0V 
 
 JAMES HSK, JB.. 
 
 A FULL AND ACCUEATE NAEEATIVE OF HIS 
 
 CAEEEB, HIS GEEAT ENTEBPEISES, 
 
 AND HIS ASSASSINATION. 
 
 MARSHALL P. STAFFORD. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 YOBK: 
 POLHEMUS & PEAESON, PRINTEKS, 114 FULTON STEEET, 
 
 1872. "
 
 036*0 A <r>i 
 
 Entered Kxsotding to Act of Congress, in the ywr 1*71, by 
 
 MARSHALL P. STAFFORD, 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
 
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 .27-5 
 V5C 
 
 A. LIFE OF 
 
 JAMES FISK, JR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CHILDHOOD AXD SCHOOL-DATS HIS EAELY HOXX A TEK- 
 
 MOXT PEDDLEE .HIS MUST SENSATION. 
 
 James risk, Jr., was born in Po\mal, near the historic 
 town of Bennington, in the southwestern part of Vermont, 
 April 1st, 1 835. At the time of his birth his father peddled 
 from this point as a centre, visiting the adjacent country 
 in all directions with one of those carts which were much 
 more frequent before the revolutions caused by railroads 
 than they now are, being a small variety store upon wheels, 
 and carrying nearly everything that a rural community ordi- 
 narily puchased, from a silk dress to a jewsharp. While the 
 son was still a small child the father moved across to the 
 east side of the Green Mountains, and established the base 
 of his operations at Brattleboro, in the southeastern corner 
 of the State, on the Connecticut River. It was here in one
 
 4 HIS EARLY HOME. 
 
 of the loveliest spots in the " Switzerland of America," in 
 the heart of the Green Mountains, in the midst of scenery 
 generally supposed to foster and develop some of the finest 
 traits of character, that passed the childhood and youth of 
 the man whose career is the greatest wonder as well as 
 one of the most significant commentaries of the times. 
 Here, in the little " deestrict " school, he received all of the 
 very limited education he could be induced to take in ; 
 here still live many of the friends and companions of his 
 young days, who have watched his career with the greatest 
 wonder and amazement and now talk of it with deepest 
 ' interest ; from here he has taken not a few of the play- 
 fellows and acquaintances of his early life to fill places of 
 various kinds that have since been at his disposal ; here 
 he grew up to manhood, was married, and first entered 
 into business on his own account ; and here he first dis- 
 played in the same marked way, though on a smaller 
 stage, the same striking traits which make him so con- 
 spicuous now, and exhibited abilities so marked as to lead 
 to his being called to other and larger spheres of action. 
 
 Should you enter the Revere House at Brattleboro and 
 casually remark to the affable clerk, " I believe this is the 
 town that has the honor of having produced Jim Fisk ?" 
 he will answer you, " Yes, this is the very house where he 
 used to live. His father built it, and sometimes used to 
 run it himself when a satisfactory tenant could not be 
 found. Jim himself used to wait on table in that room 
 right in there," pointing to a room beside the office, now
 
 BOUNISCENCES. 5 
 
 used as the general room for reading, -writing, private 
 conversation, etc. You will at once perceive that you have 
 touched upon a subject in which your interlocutor takes 
 much interest, if net pride, and about which he delights 
 to talk. He will lead the way to the room previously des- 
 ignated as the scene of Jim's first services to the public in 
 the capacity of garcon, the character in which he vented 
 his first puns and Jew cTesprits, thereby rendering himself 
 no small favorite with the guests. Your attention will 
 here be called to one of the walls of the room, now become 
 a " Neptunian wall " or a kind of " Poets' Corner," being 
 set apart for a collection of memorials and souvenirs of 
 its hero, consisting "of the cartoons and caricatures which 
 have appeared from time to time illustrative of the various 
 episodes of his career the whole forming a not uninter- 
 esting epic, told in rough legendary art of the pre-Raph- 
 aelite type and making a quite unique adornment But 
 there is one piece in the collection, one chapter in the story 
 thus told, that would now undoubtedly have for the world 
 at large a much greater interest than all the rest. It is 
 the smallest and oldest of the collection. It is of Mr. 
 Fisk's own design and was executed at his own order and 
 expense while as yet he had no dreams of the life that 
 awaited him beyond the hills or of the peculiar interest 
 that would one day flow back from him and hover 
 arouiid this earliest embodiment of his artistic and aesthe- 
 tic sense. It is one of the original business cards with, 
 which he brought himself to the notice of the public in
 
 HIS FAMILT. 
 
 his grand peddling enterprise. The frontispiece cut ie a 
 fac-sknile. 
 
