The Indianapolis journal., 1892-05-22

A CERTAIN interest attaches to old ana
rare coins and issues of paper money which
gives them specia ii value in the eyes of col
lectors. 1t is the rarity that gives value.
A specimen of the small paper currency
issued during the war is rarely seen nova
days. and the possessor of piece regards
1t as very interesting, if not valuable. Yet
at one time the country Was flooded with
them. From 1862 to 1867 these small paper
notes. or fractional currency, as they were
called. were issued and reIssued ia great
quantities. They circulated freely. passing
rapidly from hand to hand. and soon be-
came much worn and very soiled. Strange
to say. there is still outstanding of this
fractional currency Sl5.2s0.67l. There was
issued Of the denomination of 8 cents. S601,-
923.9O; still outstanding. 500. PAT; of cents.
S., 1894. 1854; outstanding. $1.S5s. 9e2. %: of
10 cents. $50, 19S. $3.50; outstanding. S.
C6395l.17; of 10 cents. S5.305. 40;
outstanding. eS240. .533.64; of % cents,
Sl39,031, ,4l2; outstanding. S4,2S. 179.12:
so cents. Sl95. .s9f. $50 5O outstanding. S3 1884,
S1S.05. The grand total of issues. with re-
issues by denominations. being in the az
gregate $685. 724, ,O79.45. and total redemp-
tion, as including S32 900 of unknown de-
nomination. S355, ,443, ,4O7.52, leaving q total
outstanding of SIS. $50. 671. SO. embracing all
the various denominations. The question
naturally arises. where is this large
amount of fractional paper currency. and
who has iti A piece of it is rarely seen
collectors. and some may oc boarded. but
no doubt the greater part is ie-
stroyed or lost. A good deal has
been destroyed by fire and flood.
and good deal was worn out by circula-
tiOn, and never presented for redemption.
All that has been thus lost or destroyed is
clear gain to the government. and il Is
estimated at the Treasury Department
that this amounts to considerably more
than half of the amount now outstandinR.
In the course of time specimens of this
small paper currency will become as rareias
specimens of the continental currency now
are, and Will doubtless command q premi-
um from coln-collectors. They will have
this advantage over continental currency,
that. whereas the latter is irredeemable
and worthless. the former will always be
redeemable by the government at their face
value, NO matter wien presented.
A Mrs. BARKER. who lives in Shideler
Delawar county, has filed claim against
the government for $4,000 under the fol-
lowing circumstances: During the late
civil war she moved with her first husband,
Morris by name. from Delaware county TO
Colorado, establishing q ranch on the ex-
treme frontier. more than one hundred
miles northeast of where Denver now
stands. In 1856 the Cheyenne Indians at
tackled the ranch, killed the husband,
burned the buildings. butchered the live
stock and carried off the wife, daughter
and an adopted daughter as prisoners.
During their captivity they were subjected
to the greatest crueltIes. The daughter
died from cruel treatment, the adopted
daughter was carried off and has never
been heard of since. while Mrs Morris.
after six months of wandering. was taxen
to a United States fort and surrendered.
The officers and soldiers raised u fund for
her relief and sent her back TO Delaware
county. where. some time afterwards. she
was married to her present husband. named
Barker. Her present claim is for the loss
| and damages inflicted by the Indians. Ii
| is hard case. but it is not likely that any
| claim lies against the government.
THE Marion (Ind) Chronicle prints let
| ter from DR.. A. R. Booth. of Shreveport
La. to q citizen of Marion. from which the
| following is an extract. DR.. Booth 10 @
native of Louisiana. but served as a pri
vate in the Thirty fourth Indiana Regi
ment during the late war. and the recIpi
cut of the letter was his former captain
| He says:
| I have had very checkered career since the
muster ont. and for long time was a wander
| being, you might say, forced 10 leave my native
| State and home because ! was in the Union
army. 1 went off to college for two years. think
| ing that then could 40 home without receivinl
| the SCOTS and scorn of my former friends and a.
|, sociates. But in this / was mistaken; theil
| hearts had not softened In the least, and so
| again left home and located here in January
| 1870 | began the study OF medicine and gradu
I ated in 1874. I Immediately located here ant
| up TO the summer of 1854, when I announced
that was a X epublican. This was followed by
| system OF secret opposition that caused my prac
tice to fall of from 800 per annum TO about on
half. and am just now recovering IL. lou cal
| see that TO be a Republican here Is an expensiv,
! thing II Republicans of the North were subject
ed TO one e-tenth of what We have 10 endure. ther,
would be no Republican party.
EVERY year comparatively small sun
of money is needed to meet the expense