Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 July 1881 — THE SACK OF DIAMONDS. [ARTICLE]

THE SACK OF DIAMONDS.

None but old remember Dr. Grambois| Le Pharmacien, whMt drugstore is a® the- corner of Es(>lanfls - jxior who resorted to his pharngicie. The business of a New OrleWs druggist *« 111 of a soldier. ''There are periods of activity and repose in both. When an ejrideitiic of ftnjsprt vCcurfed/Dr. GramLois was incessantly employed. When lief ore his pharmacie, as the evening Gulf breeze swept up the uoblq. Esplanade, while frheAlreole goo9 There they \vduld exchange greetings and cigars, discuss the latest news-tom France, bjf from the parishes. The solicitude oftne Creole of that period rarely went beyond home and motherland. Dr. Grambois long since realized the dream of every Frenchman. He has acj4|ii>—iiii ftii—pnirnoy andretomedto' France. - - to read sketches of those days from the narration of the old men who have re- ’ membered them. - We give, then, as a ver iI a MHMMM the history “ JJun sac en diani ants.” “It was,” said the narrator, “in the - year 1842. I was a clerk in wrewrereatrtile house of a Lopisana Creoje, • established in itfie Bpi beem asjfcy ojil ffienfr to France for education. It was amistake common among 'out peoplelfttfihat time. It is much better to train up youth in the country in which they are to pass their lives. ” pense pas comme ca,” interposed Le Pere Renaud, “Je prefere aller en Mexique. Je n’aime pastes coquins Americans moi.” ( The <>ld gentleman arose, walked a few steps on his banquette, took a prolongedqniise of course granulated Per:* ique tobacco from a small silver box, and sat down, . ...... Thefihrt’ftfon of Mr? Paul wont on : “It was-the cuMtopigfOf the CWeotes of L&uteteupiiuf , judi&wtfere were many .in' affctwm&'iit b<>un, as we do lit re, to hdarWcl telPtwe i*ws. A Tetter,'br* a * newspaper, was then a special communication, and we. Would team with interest of the duel between thie young bloods at la Bayou au Chcnes, with the scandal on the sonjJHt , .which had occasioned it? The marriage of softie, or possibly the separation du bienset du corps of some inc&grftiim ! o| improvident couple, or ftekteatlrof home’dld citizen, with the shares of each all of whigh* would revive the memory of the persons ment oned and furnish subjects of conI‘ ' > “Th® Jbcfrd of onr house hAd transactions in Mexico and South America,>ao. WiarworS. eamw sometime tofrour house to learn casual news or to talk about people 'or , events which had in former times interested them.

“One evening there came'the, gi|izen L. Bux. MBB was an ar an oflicst * “ny wayhe hadto sell the chairs and tables of the poor, which duty L • hurif 4 A -11 * 'll H 'll iiuCT wouici say tnat Iw would rather belong to le corps du Dpuape, ajj<l iigltt witlisfclfis thieves and smtfgglejiß. There was ri« doubt ’ such dti|y would bUve suited nim very well, for he had been a soldier of the Emperor to the last, manners, ®lucg i|ptpilpr “We were speaking of the good fortune of an acquaintance in the cochineal trade, who had bought f quanfity of thtft commodity across '"‘to the ports of Mexico during the Avar between Spain and England, find especially how he had once drawn 1 a mule lioad»of silver dollars through Mexico, through the honesty of the arrieros of that country the other. “Mais out,’ remarked Le -Pere Ref naud, ‘you may trusfclM rccu, better zan ztf ’ <4 fay maudite gouvernement of Pensilvanie, Arkansas soldat du gouvernement or ze brigand pour argent. b Ze charge du inulet of zesilvair dollair is wiz imas zS pbSedit uMc.’ “ l i4fe*P6re Renaud illustrated the integrity of the Mexican carrier by several quick brushing from" his vest the particles which fell < -v 'a, “Whentti atveAre merchant Wad belh ms<dtwred,Tjo- Roux remarked, with a laugh: asWffiaF 3 “ ‘And your coup, Mons. Le Roux?’ ians of the Norpi. I had been brought wound**# into MM When I came out of the hospital there Was rio : employment f °r Paris w&§.iuJJiaJwuds, .us-our ■ enemies. It seemed that Qpr-pwn.. nao>. wisled to the Bggrbons. ej& of thegCourtm Wwmjfarne miist hvtUflt'hMEtai]leftn' w ldie* werdCiS^hS J bottom of Was d’Admes. T could at least eolqjine. Thev-crrtflfl not Muybc I hatPhelped to bud,Tit at’ Lodi >MatengO, whMgM||& Wawploo, y6sl . . man said: I ‘ at ■pint eagle?’ 1 orcM. m> *> wSo d°for empjovsokWrs know little of the lay?. Ido not hfiifMerol Cue Court. The Hmperwgaftde the le. mot d'ordre. But I said that I would go to my village, where I had worked in the field a' boy, I could do SQ

