The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1886-05-07
much corroded, but apparently hermeti-

ish and some tid-bits from the shark up
10 the tent, much to the Joy. of the occu-
pants, who could not thank him enough.
Colonel Euler, to wh N Randolph
showed his box, Immediately thought
ne recognized it as one of apeculiar sort
of dispatch-box used by the Confederate
Government for their messages by sea
and in blockade runners, being conve-
nient for carrying in the pocket and for
throwing overheard in case the vessel
was captured. The box was carefully
opened and was found to be precisely
what Colonel Euler suspected-a dis
patch-box of the Confederate Govern
ment. The contents, in addition to
some papers of no present Importance,
comprised series Of long dispatches in
cipher, addressed to awell-known agent
in Paris of the defunct rebellion, and ten |
certificates of deposit, promising to pay
money of Ambrose Gunter's. now on
deposit with the clearinghouse of X.
Animas Freres, Bordeaux, to John
Brown or order, when properly coun-
tersigned. The amount of the certifi-
Gates in all was eight hundred and tiine=
ty-six thousand francs. worth moth
ing, Of course" said Randolph, down
on his luck, as usual.
= "Not nickel, my boy" said Colonel
EuleE Hbut, nevertheless, you must
come with me tomorrow and show them
TO Mr.\ Thompson. Tomorrow is my
well day, and Tn going up to Charles
ton to see about getting shanty put up
for my folks to live in"
In ChWleston next day Randolph was
taken by Colonel Euler to Mr.. Thomp-
son, and Introduced to that gentleman,
to whom he told the story of the shark
and presented the box and its contents.
Mr.. Thompson eyed him sharply and
asked him if the whole story had be en
told him. Colonel Euler vouched Tor
his kinsman, and the ex-secretary
opened the box, glanced at the cipher
dispatch, and turned very pale.
"Have either of you read thisp" he
asked.
"No," said Randolph. 81 intended to
make out the cipher, but have not yet
had time.h
Mr.. Thompson answered nothing, but
| taking the drafts out of the box, applied
match to the remaining papers and
watched them burn 10 ashes with sigh
of satisfaction. ''Perilous Secrets"
young man." said he, ,t'and happy am l
to dispose of them thus. Not only repu-
tations, but lives would have been
sacrificed had those matters become pub
lie. Now, as to those certificates they
are very probably worth nothing-but
you have done me a real service in this
matter, and more besides me, and if you
can get anything out of them and it
is worth trying, you are perfectly well
come to it all. The money belongs to
nobody, strictly speaking-for do not
consider that the late Confederacy had
any heirs-and if you can get hold of it,
do So"
"What money is it, or was itp" asked
Colonel Euler.
II am going to tell you," answered
Thompson, sand it is remarkable in
stance of the hard fortune of war that
seemed to pursue the Confederacy
throughout. You recollect the, ster-
ling cotton loan we made during the
last year of the war-the loan by which
our English brethren were made SO
sickp That money was raised to pay
for ironclads, you know. The gun
boats were built - the Stonewall was
one of them-but not delivered. Di.
plomacy kept us from getting to sea
with the English-built ones, and it was
thought the same reason kept the French
built steamers from going to sea- bu
that is not exactly the fact. We woult
have succeeded in getting them out i
they had been fully paid for. We made
what we thought were ample arrange
ments for completing the payments
but they failed through our persisten
bad luck. For instance, take the cas-
of these very certificates. 1t was nee
essary for us to use all sorts of precau
tions in buying this sort of goods Il
protect the parties we dealt with, for W,
knew the Yankees would throw ever,
mothers son of them into court
Hence the money was deposited in vari
GUS banks in the names of privat
persons, but SO that it could not b
drawn unless the certificates were in
dorsed in a particular way. Thi
is deposit, you see. of Gunter'
money payable to Brown on certain
terms sin other words, it is a Con
federate draft sent out by express mes
senger and payable when lndorsed b
the agent to whom sent. The agen
must indorse it in particular way, an
would not do so unless the messenge
brought certain credentials This sys
tenn of checks and balances was neces
sary for our financial secretary. but il
this case, and several others like it, wa
fatal to our plans.
"The messenger to whom this partiC
ular box was intrusted-young Ricaud
| remember the very morning | sen
him-was instructed to go to Whining
! ton, cross to Bermuda in the blockade
runner Fannie, sail thence for Londor
report to an agent there, and from hir
: get further orders. Ricaud, inOtead {
going on the Fannie, took anothe
J steamer, the Gannet, for Nassau. Th
Gannet was captured, Ricauds dis
} patch-box went to feed the sharks an
| Ricaud himself to rusticate at johnson
Island. Meantime we, who knew {
the Fannie's safe voyage, were COZ
: graduating ourselves that our ager
, was on the road to Bordeaux, and W
: did not discover the truth until it W.
too late to provide a remedy. This Sol
/ of thing happened several times, an
our French gunboats never got to sea.
I "Then those Bourdalese still have OF
, money!" said Colonel Euler
''That remains to be seen. was jul
coming to that point. This particuls
deposit has never been checked out-t
that | am sure. 1t was quite forgotten
Ricaud never got South again till Jun
! 1865, and then his little story was on,
partly credited. But whether Amin: