Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-23
wHa Losr THE TEN DoLLARs7
A Financial Conupdrum That Drove .
Man TO His Grave.

Man to His Grave.
From the nttsburv Tine.
i"n are a naancier. am not, but I had .
mend Who died OF financial conundrum. and
although it Is too late 10 do him any good,
would IKE to know the answer
He was n good fellow. moor fellow. bu, ne was
uhiueks' besldes' he WAS good deal Of . fool
ne invested all his own money and some more
in Gioriad mining stock. He $50. gra., se.l
ABOUT II In newspaper Of great former moral
ity aud much previous yirtna he Ala M, s,op
10 aote that the stock was vs. per cent or NOR.
below par. nor inquire il ANYBODY eon,rollinp
The financial columns of that paper bad been
pre-, nted with block Of Gloriad s,ocl he
didn't do anything but go aud blow in his saw.
lngs IN Glorisd. The stock took a tumlle hs-
tore he did. and at the round up he found HIM.
| self with large block OF Gloriaa which no.
body wanted and no money. his wife died.
aud his only son, who had been brought up ia tb.
expectation of luxury. went to the bad Re-
heving still that even Il mining stock which
could get quoted and noted every day In the
paper that used to be honest when his grand.
father read it must have some value and bnv
ing nothing much 20 live for anyhow be came
ont here 10 Texas 20 investigate the condition
of the Gtorlad enterprise.
His discoveries did not bring him either con.
ISOLATION or cash. He found that the nearer he
was the demand Tor the stock emitting him 20
share in its munificent profits. Having en-
barked IN the Investigation he went on AZ L.
The further be went the worse he Jared Wien
be struck Fl Paso he had just one round white
silver dollar left 20 his name. and he went and
bought a drink with it.
The barkeepcr took his American dollar and
handed HIM a Mexican dollar in change A
Mex dollar at that time worth only
eighty-ve cents IN United States money There
r. a fro. Iafur hs. tn,
publics, growing out OF Indian raids and the
pursuit OF the robbers from one country into
the other. Mexican dollar was only worth
eighty-hNe cents IN Texas and the United States
dollar was worth but eighty-five cents in MeN-
leo. IL was early IN the morning lie had
nothing TO do with the rest OF the dny or with
the rest OF his life. for that matter. The Mexi-
can eagle on his last remaining coin suggt sted
something TO his desperate fancy. anu he wan
dered across tO FL Psso Del Norte, Oh the Mex
lean side. He bought drink OF mescal there
Tor fifteen centS. laid down his Mexican dollar
and received an American dollar in change
equivalent TO eighty-hve cents IN MeXIcAn
money. Tie look ed nj the com aud an idea
struck him. Ii appealed to his speculative
hUmor.
lie retraced his steps TO the American side
walked into saloon. called for driBk %
whisky. paid for il with his solitary American
dollar. which be had received in change on lhe
other side and got Mexican dOllar in change.
1 h's he promptly carried over the line bought
a drink OF mesCal and gotta United States dollar
in chai &c. 1hCn he got to thinking. Here
was the situation. He had precisely the same
capital he started with an hour before ana had
distributed 90 cents worth OF liquor through
his system in the way of divld, nds The
whisky and mescal were gone. They were no
further Use 10 ANYBODY. The visible supply OF
eNhiiaratiLg beverage had been absolutely
diminished TO that eXtcut. He had bought q
at the market price. BE had paid for il in
crsh. He had all his original capital sull in
his pocket True. be had contributed the Labor
OF walking back aud forth from the Mexican to
the Texan ,ide aud vice versa but that. ~ he
shrewdy decided. was non-productive labor,
at tar ar the Interests Of the public con-
cerned- Ii earned nothing. for IL added uoth-
ing 10 the supply Of anything. tie might have
walked back aud forth until the river ran dry
without ANY body beng the better uff
Here Was chance to get with the Sec
ton of country which had indirectly been the
cause of his bankruptcy. He walked back to
the Texas side. bou lat another drink. got q
Mexican dollar I'D change. went bach 10 the
Mexican town. got another drink and a United
States dollar ia change. He ktpt 10 up all dRy.
Tie picked up a stick and cut notch in il for
every drink. as the old Indian fighters used to
keep score OF the scalps they took. He kept it
up pretty steadily all that day uutif ciosing-up
time. aud set at il again the next day as soon
as he could see. He wa1ed enthusiastic over
his speculation. giving a war-whOop at every
notch in his stick
But at length be got wondering who was los
ing all this money. Appar, ntly not the bar
Keepers. They were getting tue market rate
for their liquor. Surely not he. for he was
holding bis own. The problem bothered him.
lie was naturally curious man. The more he
Thought OF It the more he drank, the more his
head swam round with perplexity. aud the
more the subject IN Question became COM
PHI sted with extraordinary things which re-
minded him OF the menagerie be had gone 10
see when he was boy. AT length. when he
had consumed S505 worth of 1exas whisky,
and s5 worth o. Mexican mescal, he died in
front of the sa'. a where he got the first drunk,
and with silver dollar in United States coin
In his pocket-died of wondering who had lost
the sl0.05 worth of two kinds OF liquor which
be uad consumed. although the local coroner
said IL delIrIum trem,ns
But neither the coroner nor the Jury ex-
pla ned who lost the $40 %. and that's what
want To know.