The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1889-08-01
81.
WHO LOST THE TEN DOLLARS
A Financial Oonundrum That Drove Man
to His Grave.

Yon are fancier. am n I, but
| had q friend who did OF finan-
cial conLndtum, and although IL is
too late to do him any good
would like to know the answe-.
He was good fellow, poor fel-
low, but he was unlucky. Besides,
he was good deal OF TOOL. He
invested all his money and some
more in G.oriad mining stock. de
saw a great deal about it in q news
paper OF great former morality and
much previous virtue, He did not
stop to note that the stock was 30
per cent. or more below par, nor in
quire il anybody controlling the
financial columns of that paper and
had been presented with block OF
Gloriad stock. He didn't do any
thing but go and blow In his saw
ings in Gloriad. The stock took q
tumble before he did, and at the
roundup he found himself with
large block of Gloriad which no.
body wanted and no money. His
wife died, and his only son, who Lad
been brought up in the expecta-
tioD of luxury, went to tue bad. Be
lievlng still that even q 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 val
ne, and having nothing much to
live for anyhow, he came out here
to Texas to investigate the condi
ton OF the Gloriad enterprise.
His discoveries did not bring
hm either the nearer he got TO the
supposed mine OF wealth the small
Ter was the demand for the stock
emitting him to u share in its mu-
nifcent profits. Having embarked
ia the investigation he went ON al
it. The further he went the worse
he Jared When he struck Eel Paso
he had Just one round, white, silver
dollar left TO his name, and he went
and bought drink with 1t.
The barkeeper took his Amerl'
can dollar and handed him Mexi.
can dollar in change. A Mexican
dollar at that time was worth only
50 cents in United States money.
There were rumors Of trouble the
two republics, growing out OF In
dian raids, and the pursuit OF the
robbers from one country into The
thor A Mexican dollar was
worth only 85 cents in Texas and
the United States dollar was worth
hut IS cents in Mexico. 1t was
carlv in the morning. He had
nothing to do with the rest OF the
day or with the rest of his life, for
that mat ter. The Mexican eagle
ON his last remaining coin sug-
gested something TO his desperate
fancy, and he wandered across to
Ell Paso Del Norte, on the Mexi-
can side. lie brought drink OF
mescal there for Is cents, laid
down his Mexican dollor and re-
ceived an Amican dollar In change,
equivalent TO IS cans Ia Mexican
money. He looked at the coin and
AN idea struck him. II appealed
To his speculative humor.
He retraced his Steps to the
American side, walked into a So :
loon. called for a drink Of whiskey,
paid for 1t with solitary Ameri-
can dollar, which he had received
in change. This he promptly car
ried over the line, bought drink
of mescal and gotta u nited States dol
lar in change. Then he got to think
ing. Here was the situation. he
had precisely the same capital he
started with an hour before, and
had distributed so cent worth of
liquor through his system in the
way OF dividends. The whisky and
mescal were gone. The visible
supply of exhiliating beverage had
been absolutely diminished to that
extent. He had bought it at the
market price. He had paid for It
in cash. He had all his original
capital still In his pocket. True, he
had contributed the labor OF walk
ing back and forth from the Mexi :
can to the Texan side, and vice
versa, but that, rs he shire wdly de
cided, was non productive labor, as
far as the interests of the public
were concerned. IL earn ed nothing
or it added nothing to t he supply
of anything. He might have walk
back and forth until the river ran
day without anybody being the bet
ter of.
Here was u chance to get even
with the section Of country which
had indirectly beea the cause Of his
bankruptcy. He walked back to
the Texas side. bought another
drink, got q Mexican dollar in
change, went back to the Mexico
town got another drink and 8
United States dollar in change. He
KEEP, it up all day. He picked up a
stick and cut notch in it for every
drink, "a theold Indian fighters used
To keep score of the scalps they
took. He kept it up pretty 81 eadily
all that day until closing up time,
aud set at it again the next day as
soon as he could see. He waxed en-
thusiactic over his speculation, Civ
ing a war whoop at every notch in
the stick.
But at length he got wondering
who was losing all this money. APP
parently not the barkeepers. They
were getting the market rate for
their liquor. Suerly not he, for
he was holding his own. The prob
lem bothered him. He was natu-
rally a curious mao. The more the
thought.of it the more he drank, the
more his head swan around with
perplexity, and the IN ore the sub
ject in question became complics-
ted with extraordinary things,
which reminded him of the meusg-
erie he had gone to see when he was
a boy. AT length, when he had
consumed S.. 05 worth OF Texas
whisky and S. worth of Mexican
lnescal, he died in front of the sal
Don where he got the irst drink,
and, with a silver dollar in United
States coin in his poeket-died of
wondering who had lost the $40 O5
worth of two kinds of liquor which
tie had consumed, although the 10
cal coroner said it was delirium tire.
mems.
But neither the coroner nor the
jury explained who lost the $l0.O5
and that's what | want 10 know
Pittsburg Times.