A silvern secret; or, The autobiography of a silver dollar ...

Front matter

Class _ _ Book_.

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT

•

Chapter I. The Dust Out Of Which I Was Formed

P'or countless centuries, the silver ore out of which I was made, was hidden from the sight of man.

The wild flowers of spring-time, the roses of summer, the harvests of autumn, the cold winds of winter, visited the earth again and again before men came to know of the vast treasure in store for them beneath the rugged surface of Utah. But, one memorable morning, in the spring of 1869, a party of “prospectors” who were searching for lead, ascended one of the numerous hills of Juan County, Utah, and in searching for lead they found that rich veins of silver seamed the rocks beneath their feet. Being ignorant, however, as to the appearance of silver ore, they wasted large quantities of the purest virgin silver.

However, by-and-by, intelligent men came to see the mine, and it was christened “Eureka Hill.” The manner of opening up the mine was something on this order: — They made large cuts or openings on the surface with hammers and drills, and into these they put black powder, which shattered the adamantine rocks as though they were children’s toys. Of course a great many persons laid claim to the treasure, but after much litigation the whole interest was bought out by one company. Vertical shafts were driven to the vein, and the character of the ore was ascertained to be of superior quality. I was greatly gratified when I learned this, and I take a certain amount of pride in the knowledge.

The most of the silver was taken to a place called Sandy, Utah, and underwent a process something like this : — The ore was first put into an immense “rock-breaker.” This machine resembles the human jaws and with these it grinds the ore until it is broken into small fragrants. Next it is placed in drying kilns, the weight being taken before and after heating so as to estimate the percentage of moisture it contains. The “battery,” or stamp, came next. These^ weigh about 850 pounds each. After this, the silver was in a pulpy condition and salt was mixed with it. This mixture was placed in a furnace andjroasted and the silver was brought into a free state so as to be taken up by mercury, or quick-silver. It was then placed in large pans containing quick-silver where the pulp was thoroughly mixed by mullers, or flat iron shoes. Then the mass was drawn off into settlers, the dross or tailings were washed away, and the pure silver with the mercury was placed in large conical shaped strainers made of heavy canvas. The mixture was then called amalgam, and after straining out all- the quick-silver possible, the amalgam was placed in a retort — a large iron pot shaped like an ordinary water glass. An iron cover was clamped over the top of the re* tort and intense heat was applied. Then the quick-silver passed out through a pipe and the silver was in a moulten mass. It was now formed into bricks. Then it was taken to the assay office where small particles were chipped off to ascertain the fineness of the brick.

I was glad to learn that the silver from the Eureka Mine was of very fine quantity, but I have always regretted that so much human toil was necessary before I could be a silver dollar.

The men who brought the silver to the light, or rather who sent it up, have, it seems to me, the very hardest life of all the people of whom I ever heard, but I shall not harrow up your feelings by describing the hardships of these miners. My story is to be only of those persons with whom I came in contact, and I will return to the silver bricks, and in so doing will introduce to you Clarence G. Urban, of New York.

He was a young man of eastern birth, whose father was the owner of one of the largest stove manufactories in the country. Clarence had a few more years of schooling to obtain, and then he too was to enter the business as a junior partner. His father now bore the much coveted title of millionaire. Clarence had purchased a large interest in the silver mine in question, and desiring to visit the western part of the country, concluded to take a trip to Utah to look after his mining interests. Accordingly, he made the long trip, and found so many interesting things in connection with the mine that he felt amply repaid for the journey. When he was ready to return, he was asked to oversee the shipment of a large quantity of silver bricks to Philadelphia where they were to be sold. He willingly consented, and the brick containing the dust out of which I was formed was among the number. Arriving in Philadelphia, he had us taken to a building called the Mint. Here he left the silver bullion, as it is called, and went — I know not where. But now having related the events which led to my entering the Mint, I shall give you a short history of that institution before describing “The Way I Came Into Existence.”

