Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-07-28
LOST AND FOUND.
I'VE STRRSC ADVENTURES OF AN
OLD FASHIONED SATCHEL
How lie Fell Into the Hands Of a Man
Who Had Always Been Honest and
Then Drfned Back Again After q
Queer Journey.

county, Indiana On the 18th went out
| for squirrel hunt. II was about II O'Clock
| in the morning when | shot my firer s@1tlir-
rel. and as he fell from the limb he broug ht
up among mas Of outcropping rock In
| searching for him found a satchel which
had been placed between two powders SO
that il was securely hidden from anything
except chance discovery One might have
stood within three feet OF it and been none
the wiser. I hauled the satchel out and
found IL to be one Of old fashioned make
though entirely new. \ bit OF mildew had
just begun to gather on the leather, and
judged from that that IL had been there
for week or more. IL was bulky enough
to prove that its contents consisted of
suit OF clothes, and had no great curios-
ity concerning it. Indeed. made further
search and found the squirrel before /
gave the sstchel second look.
q, that time the county was overrun
with tfafnps. UI,v .L&: w.rc LOT numer-
ous along the Ohi6 RIVER, and the majority
81 them were thieves and robbers az well
az public uuisanceE k returned to the
satchel IL struck me that no one would
have entered that dense piece OF woods TO
hide outfit OF clothing a mile from the
highway, and l determined 10 inspect the
contents. II was locked. but | used a
stone TO break it open. and the first glance
jumped my heart into my throat The
satchel was full Of crisp new greenbacks
in packages OF $1,000 each Even after
took one Of the packages in my hand and
carefully inspected the bills / was not
quite sure whether / was awake or dream
ing. There were packages of ones. rwoS,
nves and tens, and every bill was fresh
from the treasury at Washington. l
hauled out one after another until had
counted twenty-seven. Each had a band
around it. on which was stamped the
amount-Si. 90
Experience viii make a man cool in the
face of danger, but one cant become expe-
rienced in finding treasure. believe /
was more ratified over that find than IL
/ had met a highwayman and been held up
for my all. / sat on "A log with those TWEEN
ty-seven packages piled up before me and
shook like a man in chill. 1t was fully
ten minutes before / could realize the luck
that had come my way. Without laying
myself open to criticism contend that |
am an honest man. I have always paid
100 cents on the dollar Of my Indebtedness.
In my time ! have found and restored
many lost articles which a dishonest man
would have converted TO his own use. I
have been freely trusted with the money
Of private individuals, and. after serving
five years a. county treasurer a commit
tee examined my accounts TO discover and
report that the county was in my debt. /
tell you these things in hopes to excuse
myself for what followed thc-finding of the
money.
From the moment / caught sight OF the
money I determined to keep it. We are
all honest until tempted. Some OF US can
be bought for a few hundred dollars,
others demand thousands. Replacing the
money in the satchel started for home.
! didn't propose to share the secret of the
find with any one. even il shared the con-
tents later on. l therefore made my way
10 the barn TO put the satchei in a safe
place. was fully half an hour making
up my mind where 10 deposit IL. There
were several tons Of hay in the NOW, and l
finally climbed up and dug hole in one
corner and deposited my treasure. / moved
at least half "A ton Of hay, and when l left
the place felt sure that it would take an
all day search for any one TO find the
money.
Ny uncle subscribed 10 a Louisville daily
paper and also to several weeklics. was
Just recovering from u wound in the head
received al Petersburg. and my eyes We're
weak ! had therefore done but very little
reading. After dinner got all the back
numbers Of I he daily for ten or twelve
DAYS and at down "a see If could strike
anything regarding that money. As an
old soldier ! bad spotted those packages at
opce. y II of them Fvere treasury notes and
ali had been put mp FOR an army paymas-
ter. In pepper dated nine days previous
/ found what ! was feverishly search
ing for i was a quarter Of a column
article detailing the facts OF the rob
berry Of an army paylnaster at Madison,
Ind. He was on his way down the Ohio
by passenger steamer, accompanied by
his trusted assistant. At Madison, while
the boat was taking on cargo, he went up
town to visit old friend, being gone
about two hours On his return he found
that his assistant lad robbed the safe OF
so. 900 and disappeared
The article went on 10 say that every eff
fort was being made 70 overhaul the rob
Der. who was supposed to have worked
single handed, and that all the chances
were in favor of his capture. None of the
subsequent issues contained news of his
| capture however, and / may state here
| that he got safely away and probably land
| ed somewhere in Europe. There was no
question in my mind but that my ST 900
was n portion of that robbery. As rea-
| soned it out the paymaster's assistant had
| a confederate, and this money was his por-
ton of the spoils, though not an even di-
| vide between them. The confederate may
| have been employee of the boat or a
| resident of Madison. In either case he had
! taken his share and made off and hidden it
| in the woods to wait for the excitement to
| blow over.
| As an honest man my duty was plain.
| That money ought to be restored to the
government at once. / am obliged to in
| form the reader, however, that I was no
| longer an honest man. / had firmly de-
| cided to keep that money, and l could ad-
vance n dozen different excuses to quiet
| that still, small voice which is supposed to
| he ever ready to warn of the error of
| our WAYS. On the third morning of my
possession, while we were eating breakfast,
| nv uncle mentioned the fact that "A tramp
| had come along late in the evening, after
| had zone Ia bed and had been given