sometnmg for men like yourself. There is lor us nothing in this country, and we nrtist go abroad. We are founding col■oniesin America. I to mA Jap fasyle in Brazil. Do you wish tq go?’ “ 'bb at Al 4 I “ YWWfWRTb EdiiWw* “‘frmust reflect.’ “‘Take this paper, read it, or have it read to you, and report if you choose, to Bii<i« number 0n sfich a street.’ |hat®his was an enterprise in good faith, and I accepted it. “I emigranted to Brazil. It became gwAIW fts> frilctisC^JbJoifc to itfoforsupplies. While there at one WiOXiSSi tentive view. He was a tall, well-fonjjed, andjhandsome man, dressed like th JKter classes of that people._y y■brjfo, an i )a ßf“p onß tlifcrdbwer and his jewelry rich, rbfcAnple. Of ; . course, I was personal dangers but my curiosity was excited, as 'Tffrough't it possible ne might have something to ask at my rather than ant intention tq offer mejvi<flence. ■I" accordingly turned,, and asked in the language of the country* •* (Jp you follow me ? . . -“ 'lttfe!because you are a fored£nq&;, Sfa a Frenchman.’ - ■ “ ‘Are you a min of courage?’ ■ ’ ‘I am ifot afraid of you? “ ‘Are you poor?’ '"“ Btcinne-to this cursed country to to gain wealth.' So far, -it has not arriftd? ■ ' . . ■ C **♦ ‘Would ~you risk your life for wea|ts’f’z 1 \ ; . “ .‘I have risked it for thirty Centimes ft MO! J " [fOU-W “ ‘For what then ?’ Jpaifc. n °t tell; but if you wish to r Tiwfc' Ydt^Hf ß against the certainty of to-morrow to the garita on road. You will find a man saddled and fitted for a Jbimiey. He will accompany you a day’s ‘journey.' You will be received at the . vent* Xtavernj. The day afteiwaßl'Will Jfind another guid# and mule. will another fifty’s ’journey. "You . will stay at the venta, where you will find another guide, who will accompany you on the journey of the third day. Ask noquestions, either of your guide or at the venta. You will receive no satisfaction. All you want will be supplied, and you will be safe from any danger. Do you fear ?’ . , “"‘I may lose my contract of passage to France ?’ ■“/ You had better do e’o.’ . * “‘Xconsent.’ “All this occurred as intended. My journey was into, and through the forest; it passed estates of sugar, coffee, and fruits. We crossed streams on rude ferrugged fords. It ■ tfib hixuriaut trees,' 'and vines, .•pidilow- ■ erk, with the parrot, the parroquifo, and me monkey#—-once there was a serpent . and once a sight.of a Brazilian tiger. ■ ‘‘ ‘Un ti.gre royal ? ’ “ ‘ messcurs, une tigre veritable avec les rape noir. u At the emJ of the third day our course was into the heart of the mount ains/ We arrived in the night at a Veuta, in a solitary place. .My guide spoke a few words to the proprietor, who Ordered the mule to be taken. My baggage was carried into a room, and I had rest and refreshments. I in .that venta for two days. All my wants were supplied, but no one asked me , anjjr questions. I ~had of when one Jay an ludfari Toffe tfeross the prairie, Slid' up to the door of the venta. I heard him ask:

“ ‘ Is there a Frenchman here?’ “ ‘ There is ah cstranyero. ’ “ ‘Senor,’ the Indian asked, ‘are you will follow; me.’ “ I paused and reflected. ‘‘ he repeated, ‘if you wish, or you will return. It is . with you. It is the message of the J’adrdn.’ . *' ‘ Why should I fear for jny' life? Of what value was that to any except my- ‘ Pctfo! Pn avdntP “And bo we departed. During, the day the guide halted and said;? • • *‘ ‘ Serio/, we must' now bandage your eyes. ’ “ Decidedly this was becoming more mysterious; but my curiosity est in the case put Ml fear, sfud I rode with the ghtcj?;; With myk eyes asdf: I had been playing cache aaWie! for af’ treasure. So, I again cried, en avant! and we rode until I heard a great noise of shoutiiig and of instruments of the ' epnjjtry. This was a, fete My bandage was -taken off 4”% I was in a camp. There were hundreds of miners ' and people pi the country. 11 . There were " many blacks who I have now no doubt • were slaves, who had escaped from the royal mines. There were fires of a lnmi«<j» ami resinous wood which made tlm i the natives playecT ’ririth all' the nonchalance. of a Spanish gamester. { There were booths of goods and trinkets, piles of native feted and fruits,' sandals and earthenware. The inercbah ts were chiefly natives, men and Women. Silver was abundaiit, and brokers there- to <Teal in diamons, of which there had been (lately a considerable..distribution from the mines worked H &at neiXborhood. I JksWß to » teM whfcWf 1 found food, wine and water for repairing the fatigue of the journey. In an hour as ‘You wilt go to the tent of El Padron Joaquin. ’ WiWIWt “ ‘ You have come?’ “ ‘I promised.’ , “ ‘Listen. I am Joaquin, the con-trabaM-dMr en The people jtWttkywA wa Jadeud*. and* my soldiers. This camp is guarded like a fort. My people obey my orders, whatever they -»J3£®lS:s The vigjyuipe. of fbl?-Government render# it imjwsSiMe-for- inc to send them away. To o f-.a diamond, without satisfactory explanation, is death. Th<M jdUmdnda are of; no value to me..' *lf in would be a fortune.--Not fortune as you French deem, few thousand francs, but a fortune for me, . Joriquiu, upon which I would live im Europe prince. ’ “‘Do you fear ?’ ? ‘TfMt the peril.. On one it waw* to die. On the other 1 to return to, France. ' A rec de quoi vivre de mes~ dentes. l repeated that I was ready. > mtUwfcUd a »uklft at its side. I reeeßijKtehto the hands of Joaquin a small wlpch was conceaied •Mt# I had mounted. The man gave me; fibre# of the country. I have it yet, with the knife. The was lost trjr tl)e gqngmith.

‘Frenchman!’ said the Indian, ‘take this sack and defend it as your life. It is the same thing as your life. If captured with the sack you will not have more than an ‘Ave’ between you atod eternity. When you shall have traveled two days and a half the guide will return. Chauge clothes with him. Buy a/carga of charcoal. Disguise yourself as much like a charbonero as you can, and place this sack under the charcoal. When you shall have hidden the sack secutely in Rio, resume your name and employment. Wait in Rio one year. If you do not see me in that time yottwill return to Europe with the sack. I shall be dead. The sack will be yours.’ “I offered to give him my name and.the place in which I might be heard He had already obtained both from tlie colonial agency I suppose. I was then blindfolded and Carried beyond the limits of the camp. - “It was the rule o£-fhe band wifii all strangers. In tfie morning the bandagewas taken off.'by'Hie guide, who had walked at my side, and whom I did not exchange a word exceptto invite him to take* a part of my wine, which he ’did, sparingly. Arriving at the point indicated, the guide stopped. I obeyed the exchange clothiijg, in which, indeed, I received r very poor equivalent. The hat of coarae fibre, the shirt of cotton, the pantaloons of the same material/ which came no lower than my knees, with coarse sandals, completed the attire.j The guide produced’ a small gourd com?’ tainipg the mice of a plant whicK gave brow! the skin. My hair, which waA-Mpng and black, was made straight, and &*t<h the douched hat, gave me an as something between a ladrone and aSajhleteett ft good 4j<al pf coal dust grimed ardftud-my neck, ■fapd ’ ftpa, eyes, completed the’‘disguise. all this himself; stepping back-apd:regarding 'me from time to time as an artist would have done his work. He., then fook. the saddle and furniture from off the mule and led him away into the forest. In due time he returnnd&wtofr ttnw: Jtofe. sftckp of charcoal Si#d find gave me thelnefrsures and ipnces at winch the coal was to be sold. I knew well enough the money and n*a#resapfgta Thegnidc took | lml|cM(ln| t «»e| him monel W fflectliited by ft gesture. He tiien turned into the forest? and I was left with my mule and his precious burden.

