Having managed to put a vast number
of their notes in circulation, for which they received produce, they
closed the doors, and left the public to be losers by their nefarious
schemes. I had the misfortune myself, in my ignorance, to take from a
dishonest store-keeper a ten-dollar bill of this spurious currency, and
did not detect the imposture until I offered it to the captain of the
boat I had engaged a passage in to _La Belle Riviere_, as the Ohio is
called. I must mention, however, that I took it previously to the
interview with the gentleman I have adverted to, and actually, without
knowing it, had the note in my pocket-book when he mentioned the default
of these pseudo bankers. I paid ten dollars for a useful lesson.
The passengers from Cleveland formed a motley group; for, irrespective
of French, Dutch, Americans, and Canadians, we had on board eight or ten
families of the Mormon sect, following in the wake of their leaders,
Smith and Rigdon, to their new settlement in the far west. These people
were very reserved, and seemed inclined to keep aloof from their
fellow-passengers.
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