 It is only quite recently that this house ceased to bo the 
 home of the family, they having always retained room& 
 here and made it their headquarters ever since it was built 
 by the senior Fisk. But they arc all gone from it now r 
 the settlement of the two children elsewhere having broken 
 up the family nucleus, leaving only its traditions to cluster 
 about the homestead. The father was for a timo con- 
 cerned in some of the speculative schemes of the son, but 
 ill health and- the increasing weight of years having in- 
 capacitated him for the cares of business, he now lives 
 a life of retired leisure upon tho competence which h& 
 amassed during his many years of business. Mr. Fisk'a 
 own mother died when he was a small child. Hi& 
 father soon married a seeoad wife, a Brattleboro lady 
 who was always much esteemed in the village where- 
 all her life has passed. His half sister was a very 
 pretty -and pleasing young lady, much liked and highly 
 regarded by all who knew her down to tho hour she- 
 was married and left her native village. 
 
 The old residents of tho place, the eye-witnesses of hia 
 childhood's days as they flowed quietly away, who can 
 still vividly recall his boyhood, speak of James as having 
 always been a pleasant, kind-hearted boy, with no bad 
 traits, a general favorite, always wide-awake and lively, 
 boiling over with animal spirits and fun, " rather rattle- 
 headed and always full of his traps," always on hand
 
 * ON THE PEDDLEK'8 CART. 7 
 
 conspicuous if anything was going on, and so well known 
 for being quick-witted and sharp at repartee, that his 
 advent in any circle was ever a signed for getting the 
 laughing apparatus ready for use. 
 
 Having no inclination to books or school, but being im- 
 patient to enter the arena of active life and commence his 
 battle with the world, ho began while yet a boy to accom- 
 pany his father iu his peddling trips. This life had a great 
 charm for him then, suiting his disposition and inclination 
 exactly, and ho at once displayed such a natural aptitude 
 for it that his father soon consented to let him have a cart 
 by himself and make trips alone over some of their routes. 
 A very few of these trips sufficed to show the son the 
 better peddler of the two. By this division of their labor, 
 acting upon separate lines, the amount of their sales was 
 greatly increased, and it was not long before the father 
 gave the son an interest in the business! He then imme- 
 diately began to manifest the traits which have been so 
 striking throughout his career and make him so conspicuous 
 at the present time The carts were more gaudily painted, 
 more spirited horses were driven and more showy harnesses 
 were used. But the conservative nature and old-fashioned 
 notions of the father repressed these inclinations and 
 greatly hampered their full play. It was not long before 
 their ideas as to the proper manner of conducting their 
 business were radically different and inharmonious. The 
 son favored great innovations and an extension of their 
 operations, while the father was naturally contented with
 
 8 . IK BUSINESS FOB HIMSELF. 
 
 things as they were and regarded the schemes of James 
 as boyish, wild and all nonsense. Dissatisfied with this 
 state of things and impatient of the restraint which his 
 father exercised over his burning ambition and projects, 
 James, Jr., as the easiest remedy for all his difficulties and 
 as the best and most effective way of settling all their dif- 
 ferences, boldly proposed to buy out his father's interest 
 in the business, boss it himself with undivided authority 
 and conduct it wholly in accordance with his own ideas. 
 Satisfactory terms were offered, a bargain was struck on 
 the spot, Fisk senior came down from the cart as a part- 
 ner and remounted it as his son's hired man at a very 
 liberal salary. Instantly the whole appearance and or- 
 ganization of things was changed as if by magic. The 
 
 
 sole proprietor now determined to extend his operations^ 
 
 employ several men and send them out with carts as 
 branches of his establishment, and reduce the business 
 to a regular organized system. Two new four-horse 
 carts, the most elegant that could be procured, one for 
 himself and the other for his father, replaced those they 
 had been using. Eight horses, the most showy and 
 spirited that could be obtained in the region famed for 
 the finest " Blackhawks " and "Morgans," were secured 
 for them j and harnesses of the finest material with the 
 most elegant and glittering mountings were made to 
 order to be in keeping and complete the turnout. The 
 carts used by his subordinates, though of course much 
 mailer and less pretending than these two grand estab-
 
 THE NATIVES DAZZLED. 9 
 
 lishments, were yet all after tlie same neat style, muck 
 more elegant than those ordinarily used by peddlers and 
 such as to give a proper reflection of the grandeur of 
 the resplendent central orb. 
 