1“I W 1? -V'Uhin three leagues of Rio and advaheeil lliriviilg the mtilo before me. I met of, the Stolid people who mftdeslgiiwofwlnta't.ion With mord or less curiosity.. Some seemed?to think. I was a new hlevchdrui du tkarbiH, bht none seemed to doubt my nationality. Of course I(kdpt tile Juule between myself and these passengers ias much as possible. I began to think it would do. My thoughts bad indeed escaped from the peril of my situation and I was beginning to think'unce more of Paris and tlnvßio Guinfefte.wherein two years befqAnuMAW lltle girl who I had tlioiupnf aft jl| should hays ftcquirddfthe means to dcy so. A prospect*w%s now apparent. I began to retrace her features. It occurred to my mind that in returning to France as a millionaire I should embarrass the poor girl greatly by elevating her to a social o class so far aboye her awn. In justice . to her; then, I AvouldnOt com plicate her, or nfyselT; In tn rts medttnting * I was by a person who stood in front of my rfiuie. *To my surprise it Was the guide, accoutred just as he had been before our exchange of lltfbiliments. “ ‘Senor,’ he, ‘the road is guarded by soldiers. They have heard that a large value (muchos reales') has been taken from tlte hlfrtes, and they await the bearer. Buenos dios Senor.’ And. this impassive messenger turned and disappeared: i “It was certainly unnecessary for him to advise me. I turned my mule from the pathway into the forest, took the leather sack of diamonds on mYshpulder to ftonceal it in e . some place in which no one would be apt to find it but myself. I had nothing but a kqife with which to teake an excava- - tion. I worked for eev’erat hours, and haring fqod.foi myself, led my mule to wftter ami tethereddrim id ‘some* shrubs which he seemed to like, and toiled until late in the night. When the day appeared I marked the way from the pathway in the most priytent manner possible, and taking my tnide and its cargo’ somewhat diminished in . vajue by the deposit, resumed my ’ road' to market. About 11 o’clock I wa* halted by a pickets guard. They looked at me with sfispicion, but' proceeded immecjjately to examine my dharfio il' It was emptied out of the sack/bn Vto* gtound. * I was searched and’ about to be stripped; which would have shown a marked .difference in the color of my legs abd body, when the Sergeant said; “‘Pobre Diivolo, he couldn’t have the diamonds upon him. They were in a leather sa : ck. ■ Let him go ; ’ “Upon this reprieve I began to gather up the coal in such a manner that my resemblance to one of the trade was a good deal improved. Iy as asked if I • had seen or heard of any one on the road. I told of my purchasing the anii mal at the Camp los Perdidos, and so managed to escape and proceed on the trip. Ido not suppose that the housekeepers of Rio had ever made a better bargain for their drusieros than in the sacrifice of my stock. The mule was converted into money the day after The purchaser no doubt thought I had stolen him. I returned to my lodgings at night, resumed my clothing, but awakened next morning with a burning fever, which increased until it reached insanity itself. “ On my restoration to reason I found the French Consul at my bedside. My hotel experience was very much that of Gil’ Blas—my money, clothing and baggjage had been absorbed by the expenses of my illness. The Consul disregarded my remonstrances. He had no funds to pay my board. A vessel bound for France was in port, and I was sent on board. Froin the passengers J heard my own story m detail, except that no . suspicion of a foreigner had been awakened. * That vtas something for the fuJhire. ‘ ’ “I had indeed nothing at thii moment 'iqj remain for; but reserved a purpose to return at some future tiine when .all fthduld have been forgotten, and carry ifoff le sac en cuir plein de diamants. H made the passage to Havre. Soon after my return to France I decided that there would be little danger of blighting the future of little Desire Le Blanc, by marrying a millionaire, and so she has been for several years M’me Desire Le with several little boys and girls reacly to inherit my wealth when I should get it. “Perhaps the same reason that induced the tall Indian to perform a desperate service has induced the Government to employ me as a law officer, where there are sometimes desperate men to be arrested. So here I am. “ ‘And your Indian? Did you never hear of him? “ ‘ Never, from that day or night. “ ‘Monsieur,’ said oar patron, ‘do you think you could Jind again your treasure?’

