Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Poetry and Incidents., Volume 2.
Frank Moore, Ed.

Ex-Secretary Floyd--horses.--The papers say that Gov. Floyd has presented a pair of magnificent horses to Jeff. Davis. The Governor, since his opportunity of stealing by the million, has had the means of figuring pretty extensively in the way of gifts. But we don't believe the old rascal would pay his debts even if his stealings were five times as huge in amount as they are.

We presume that the two horses which Floyd has given to Davis are not the same two that he stole from Sam Burke, of Jefferson county, Ky., fifteen or twenty years ago, for these must be getting a little old by this time. Perhaps some of Floyd's admirers would like to know how the old horse-thief managed his little operation with Burke. Well, he lay sick for several weeks in Burke's neighborhood, and when he recovered and was about to start for his home in Virginia, he heard Burke say that he proposed selling a very fine pair of horses. “Oh, don't sell them here,” said Floyd; “let me take them to Virginia, and I can immediately sell them for you at twice what they would bring here.” Burke gave his consent, and Floyd made off with the horses. Burke waited, and waited, and waited, and got tired of waiting. At the end of about six months he wrote to Floyd, asking whether he had not sold the horses. Floyd wrote back that one of them had been for some time indisposed, and he had therefore thought it best not to hurry the sale, but that the invalid horse was getting in good condition, and would no doubt be very soon fit for the market. Burke, not quite satisfied that all was right, made answer that he wanted the horses sold immediately, and the money sent to him, even if it shouldn't be more than five dollars. To that, Floyd made no reply whatever. Burke never received another line from him, but, meeting with one of Floyd's nearest neighbors a year and a half or two years afterwards, he mentioned to him the circumstance of Floyd's having carried off his horses. “Why, my dear sir,” said the gentleman, “I see those horses every day; they are Floyd's carriage horses, and considered the finest in our county.” We understand that poor Burke gave a very energetic expression to the emotions of his heart.

We might give other and equally curious accounts of Gov. Floyd's operations in this neighborhood. Certain victims of his very peculiar financial skill wrote to him while he was Secretary of the Treasury, having a faint hope that, as he had risen in position, he had also risen in personal integrity, or, at least, in personal pride, but they were not able to attract his attention. No doubt he was by far too busy with his new stealings, to be willing to have his thoughts diverted from them by his old ones.--Louisville Journal, July 10.