Wild Cat Times

County Clerk E. B. Clark, in arranging the court files in his office, occasionally runs across a ouriosity. Such a paper ke called ye local's attention to the other day, it being "a copy of the asselts of the Bank of Ypsilanti, as gold by the Receiver, at auction, Aug. lötb, 1840." Hastily glancing over the gales we notieed a wonderful shrinkage of values. For instunee, ten notes of as uiany different individuali, given for $10,000 each, were all sold to one person for $502. $1,000,000 of securitiea had shrunk to such a sum I Worse than the '73 panio. These notes were undoubtedly those of the stockholders of the bank, and given in place of money as stock paid in, and were bid in by a third party to get them out of existence. There were other large shrinkages, too. A note, held by the bank, against Jas. M. Grayhaiu, f'or $7,518, brought $9 ; one acainst Jobo Clifford, for $1,000, brought $11; oqo against 1'. KawsoD, for $20,000, was bid in for the rcuiarkablo aum of $7, while anotber, against the same party, as agent, for $8,000, brought $6, iuaking a total of' $13 for outstanding notes representing $28,0001 ïhe best sale given was that of a note against Wm, Hardy, for $2&b, which solU for $126.25 ; and the next, ooe ag&in.t D. Ballentine, for $317.94, which brought an even $100. The list was a very long one, represeDting uiillions of dollars, while the atnount realizod carcely reached into thc thuusands. Anothcr quite notieeable feature was the amount of bilis of other bank held, and the money realized for the same. Confining the list to this oounty, wc find bilis of the bank of Manchester, amounting to I $991 ; of Sharon, $67 ; Superior, $78 ; I Saline, $9,000; Washtenaw, (this city) $30 ; of these the Manchester bilis brought $103, Saline, $75; and Superior, $21 ! Of banks througliout tha state we found the list included the St. Joseph Co. Bank, $333; Berrien Co., $147; Oaklaud Co., $123; Lenawee, $75; Shiawassee, $260; Jackson, $90 ; Saginaw City, $20 ; Farmers', of Oakland Co., $11 ; River Rasin & Lake Krie, $3 ; Singapore, $4 ; Homer, $1; Battle Creek, $1 ; Lapeer, $23; Utica, $2 ; Sandstone, $7 ; Coldwater, $2 ; Monroe, $10; Clinton Canal, $13; Tecumseh, $4; Allegan, $3; and Keusington, $1. This vast amount of currency shrunk to $324. Money was plenty in those days, and the settlementof this oíd Bank of Ypsilanti tells a sad tale of how fortunes vanished "in the twinkling of an eye." The wild cat banks should be assigned a place in our history of importance.