The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-01-05
RUINED BY THE ANTS.
The Unfortunate Plight of an Old
Man Who Buried His Money.

A Paris (Tex) correspondent OF the
Fort Worth Gazette tells the following
st ~ of a One-time Californian who died
there recently.
Old Go0deuough was a character we
never did know much about him. For
long time we knew nothing. His coming was
as sudden as that of a prairie dog from lis
burrow. OF massive build, though show
ing the wreckage of age, he had yet re-
tanned in good part a semblance OF the
hercules he must have been in his youth.
Not less than sixty years had scanned his
face. grizzled hair and beard, and sunk his
keen gray eyes deep beneath their bushy
brows, from whence they peered like
half tanned creatures. full of suspicion OF
all that approached.
Once be dropped that he had a living
brother and then shut up and none
ever knew anything more about his
family. Where he kept his money was
his secret. None ever went over bank
counters, he trusted neither natural nor
corporate persons with 1t. but hid it away
in such places as lie thought best suited to
cOnceaiment.
One day he entered local bank the pict-
ure Of misery. In his hand he carried wide
mouth bottle or glass Jar. In the jar was a
gray greenish mass. My God, sir; l am
ruined" he almost sobbed, addressing the
President See there; l had some money,
not much but all l had, and ! put it in this
bottle, sealing 1t up tight and buried 1t
mouth downward 50 the water would not
get into it. Like a fool l trusted 10 this
paper money and these internal ants you
have here found their way into the G0ttle.
and look at their work, and indeed the ants
had made mess Of II.
How much he had in the bottle or the de-
nominations of the bills he would not say.
but getting the address OF the proper official
he forwarded his ants nest, and in due time
| received the value of all the Government ex-
rcrts could identify. After that GOodenough
was a hard-m0ney man, and not piece of
paper would he have.
The banker. who through the episode of
the ant nest became somewhat on speaking
terms one day chaffed HIM about his queer
/ methods OF deposit and IN return learned
the reason why the Old man distrusted
banks.
Once while living in California, which by
the way was the only country he ever adj
mitted being in, he had accumulated quite
sum IF money IN an nut-Cf-the-Way place at
which he lived. The possession OF the
money troubled him, and he became pos
| sesseSsed of the idea that certain inhabi-
tants Of the Gulch contemplated raidlng him
for his money.
So one day he started with his money for
q town several miles distant, having per-
HtiIlst4 AitliSNl4 ttlt 44O uti bttttA td.lh II.
The town had a savings bank, and thither
he intended carrying his wealth. The
thought struck him that II the robbers
visited him and found no money they
might force a confession Of its deposit and
use means to persuade him into signing a
check.
To guard against this anticipated danger,
when he reached the bank, at which he was
a stranger, he deposited his money and got
his pass-book in fictitious name. After
while he drifted away from there and at
different places drew on his deposit in his
fictitious name At last he anchored here,
and one day concluded he would send for
his money.
The simplest way would have been to
draw on the bank ID the name he had de-
posted by, but that did not suit him. He
mast take extra precautions, and so wrote
the bank in his name Of GJodenOugh, Civ
/ ing detailed story OF his rOOber fears, his
deposit IN fictitious name, inclOsed the
| pass-hook and requested the money sent TO
him.
OF course the bank regarded the whole
story as fraud, and notified Mr.. Good
enough that he must prove his story and his
Identity with the alleged fictitious deposjtOr
OF he could not get the funds. Equally, Of
course, GOOdenOugh could not comply. He
had So managed that he was his only WIT
ness, and to sum 1t up as he did they kept
my money
TIE banker proffered his help, but the
/ ola man would diyulge neither the locality
| Of the bank nor the fictitious name he had
/ used.
! Soon after this ne died. No means were
/ found about him. though it was pretty well
! known that he had means, but his hiding
places were never discovered He carried
! 10 his grave the secrets of his kindred, his
/ hidden money and Of the location Of the
bank and Of the fictitious name in which his
| money was deposited in California. Ii
| ghosts are ever realities GOUdenoagh's
spirit viii frequently visit thaI Hibernia
! Bank which somewhere in California car
| ries his deposit among its unclaimed