A Venture In Oil.

In this year was the beginning of the Civil War and for the benefit of
those who came into active life later on I will give them a little of my
experience in a small way. At the time I purchased the store of which I
have spoken I took over a standing contract they had with a firm in
Boston to send them a specified amount of coal oil around Cape Horn, as
near six weeks as any vessel would be leaving for San Francisco. I took
what was on the way at that time and the shipments were continued to me.
At this time it took from sixty to seventy days to get answers to
letters from the East. Time and business go on. We had on an average of
about two steamers a month from New York with the mails. In 1862 the war
tax and stamp act came in force. It was high and quite a hardship for
some but everybody paid it cheerfully and with a good grace, and felt
that they were getting off easy. About this time greenbacks came into
circulation as money. It was legal tender and you could not refuse it.
It made a great deal of hard feeling on many occasions but after a long
time it set settled down to a premium on gold, which fluctuated from day
to day. Finally the premium on gold was so high that currency was only
fifty cents on a dollar, that is, one dollar in gold would buy two
dollars in currency. On account of this many debtors would buy currency
and pay their creditors with it. This was considered very crooked on the
part of the debtor. I myself was a victim to some extent. The "Evening
Bulletin" exposed a great many men by publishing their names but by so
doing it made enemies and it did not last long. All bills rendered from
this time on were made payable in United States gold coin. My coal oil
cost me fifty cents per gallon in Boston, payable in currency. The
freight was also payable in currency. Now my readers will readily see