The Tupelo journal., 1906-02-09

ter the war when cotton was
high, but growing higher, a for
tuous circumstance came to him,
and he had the good judgment
and sagacity to embrace it. One
evening two gentlemen, riding
fine horses, rode up to his gate
and asked to remain over night.
This was readily accorded them,
as this was always one of the
money making means of Mr. Cum
mings. 1t was at a time when
feed for horses was scarce, and
each of the horsemen had a long
small sack of oats, which they
told Cummings they carried to
feed on at such places as they
could not get feed. Mr.. Cum
mings thought this rather a
strange tale, for two reasons;
first, the sacks would only hold
enough to feed about two days,
and, in the second place, they
were careful to carry their oat
sacks up stairs to the room as
signed them. After supper these
gentlemen called Uncle Mack up
to their room and told him that
they had been told that he was
altogether responsible and relia-
BILE, and a man to whom they
might confide everything they
had and it would be safe, and
that while it was true they had
oats in their sacks, the oats were
only there to hide the gold they
were carrying. They also told
Mr.. Cummings that they had
been told that he was we'll ac-
quainted with every hog path
and by way in the county, knew
the people perfectly, had a fine
influence with them, and could
buy more cotton than any man
in the county, and they were
anxious to employ him to buy
cotton for them, and offered him
a fine price for his work and his
influence. Atonce the possibil.
tiles of the opportunity flashed
into the mind of Uncle Mack AND
his far seeing discretion told hin
that he was to be no newer o1
wood nor drawer of water for
these northern fellows, but that
ne himself must be an indepen
dent dealer. They put it to hia
in every conceivable way, keep
ing him up till midnight endeav.
oring by their persuasion to in.
duce him to accept. But no, he
had business of his own requir-
ing his special attention. Finally
they gave it up for the night, but
hoping to succeed better in the
morniug. But they did not know
the man with whom they were
dealing. Cummings had resur
rected his little stock of gold
from beneath the old pine trees
where it had rested all through
the war, and, although the stran-
gers kept him up so late, he was
on the road and far out in the
country before daylight, with
sufficiency of gold for one days
work. His plan was to buy all
the cotton he could and pay as
little cash for it as possible, CIV
ing his note for the balance to be
paid when the cotton should be
removed, and giving papers to
that effect. Often he could buy
cotton for five dollars cash on
the bale, as everyone knew him
to be entirely responsible. Cum
mings kept his own counsel, and
left his wife to take care Of the
gentlemen when they came down
to breakfast. When the stran-
gers came down to breakfast.
which they did a little late, as
they had been up late the night
before, they failed to find Mr..
Cummings, and could get no
trace Of his whereabouts. In the
meantime, he was making hay
while the sun shone. He trav-
ersed the country from one side
to the other, and wherever peo-
pie would sell cotton he bought,
until he had all the cotton in the
country, with only a small pay
ment made generally, and his
note given for the balance to be
paid before the cotton should be
moved. Wherever the strangers
went to buy, they found Cum.
mings had preceded them, and
secured all the cotton to be had.
Finally they began making over
lures to Cummings to buy his
cotton, and he made trade with
them by which he made net of
the cotton he had bought over
twenty thousand dollars in gold.
Few men would have been able
to have seen the possibilities that
| lay in the road to success in this
matter. Uncle Mack was always
an independent dealer, never
working for wages after he saw.
i ed up enough to transact bust
mess on his own account. He
always thought that the advance
lin price in the market of any ar.
ticle you might buy was a better
/ business than working for an