TO

The need of such an institution was keenly felt by the colonists previous to tbe Revolution, and soon after the adoption of the Constitution, an Act of Congress provided for the establishment of the United States Mint. [That was on April the second, 1792.] Consequently three hundred years after Columbus discovered America, a new medium of exchange was added to the coins of the world. The first Mint was a plain brick structure, located on the east side of Seventh Street, near Arch, and its corner stone was laid by David Rittenhouse, director of the Mint, on July 31, 1792. This building was occupied for about forty years. It was then found that a larger and more commodious building was absolutely necessarj'. Therefore, on the 19th day of May, 1829, Congress passed an Act locating the U. S. Mint at the northwest corner of Chestnut and Juniper Streets. The corner stone of this edifice was laid on the Fourth of July, 1829. The building is of white marble after the Grecian style of architecture, and the roof is covered with copper.

The Mint is a spacous building and contains a large number of apartments, but to- describe all of these would be to exceed the limits of this narrative. In giving you my autobiography, however, I thought it well to acquaint you wdth a few T of the causes which led to my coinage.

Chapter II. The Way I Came Into Existence

After Clarence Urban had sold his silver bricks to the Director of the Mint, many curious things took place before I became a bright, glossy silver dollar.

First, in his presence and that of the proper officials, the silver was carefully weighed. It was then locked in iron boxes and taken to the melting room where the boxes were opened by two men, each provided with a key to one of the separate locks. It was then placed in pots, being first mixed with borax, etc., and was then melted and placed in iron moulds and when cooled was again taken to the deposit room in bars, where it was reweighed and a small piece cut from the lot by a man called the assayer. The proportion of fine silver in this chip, of course, determined the fineness of the whole.

The silver was then carried up stairs and the whole mass was thrown into a large tank of boiling nitric acid. Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed after the silver entered the tank until not a particle of that metal could be detected. The next thing to be - done was to recover the silver from the acid. This was done by pouring the boiling mixture into tubs prepared for its reception and adding some salt water to it. This done, the silver sank to the bottom, and the acid containing the alloy was poured off. The silver was now read) 7, for other and more curious treatment than it had yet received. It now somewhat resembled cheese and was carried to the drying cellar. Here it was put under eighty tons pressure and all the water pressed out. It was then dried with heat and conveyed to the furnaces. Here it was alloyed, melted and poured into narrow moulds. The bars of silver so formed are called ingots ; they are about twelve inches long and an inch thick. These ingots are worth $60.00 each. These rooms have a fa^e floor, made in honey-comb pattern, so that it can be readily taken up. It is rough and thus prevents any particles of the precious metals adhering to the feet of those who enter.

The next place the silver entered was the rolling room, and here the ingots were reduced to planchets for coining. It passed through this machine eight times, and the bars were then six feet long and the exact thickness of a dollar. These bars were then placed in another furnace and were heated to a red heat. The silver bars were now soft and pliable and were allowed to cool slowly. The drawing bench was next used, and after passing through this machine, the silver was ready for cutting. This was done by a cutting machine, and after passing through this the planchets were taken to the adjusting room. Here they were very carefully weighed, and if one was too heavy or too light it went through a process called adjusting. This work was done by ladies. The time of my advent was now rapidly approaching, but I was not yet /. The coining department is the most interesting to the visitor, and occupies the larger portion of the floor on the east side of the building. After we were received into this department, I was caught by the milling machine which gave me the raised edge which you may observe upon any of my brothers. The coining press was operated by a lady, and united beauty with strength. Here they stamped upon my face a Liberty head facing left, upon which is a cap, a wheat and cotton wreath, and a band inscribed “Liberty;” above, “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” beneath, the date, 1878, and the thirteen stars. On my back is stamped the American eagle with expanded wings, bearing in its right talon an olive branch w T ith nine leaves, in the left three arrows. In the field above appears the significant words “In God We Trust,” and beneath, a semi-wreath tied and crossed, reaching upward toward the wings, and these words, “United States of America.” I began to feel very patriotic, and for the first time my personality was established. I was now a full fledged silver dollar,/ Worth one hundred cents, and a legal tender all over the United 1 States,

*3

Before leaving this department, however, the dollars were counted by a very ingenious contrivance called a “counting-board.” This board resembled a common washing-board with the grooves running parallel with the sides, but much larger than those of a washing-board. The board was worked by hand, over a box, and as we were counted we slipped one by one into a drawer prepared to receive us. I was then placed in a bag with nine hundred and ninety-nine other dollars and awaited shipment. During my short stay in the Mint, after becoming a silver dollar, I remained in the bag and was protected by a vault, which is made of steel and whose doors are safe doors six inches thick. These are protected by burglar-defying locks and guarded by two men. One of these men represents the Director of the Mint and the other represents the superintendent. Each was a check upon the other and nothing could be taken without being seen and recorded by both. The vault doors could not be opened unless both of these men were present.