“‘I am cer^ajn.’, q;. “ 'Rave y£>4^never proposed to return?’ ¥ qy “ ARtepeatedly, but no one would’ listen. OtiS said, in your fierce cerebral No “ ‘ What think you was the vaiue of that sack,?’ “ ‘Monsieur, ft was the accumulated plunder of twenty years, by a good judge of diamonds. The sack must haye weighed seven pounds, of which there of course a yery small part of the preciotYli sto'rfe.” “ ‘ And you think ypu coiiM find the place of-Wposit again?*

/ '*<■ *1 am certain.’ “ ‘Tfow much would such an expedition cost?’ “ ‘ I could make it for 20,000 francs. This would include the support of my wife and children during my absence, with the assurance of something to them if I died on the expedition.’ “ ‘Nothing more was said. The next day the Patron said to me: “ ‘You heard the Conte of Le Roux, what do'you think of it?’ ‘lt was blague!' “-*¥ou do not doubt its truth?’ “No, but the government has long traced; that peasant and that mule. ijHr has shot the peasant and dug the ground for miles around the charcoal camp.’ “ ‘What, to find all those diamonds at once ? There they dig down mountains for a few ! Je arrow ca, moi !' “ ‘But do you think the search would be worth 30,000 francs?’ “ ‘No. Brazil is a country of dense vegetation. A man working in the night, in fear of his life, would not regard the surrounding objects with sufficient care to identify them again. Remember that thirty years have elapsed since the diamonds were hidden. ’ “ ‘lthink differently,’ said the head of the house. I know Le Roux to be a man of truth. He would not have otherwise retained his employment so long. If they were in the United States the men who have invested their money in search for the treasure of Capt. Kidd would form a society for this search. For me, I have resolved to invest 25,000 francs in the enterprise. I shall entrust the execution of the enterprise to Le Roux. You will have charge of the money. Prepare to accompany him.’ * ‘This decision took me completely by surprise. It involved quitting Paris, which was to me then as quitting the world. It was a bouleversemcnt totale of all my plans and pleasures. 1 was an industrious, accurate and honest clerk, but then one is not always bending over the ledger. There was the theater, the Boulevards,. La Bal, the restaurant, the gay companions, la petite fille ouvriere a quiez’emft Rue La Harpe. “ ‘Alni,’ said la Pere Renaud, ‘Je vous connais bien, Mons. Paul; vous etes bon gar con, mais aussi un garcou bien gai sur occasion, n'est ce pas.’ “Upofl reflection I determined to dissuade the patron, if possible, from the adventure, and if I failed in this, to tell him that for me to go it was impossible. “He yielded to my arguments, but I ihave since thought it was because he saw I could not be persuaded to go, and he Imd no one else so trustworthy. Years afterward I lived some years in ‘Jllanish America, and thought more favorably of the chances of success, if undertaken in company with the old soldier of Napoleon. ‘“And Le Roux ?’ “As the patron had never mentioned his purposes to him, the subject was never referred to again. I have, however, often wondered whether, with a Jittlp more enterprise, I might not have succeeded in finding the deposit of le sac a diamants and fait. Aussi rentes a Paris. ” —New Orleans Picayune.