Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-07-16
ISLAND POND, VERMONT, JULY I6, 1886

lot of small pieces of various denomi.
nations which were very ragged looking.
He wrote that they were the remaining
portions of bills which had been carried
from his money drawer by mice and nib
bled into shreds. They were turned over
to some of the female employees, women
so experienced that, although they have
only a tiny shred to go by, can tell posi-
lively from that shred the face value of
the note of which it was a portion, its
origin and the date of its issue, even
should there be not a single letter or fig
ure upon it. 1t took these experts only
a tritling space of time to discover that
the nibbed fragments had formerly be.
longed to counterfeits. However, as the
sender had made no affidavit in the mat
ter, he escaped punishment"
"Can you show ne some curious speci-
mems of notes which have been re-
deemed"
Certainly. Here Is an odd-looking
affair which is a 81 note. A man care
lessly left it in the pocket of white vest,
which garment was shortly after both
washed and i-oned. You can imagine
the state of legal tender after undergo
ing such thrilling ordeal. Here is a
So note pierced with four holes. 1t was
found carelessly folded in the pocket of
murdered man. He had been shot
several times, one of the bullets tearing
its way through the folded note, which
was shortly afterward sent here for re-
demption by the dead mans relatives.
We did our best to alleviate their grief
with a brand new bill. Still another
specimen comes from the Chicago fire.
1t is simply quantity of ashes pasted on
a sheet of paper, and represents a 81
note. Your inexperienced eye cannot
discern figure or letter upon it, but
our clerks displayed little embarrassment
in recognizing it as an old friend. We
received vast amount of charred money
from the Chicago fire, and redeemed the
larger portion of it.
ApropOs of fires, recall an interesting
case which occurred in 1870. In that
year a steamboat was burned on the Mis-
sissippi. Among other valuables which
went to the bottom of the river was an
Adams Express safe containing over
5000, 900. The company offered as a re-
ward to whoever would raise the safe one
half of such amount of its charred contents
as should be redeemed at the Treasury.
A diver went to work and, after some
trouble, landed his prize, which was at
once forwarded to us. Our clerks found
the numerous packages of money in q
condition much resembling bricks COM
posed of solidifed ashes. This did not
disconcert them in the least. They went
faithfully at their tasks and, with the
aid of exceedingly -bladed knives,
manufactured solely for this purpose,
they patiently separated note from note,
or rather ashes from ashes, until they
had completed their work with infinite
honor. So we'll did they accomplish it
that out of the original amount we were
able to redeem $3.50, OO0"
"How about destroying notes which
have been Withdrawn from circulationF'
"We have destroyed in single day
1885, 900, ,O00."
"What is the method of destructiong
"We have curious contrivance which
does the work much in the same way as
you would grind coffee This has been
decided upon as the safest plan. We
formerly burned it, but discarded that
method for various reasons, one being
that sometimes, after one of our periodi
cal confagratlons, small shreds oi
charred notes would occasionally be
found in the streets adjacent to the
Treasury. The supposition was that
draughts carried them from the furnaces
up through the chimneys, and so into the
outer air."