After leaving the Mint, I was sent to the United States Treasury at Washington, and placed in a vault to await shipment. My stay here was very short for ere long the bag in which I had been placed with nine hundred and ninety-nine other silver dollars, was sent to a distant city and entered a large bank.

Chapter III. The Bank And My Departure

The bank was a very interesting institution to me,, and here I spent some very happy days. The gentleman who took charge of us dollars when we entered the bank, was called a teller, and after ascertaining that there were just one thousand dollars in the bag, he placed the larger part of the money in the safe. As I am one of the dollars which was kept in the safe, I am able to give you a brief description of my temporary home. It was a steel safe and the door was round. The queerest part of its construction was, however, that the door actually screwed into the body of the safe, and when it was closed and the time lock attached, not a particle of a air could enter the safe. One night we dollars heard a strange sound outside and wondered who could be coming to the bank at that unusual hour. We heard the fire proof vault doors forcibly opened, and discovered by the whispered conversation of the men that they were burglars and were discussing the best way in which to rob the safe. Presently one of them suggested dynamite, and then we dollars began to feel rather uncomfortable, for we knew what a dreadful loss it would be to the bank and the depositors, if these men succeeded in carrying us away. But all of a sudden I recollected having heard the president of the bank say that a Mosler patent screw door bank safe, like the one we were in, had never been opened by experts or burglars, though repeated attempts had been made by both. After that I was not frightened and listened with interest to the plans of the burglars. They endeavored to discover some place where they could introduce explosives, but to no purpose. They tried drills and hammers, and all manner of tools used in their profession, but each attempt was effectually bafRed, and they finally began to swear

^5 and gave it up. This was the only really exciting event that oecured while I was in the bank, but the daily business of the clerks afforded me much entertainment. They were busily engaged in making out checks, looking after collections, answering correspondence, etc., etc. I noticed that all money that came into the bank passed through the hands of the teller. People came in continually either to draw or to deposit money, and on those days that I happened to be taken out of the safe, I had ample opportunities for studying human nature. Rich, poor, high and low came alike to this institution and their one theme seemed always to be mone3' .

But one day I was handed by the cashier to a poor woman who asked for alms. She was a pale faced creature, with a care-worn face expression and tearful eyes. Her dress was of the cheapest material ; her wrap, a faded shawl, and she wore a decidedly unfashionable bonnet, but I was a novice in the fashionable world, and thought it delightful to be pressed so affectionately by that toil roughened and wind reddened human hand. She thanked the cashier very sincerely and then her lips began to tremble and a warm tear dropped on my face. But she hastily brushed it away, and turning slowly, left the bank. She cariied me down the crowded street, and I began to hope she would always be my mistress, she was so careful of me ; but my hopes were rudely blasted, for coming to a butcher’s shop, she entered and purchased a pound of beef, murmuring as she did so, “she needs it, poor little dear, and she shall have it.” When the butcher handed her the parcel, she gave me to him and received some small coin in exchange. The butcher threw me carelessly into his cash drawer, and here I had my first experience of being thrown with counterfeits. One or two coins of that description were in the draw T er, and I at once conceived a bitter hatred for them. Their faces were similar to mine, but they were not silver and / am. You will no doubt conclude that I am an aristocrat, but such is not the case. I do not consider myself better than a quarter, a dime, or any lesser coin, if they are only legal tender, any more than you wealthy people would shun a poor person simply because of his poverty. The pass-port to good society all over i6

the monetary world is true worth, and it would be well if the unit of value were the same in the society of men and women.

But to return to the butcher’s cash drawer ; I was very much dissatified.

