The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1884-10-11

The girl. beautiful girl of II, was his
granddaughter, aud as no story is accept
able to tue lady readers without flavor
of romance, l will tell them she became
in after years not my wife but the wife
of my darling brother Ben.
"
THE LOST ARMY CHEST.
1t all began with visit to au aucii n
room in which was being sold tho un-
called-for packages of the Adams Ex-
press company. watched the sale for
some nom ents without thinking OF buy
ing anything, when an old milItary.look-
ing trunk was put up. Somebody bid
81, and just as it was about to be sold
offered so cents more. 1t was promptly
knocked down TO me, aud that evening
l got my treasure home. 1t was in the
winter of 1862. My purchase did not
seem boncnzA; there was lot of soiled
clothing, collars chiefly, and socks, and
at the bottom of the trunk little tin
box, locked, which had to break open
There was lot of letters in it, written
chiefly in female hand, aud addressed
to Dear Harry" and Dear Sweetheart"
This looked through carefully and saw
that the story was the old one. Harry
was soldier in the confederate army
The letters were dated in '6l and co. ana
Celia loved him aud was doing her wo-
marly best to hearten aud strengthen
him to DO mans part and come home
ner hero. The romance ceased with
letter in another hand, telling how Celia
Dad taken the yellow fever aud died.
There was some other letters, but those
were tile only ones of any interest AT
the bott I'm of the case was II little mem
oraudum-book with these entries:
Greeubacks s62 600
Gold 4,500
Silver ESQ
Total SCI, $50
JAcKS"N MISs., May 10. 1868 We
ruty the aboye to he true aud com
| plete Inventory of contents of money
chest captured by as IRON Gen. Nc
/ Phersou's command on May |.
ALI BoLToN
ID. T. GRAVES.
| HENRY ARMsTEAD
JAG b SHULTz,
On the next page was the following
memorandum:
| Money chest captured near Habkin-
sons terry on Big Black river, and buried
by us ut point two miles due north
west Of Prrry's. at foot OF live oak tree.
twenty PAGES south OF Abrams stable.
IN Big Black.
Tueu came another entry:
Balten aud Shlutz killed at Champion
Hills fight, May l6.
Aud another:
Graves died 10 hospital at Vicksburg
June "a, leaving rue sole owner buried
chest. Am ba lv wounded in leg; doc.
tor says mnst amputate. ana no chloro'
form IN V!ckSburg; feel viii probably
die, and don't care However make this
last will aud testament. Leave buried
treasure to man finding, condition he
hunts grave of Celia Manderson, cath Ollie
cemetery, New Orleans, and erects there
on suitable monument, with name aud
"pltaph Built by The hands of her dead
lsv-r" No trouble to find CHI st If men,
orandum above consulted II curse dy
ing man has weight here or hereafter
leave il upon him who fails to observe
NV Wish HENRY ARM>TEA
VIcksburg, June &c. 1868.
Now this, you must admit, was ro
nance to find buried IN an old trunk
The only clew I could &c, to the owner
Of the uupk was that bis initials were s
r r, and the peculiarly rusted state o
the TIN case made me half hope that i
: had never teen opened since the day th,
not strike me as anything more than I
romarc4 for the time being. l felt sur
that no one would carry around an oil
case of that kind without knowing il
value, and for more than year ueve
! thought for moment of examipg int,
t The matter. 1t happened, though las
8 Mardi Gras, that was down in NeN
Orleans, and out of curiosity went on
to the catholic cemetery and asked tb
' sexton to show me the grave of Mis-
7 Q, liza Manderson. remembered abou
y the date Of her death; it was August
D 1862. He pulled over the dusty old re
9 cords of mortality and at last found th
name We sought. HerRraye was singl
4 unmarked mound. uncaTed for, lonely
I and desolate. Evidently, if the treasur
had been found dead mans curse wa
n waiting upon the finder. cOulu nc
i imagine that any man could be bas
enough to rob love entombed, and th
Is absence of that monument persuaded N
a that this money still lay in its hiding
Ie place on Big Black. l at once made Il
my mind to make the search. and II
next day took Iassags to Grand Gul
le tue nearest point on the Mississippi
g the Big Black. We got to the ferry |
le nightlall aud secured accommodations
a bouse dear by. The next morning
ID took the role Of lRud-hunter aud il
" quirei for Amnm's place. The goC
old lady, my hostess, threw up b,
sI hands and sskea me where had ey,