The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-03-05
Too Much Money.

6o' o~ O9oH AAoiSAe. VI EOIt
Fenton, recently, "and as the farmers
in that section were partly Missourians
and had to be showed" AID partly
because they had been viotimized 80
often they refused to take checks.
AS result We had to carry our mon
ey in $40 and s20.bills. We started
out with $4,000 in cash in saddle
bag hung over the horn Of my broth
er's saddle. Nothing ever worried my
brother, but / was a nervous fellow,
and felt that all I had in the world
was in that saddlebag, and I ought to
lie awake nights to watch it.
II remember one night We camped
in deserted cabin il che mountains,
and my brother hung the bag on big
wooden peg over the fireplace.
The next morning the horses had
broken picket and were gone. told
my brother to watch the money and I
would 60 out and trail down the
horses. Well, I walked over one kill
and then another, and after several
hours saw them away over distant
prairie. It was afternoon when I
overlook them and started back with
them. Five or six miles from camp I
met my brother who had started out
to find me. I thought Of the money
the first thing and asked him what he
did with it before he left. 'Oh, moth
ing, he replied, L left it on the peg
Now, remember there are all kinds
of men camped in that gulch. It
seemed like thousand miles back to
the cabin, and when I reached there I
was almost afraid to go in for fear of
not finding the bags. But sure enough,
there they were, and all of my worry
was for nothing.
But this was only the beginning of
my troubles. My brother and 1 divid-
ed, and I took about $4,000 with me.
The first day after I left my brother
out on the prairie I saw runaway
horse attached to light buggy. A
man in the buggy was SO frightened
that he lost his nerve and umped.
His head struck rock, and he was
unconscious when I found him. I
was trying to bring him back to life
when l noticed two other men coming
back with the buggy. One Of these
happened to be the constable, and he
was exceedingly ohicious, and 1 saw
that they suspected that I was guilty
Of foul play in some way or other.
The victim Of the runaway was q
stranger to them, and they thought I
had robbed him. AS bad luck would
have it, they asked me what 1 had in
my possession to establish my iden-
tity and also asked me what had in
my saddlebags. When 1 showed them
the money, then that did settle it.
They knew that I had robbed him.
The constable put his hand out toward
the bag to take the money, and I took
him by the collar and told him that if
he wanted to live few more minutes
he must keep his hands off from me
end my property. I agreed to go to
the next town and wait develop
nents, but I wouldn't stand any mon
key work. We were all ready to start
when the man came too and explained
himself. We all went to town, and
while there I met man that I knew
in Benton, and then we oil shook
hands, and they advised me not to
carry 80 much money, and saw me off.
"But that is not all by any means.
On the way back we had a big herd of
cattle to cross at the ford Of the Mis-
souri,, where Great Falls now stands.
That was the best ford for hundreds
of miles, and the only one that was
passablc at that time Of the year. My
brother had all that was left of the
money, about thousand dollars in
$40 bills, in the saddle pockets, and
when about half way across his horae
stepped on a elippery rock, and down
they both went under the water.
"The saddlebag slipped off and
went whirling merrily down the
siream. My brother freed himself
from the horse, and started after the
bags. I rode along the banks, ex-
pecting to see my brother drown or
give up the chase, but he stayed with
it, and in less than quarter Of mile
he swan ashore with it in his teeth.
COZ course, the hundred bills were
soaked with the water, and when we
took them out they looked like a
chunk of green pulp. It was "a bright
warm day il July, and not breath Of
air was stirring. We oamped for noon