About noon I was taken out of the drawer and handed to a genial looking gentleman in a black broad-cloth suit and a fashionable hat. This man carried me to a large dry goods store, presumably his own, and placed me in a drawer which, fortunately for me, he neglected to close. During that day I heard so much about bengaline, ladies’ cloth, muslins and laces that I imagined my education in regard to ladies’ attire was very nearly complete. The customers amused me greatly; they were sometimes so strange. Often a lady would come in desiring to see a certain material of a particular shade. It must not be the millionth part darker or the millionth part lighter — just that shade and nothing else. The clerks were untiring in their efforts to please, and frequently the counter groaned under its weight of material which might possibly suit her, but just as surely as this took place, the lady would say at last, that she would not purchase today, but would probably “call later,” which meant (the clerks said) that she would not buy anything at all. “Ye gods and little fishes” how the clerks would upbraid such customers. They tortured the language to find words fitting the occasion ; they fumed and fussed and sometimes swore, but to no avail. I was, on the other hand, rather glad when such customers came, for they afforded me so much amusement.

But as evening was coming on, I was given out, in company with several others, to an ugly old man in change for a ten dollar bill. The man carried me to a decayed house on the outskirts of the city, and after carefully bolting, barring and triple locking the wooden door, he lighted a lamp and looked stealthly around him. The room into which I had been carried was a small, queer looking apartment with a few broken chairs, an old-fashioned bed, table, and stove as its only furniture.

The old man did not allow me to remain here long, but taking the lamp began to descend a stairway. The man and the steps

*r were both, so old and rickety that the descent was very difficult Finally, he reached such a musty cellar that — silver dollar though I am — it actually chilled me. He placed the lamp on an old box, and its light disclosed a heavy iron door which the old man began slowly to open. It was secured first with a heavy iron chain and was locked by several devices. When he had succeded in opening this door, we descended another flight of steps. These led into a subterranean vault where the weird light of the smoking lamp disclosed a curious picture. Lying on the floor were several bags filled with gold and silver money. He opened one of these and threw me in together with several other dollars. He then closed the sack and prepared to depart. I did not know then what I do now, and thought the old man was one of those despisable creatures called misers. Here I remained for several years, Occasionally our old master would come down and add to our number, each time exclaiming, “a few more, a few more. I wish it were many more, but it will be a good thing for the child, and I hope she’ll appreciate it. I can’t use them, I’m too old and worthless. Yes, that’s what they say about me around the town! I’m a pauper, ami ! Oh yes, let them have their jokes. Maybe they’ll repent them someday.” And so the old fellow would go on. We thought him a harmless lunatic, but wondered where he got the money he brought each week and left among us. One Saturday night he did not come. The next morning came and he did not appear, and we almost forgot to discuss the “silver question,” in our curiosity as to what had become of him.

Several days passed then one morning we heard a girlish voice mingling with the old familar grating of the iron bars, and in another moment the old door yielded and we heard this exclamation of delighted surprise: “Who would have thought it ( that I, Margaret Howe, should have met with such a fortune? The idea of old Uncle Joe leaving me all this money when every one thought him a veritable beggar ! Poor old soul, he saved it all for me, and now he is dead and gone, I am to do what I like with it!” Then for an hour or two she emptied the coins, counted them and then refilled the sacks, after which she sent the bulk of the money to the bank. But before doing so she stooped over the bag in which I had so long languished, and thrusting her plump little hand down among us, drew a handful out. How glad I was that I was among that handful! And if I then had cause for self-congratulation, how much more reason have I now ! She carried us home with her, and what a plain little home it was. Nothing elegant or handsome about it, only Margaret. Sweet blue eyes had Margaret, a queenly head, and a pretty face. She was about seventeen at that time and a perfect little beauty. When .she looked down at us while we were still in the vault, I experienced a strange sensation. It seemed to me that I had seen somewhere before a face a great deal like Margaret’s, lint having been shut up so long in that dark old prison, I had almost forgotten everything I ever knew. But when Margaret carried me to her mother and told her that I was only one of several thousands which she now possessed, I knew at once where I had seen the other face,. for in Mrs. Howe I recognized my first mistress, the poor woman at the bank. She looked much better now and the care-worn look was gone, for fortune had turned in her favor, and Margaret being a studious girl, had obtained a position as governess in a .family of wealth and refinement.

And now I will tell you how it happened that Margaret had fallen heir to the small fortune of which I was the one-fivethousandth part. Mrs. Howe was an orphan girl and had married a Clergyman, rich only in mind and heart. One child was born to them, but after a protracted illness, the father died, leaving the young mother with Margaret to care for. Mrs. Howe liad no relatives with the exception of one brother who never married and lived all alone in the tumble-down cottage where I spent such a long, long time. No one ever suspected that he had money, for he always appeared to be in the direst poverty. But, since earliest girlhood he had loved his little niece, Margaret, and when her father died he made a mental resolution that he would hoard his earnings until he should have enough to make her independent. He was a carpenter by trade and worked steadily year, in and year out, purchasing only what clothes he required and subsisting upon the plainest and cheapest food.