 Whea everything was ready for the first campaign 
 under the new regime and all were drawn up together 
 ready to start at the word of command, the quiet 
 villagers of Brattleboro, those who had ever been 
 the playmates of the youthful commander, or given 
 him a bloody nose in boyhood's battles ; those who had 
 sat round the hotel fire with him many a winter 
 evening whittling sticks and getting off gibes ; his first 
 little snub-nosed loves with whom he had sat on the 
 front seat in the little schoolhouse and played puzzles 
 with one eye on the teacher and to whom he had written 
 and slyly passed along many such communications as, 
 "Sal du me this er sum, look out not ter let ole specs 
 kech yew duin it ur'he wil swot my ers J, F, Jr, p s i luv 
 yew an ma i go hum with yew arfter skool ter nite ; " those 
 who had always spelt him down to the foot of his class on 
 such words as peddler, cart, honor, modesty, shame, and 
 judge, which he always spelt pedlur, kart, onur, mudesty, 
 sham and jug ; those who had seen him tumble down and 
 bump his nose in his first efforts to stand alone and walk ; 
 the young and the old all crowded round in their garb of 
 many cuts and colors, with eyes and mouth agape in min- 
 gled admiration and amazement and feeling not a little 
 pride that the very neatest thing they had ever seen before,
 
 10 THX FIEST SEXSATIOJT. 
 
 even in the grand procession of Dan Rico's circus entering 
 the village with the great brass band in a gorgeous chariot 
 at the head, was now so completely eclipsed by their own 
 modest little town. "When the eyes of his fellow towns- 
 people had gloated and been dazzled by a minute inspec- 
 tion of every detail and ho had drank sufficiently deep 
 of the glory of the occasion, tho great lion of the hour 
 mounted his grand cart, drew up the reins over his four 
 nervous steeds, brought a graceful flourish of his long whip 
 to an end .in a loud snap and dashed out of the village of 
 quaint beauty followed by his glittering retinue. James 
 Fist, Jr., had created the first of his long series of grand 
 sensations. How vast have been the contributions levied 
 from many fields to feed the ever-growing flame lighted by 
 that early scene in his village home, the world knows but 
 too well ; but in all the many grand tableaux of which he 
 has been the central figure whether as admiral, resplen- 
 dent in gold lace ; as colonel, the centre of a sunset pageant 
 at Long Branch, or astride his mettlesome charger leading 
 his regiment of braves up Broadway ; or as impressariq in 
 his private box or standing at the head of the grand en- 
 trance staircase in his marble palace as the throng flow in 
 and out on successful nights in his theatre, the largest and 
 most brilliantly gilded in America it is doubtful if he has 
 over tingled in every tiniest nerve with such a keen relish 
 of gratified pride and self-importance as on that bright 
 morning when those whom he had always known gather- 
 ed around him in their homely attire perhaps the most
 
 UWFAVOBABLB PKEDICTIOS8. 11 
 
 \ 
 
 respectable, honest and worthy company he has ever 
 drawn together. The keen and delicious edge of the first 
 enjoyment was more than sufficient to counterbalance the 
 grander proportions of each succeeding repetition, and, 
 moreover, there was a genuineness and sincerity in that 
 first demonstration, while a mawkish curiosity and a smile 
 of contempt have been the chief ingredients in all its suc- 
 cessors, and no one knows better than Mr. Fisk how to 
 appreciate this difference, notwithstanding that in the 
 absence of the genuine he glories in the spurious. 
 
 When the pageant had passed away and the gathering 
 had scattered to their work and to talk over the great 
 event, not a few of the staid old rustic spirits shook their 
 heads dubiously, sagely predicting a disastrous end to 
 such extravagance and giddiness, . and slept the more 
 soundly that night from the consciousness that they were 
 not the young man's creditors, nor had their names on the 
 back of any of his I IPs. But the subjects of these 
 gloomy forebodings and misgivings saw not the clear 
 vision and perfect confidence of the guiding spirit, which 
 is the main element in every enterprise, nor foresaw the 
 favorable consequence of conducting the business with ad- 
 mirable organization and system. 
 
