The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1913-01-09
How | Saved
My Capital
By HARRY VAN AMBERG

years rolling it up into three or four
times the amount, then devoting my
self To gratifying my tastes. which ran
to the fine arts. l considered Wall
street, but friend of mine, Il broker.
assured me that of the persons who
came into his office to speculate not
more than one in twenty went out and
stayed out with a profit. Most Of the
others lost everything they had.
This prospect didn't look hopeful, So
| turned my attention in another direc-
ton. y new mining district had just
been opened TO the public, which
meant that the money To be made out
of the mines had all been gathered by
the first corners. Companies were be-
ing organized with balloon capital, but
they absorbed n good deal of money on
the part of simple minded persons
which found its way into the pockets
Of promoters, stockholders and the
like, whence it was transferred to gam
blerS, Il large part of it going to road
agents.
1t occurred TO me to take n stock OF
goods out To DeadshOt, as the place
was called. The people there must eat
and wear clothes. | would furnish the
food and the apparel at a good profit
and might gather in some of the funds
that didn't fall into the hands of the
promoters. brokers. gamblers and road
agents.
l made money very rapidly-indeed,
far beyond my expectations. The first
difficulty / encountered was to keep it.
1t soon became known that had funds.
and the promoters came down on me
to go in their mines at bottom figures
| resisted their Establishments. They
We're followed by the stockholders.
who offered to put me On TO mines TAX
ing out millions Of gold, whose stock
could be bought for song. These. too.
turned down. The gamblers couldn't
do anything with me, for whenever |
saw one of them coming for me | pre-
tended TO be busy and put him off with
promises to come round when | got
some leisure.
But the road agents, l have not
spoken of them, for so long as l re-
mained in the town they could not
touch me. But the day came when |
had quadrupled my capital, and the
Deadshot bubble burst. The mining
stocks collapsed. The promoters and
brokers went to a new field of plumber
and only remnant of the gamblers
were left. As for the road agents, they
knew that had $4,000 and would go
also. They were waiting for me and
1t between me and the railroad.
DeadShOt was not an accessible point.
There was no express office there and
no stage line to other parts. both hav-
ing been withdrawn after the collapse,
and /, being the only man in town who
had any money, was watched. Even
the road agents made bold to come into
town for the purpose of being in first
when an opportunity should arrive for
plundering me. Had they remained
without they would have had q better
chance, but there were several small
parties Of them, and each party was
anxious to get ahead of the rest. |
succeeded in keeping them ignorant of
where my treasure was or they would
not have had to wait till left town.
The only way | could see to get my
money away was to deceive the road
agents through my fellow citizens.
There was never a time when | was
not asked for loan. and determined
one day to put out some money at in
terest due, say. in three months. No
body would suspect that l would leave
town till the notes came due and were
paid. l should have been prosecuted
for usury, for l would lend a man $50
and take his note for 500. The amount
of the note didn't make any difference
to him, for he didn't expect to pay
anything. / soon had notes due me
amounting to $4,000 for an outlay of
500, though as to the outlay, no one
knew anything but the makers ot the
notes, and none of them knew any
thing about any except his own case.
Having thus lulled suspicion as to
my immediate departure, 1 invited ev-
erybody in town to a party. l took
care that the road agents should be in
vited and that they were present. l
had a special kind Of punch for them
that would turn the stoutest head.
There was a merry time going on at
my house, about midnight, the citizens
being especially affable, and the road
agents, under the influence Of the
punch I had prepared for them ready
to fight each other. But before they
came to blows they decided to go to
sleep.
1 had a fleet horse saddled. and, GO
ing to the barn, lifted a board from
the floor, took out my treasure, mount
ed the animal and to sound Of revelry
that emanated from my house galloped
away.
l had been so closely watched that
greatly feared some one of the various
gangs of road agents would, after all,
be on the lookout for me. OF course !
couldn't be sure they were all at my
party. / drove my horse ut as fast a
gait as dared, expecting every mo-
ment to be halted. But the fact that
1 had money due me threw them off
their guard. and my banquet did the
rest. l got away safely.
At dawn I was at a railroad station
and half an hour later took a train