price of slave
when man came to buy. but pre-
sented him with 1000. He at one
time owned 10000 horses. 10000
cattle. 20O, 900 sheep. $1,000 asses and
rs COO slaves, and. when he got tired
Of Il palace costing 81 ,OOO. 900, he gave
u away to some poor washw0uhan
with seven children to- support. He
one day set down to a dinner which
had cost ESQ. COO. aid in the afternoon
went on ESQ. 900 drunk. The police
didn't run him In, or he would
doubtless have insisted on paying n
fine of S2O.O0O and presenting his
honor with II corner house and lot In
the toniest part of Babylon.
King Mcnes was another we'll
herled man. 1t WAS too much trouble
tO count his cash, and SD he weighed
it. One day when an old friend asked
him for the loan Of few dollars un
til Saturday night he sent him pr,,-
cessinn Oi sixty asses, each animal
loaded with one hundred pounds of
gold coin. He paid siOO.OO0 for a
bird which could whistle. the same
fer n trick dog, and he hal such
f0ndnass for white oxen that he
shelled out E25,cOO apiece for them,
and Mt one time hal drive of 1900.
When he got out with the boys he
made things lively. During one
spree in his city, Of Memphis he gave
away E5OO.OOO and didn't get drunk
, at that. At one time he had 600, 900
gold chains, 1.0OO,OOO finger rings,
100000 costly swords. 800, 900 daggers
and land only knows how many fish
lines, lack niVps. Cprkscrpws and