Some supposed that he drank as he seemed to be so poor, others thought him a miser but could not imagine where he hid his gold, little dreaming that a -well guarded vault lay far beneath his humble dwelling. Seldom indeed did any one cross his threshold excepting Margaret. He had been angry at, his sister for marrying her lover whom he hated bitterly, and while for Margaret’s sake he treated his sister with respect, she knew he did not love her. So Margaret claimed the only warm spot in his callous old heart. But lately he had been ill and Margaret had been much with him during the time she was not employed. A physician came daily, but his skill was of no avail, for as the old man himself said: “it’s no use takin’ medicine, for I’m done fer,’’ One morning, he called Margaret to his bed-side and told her that in a certain old chesty of which he handed her a key, she would find a will bequeathing to her all his worldly belongings. “You will think, Margie, that you are .receiving a poor legacy, but after I have gone to sleep for the last time, go down into the cellar of this house and from thence into the vault below, and then you will see how dearly your old -Uncle Joe has loved you.’’ Margie’s eyes were full of tears, and it was plain that the first part of his little talk had effected her deeply, for Margie’s heart was a tender one, and she loved the friendless, old uncle with all the pure affection of her young heart. Margaret’s w;as one of those natures whose likes and dislikes w T ere not affected by popular opinion. She lived in a little world of her own and only ventured out of it, when in the society of those she loved and trusted Among these were many a poor soul, who looked upon the fair young girl with a kind of .reverence fostered in their bosoms almost unconsciously. She was, in short, a ray of heaven’s sunshine, enshrined in a human heart. But we have wandered from the bed-side of old Jonas Jenkins much farther than Margaret would have thought of doing, and in the mean time the old heart has ceased to beat; the wrinkled hands that toiled for this little woman, unknown to all the world, were tenderly folded on the quiet breast by the hands of her he loved so well, and the next day a quiet funeral took place, and the poor old body was laid to rest.

Margaret had supposed when her uncle told her about the vault beneath the cellar that his mind was wandering, and had given little thought to his words. But several days later she took the key of the old house, and thought she would make a tour of investigation through her new possessions. The result of her vi^it you already know. Her mother, as you may imagine, was greatly surprised and could scarcely believe the truth of Margaret’s statements, but after reading the will and an old letter left by her brother, explaining why he had lived in poverty all his life, she was convinced of the truth After a*few weeks Margaret and her mother moved in more roomy quarters, but they spent only a small portion of the money. Margaret preferred tp continue her work until some feasible plan suggested itself to her whereby she could best use her money.

One day Margaret and a young girl friend were walking down one of the streets of the city and I was in her purse with some pap^r money and various small coins. As they passed a jeweler’s window, the young lady w T ho was with Margaret suddenly exclaimed “Say Margie, while I was away on my visit one of the girls I met proposed one day to a crowd of us that we have our initials engraved upon a dollar, and then see whether it would ever come back to us. Suppose we do the same.’’ Margaret, thinking it an odd little pastime at once agreed, and they entered the jewelry store. Now as I was the only silver dollar in her purse, of course, I was destined to be given over to the jeweler with instructions to engrave M. H. upon my face. The other young lady having given similar instructions in regard to her coin, they left the store. The engraving was an experience that I hope I shall never be compelled to undergo again. I thought it must be similar to being vaccinated. However it was finally over, and we were laid away to await the coming of our owners. One afternoon Margaret and her friend came after us and I was glad indeed to fall into her hands again. She put me in her pocket-book, and she and Miss Blackburn (for such was the young lady’s name) started down town to attend (as I ascertained from their conversation) a lecture to be given by a lady from a distant city to the girls of the town. The lecture was called “A Talk With the Girls,” and when the girls entered the hall they found a number of others already there, and a sweet faced lady was sitting upon the platform. Soon she rose to speak, and as her lecture was of such a nature as I think will interest all girls, and as it had such a direct bearing upon my future fortunes and those of Margaret Howe I will give a part of it verbatim. She began thus :