 Mr. Fisk gave to each of his subordinates explicit di- 
 rections as to the road to be followed for a week, and the 
 route for each was laid out so that they would all come 
 together and meet their commander every Saturday after- 
 noon. Each then gave an account of his stewardship for
 
 12 PEDDLING SYSTSMATIZMX 
 
 the week, and made known his wants in the way of new 
 stock, etc. Some large town on the railroad, to which 
 new goods cottld be ordered in advance to meet them from 
 market, was always selected for the weekly rendezvous. 
 The time from Saturday to Monday was devoted to bal- 
 ancing accounts, refurnishing supplies, mapping out the 
 courses and giving directions for the ensuing week. The 
 smaller carts were sent out as skirmishers on either side to 
 visit the more secluded regions and smaller villages, {he 
 main lines of travel and larger towns being reserved for 
 the visitations of the two larger and more imposing es- 
 tablishments. The amount of business done and the ac- 
 count sales for each week under this plan of operations 
 were many times as large as those of an ordinary country 
 merchant. Indeed, many of the latter class of tradesmen 
 bought much of their stock of Mr. Fisk instead of going 
 or sending to market themselves, so that he was in reality, 
 and to no small extent, what his card announced a 
 "jobber " in the trade. 
 
 When on the road in these trips he always drove in a 
 dashing style at the rate of ten miles an hour and never 
 failed to attract everybody's attention. Men working in 
 the field rested from their toil to watch him as he passed ; 
 the inmates of every house ran to the windows to catch a 
 sight of the grand turnout and held up their babies to 
 look and .cease crying. As he came flying into a village 
 and drew up at a store or tavern, all the children gathered 
 round at once to gaze in admiration every boy resolving
 
 OH THE BOAD. 13 
 
 that when he grew up to be a man he would have just 
 such a cart and go peddling, every girl feeling sad at the 
 misfortune which shut her out from all the pleasure of the 
 same ambition and resolve and left her only the cold com- 
 fort of vowing it should be a man who looked and did 
 just like that she would have for her husband. Country 
 lasses peered coyly through the shutters or from behind 
 the curtains, wondering if he would call at their house, 
 their innocent hearts- rising to the mouth and falling 
 back again with the alternations of increasing prospect 
 or parting hope. The women admired, men envied 
 and were deferential, and he in turn was gracious 
 and affable, always jocose, scattering pennies and candy 
 among the children, bewitching smiles among the sweet- 
 sixteens, and consternation among their mammas. In a 
 word, he was a great gun generally the biggest gun ever 
 seen in the towns he visited. And now that he is so fa- 
 mous and his early career is known to thousands by 
 hearsay quite as well as by those who witnessed it, it is 
 surprising how many there are in every town within a 
 hundred miles of which he ever travelled in those days 
 who have a most vivid remembrance and give the most 
 minute description of just how he looked and the appear- 
 ance and sensation he used to make when he drove by on 
 their road, though he never set foot in the town. 
 
 It is the fashion with certain journalists to refer to this 
 period of Mr. Fisk's life in a sneering tone, as though it 
 implied disgrace or discredit, and to indulge little flings
 
 14 XmWO&XHY SNEERS. 
 
 about "peddling shirt buttons," etc. The sneer is a mean 
 and unwarranted one, and destroys the force of whatever 
 is said in connection with it by disclosing an unworthy 
 animus and a disinclination to "give even, the devil his 
 due." There may have been some dealings on a petty 
 scale in his business at this time, as there are in the deal- 
 ings of nearly every tradesman in the world, not except- 
 ing those whose palatial stores cover acres of ground, em- 
 ploy armies of clerks, and constitute an object of pride ,to 
 the largest city on the continent, as being without an 
 equal in the world. There is more petty dealing in the 
 business of nineteen out of every twenty tradesmen in 
 the world than there was in Mr. Fisk's peddling business, 
 so the fling cast at him applies with greater force to them 
 and should be used only when it is intended to express 
 contempt for all tradesmen, as a class a thing which the 
 said journalists would not dare to do. The influence of 
 such a training upon the mental, moral and social traits is 
 undoubtedly very different from that exerted by a college 
 course and the liberal professions ; but if this be a iault 
 or just cause for a sneer, it applies to the vast majority of 
 men including many great journalists as well ; and cer- 
 tain it is that if all the little affairs in the past private 
 life of certain exceedingly snobbish " renegade English- 
 men, " who seem to take most delight in these flings, and 
 think there is groat force and virtue in them, were laid 
 bare to the public they would be much more obnoxious 
 to sneers and have much greater cause for mortification
 
 HIS EAELT RECORD. 15 
 
 than has Mr. Fisk for anything in his Brattleboro record. 
 There is no other period of his career so free from taint, 
 so much to his credit. He drove the best bargain he 
 could, as do all tradesmen, for that is their business ; but 
 no charge of unfair dealing was ever made against him 
 at this time. It is but fair to accept the opinion enter- 
 tained of a man by those with whom he has lived and 
 dealt and who know him most intimately ; and when Mr. 
 Fisk left Brattleboro no damaging reputation or gossip 
 attached to his name but he loft behind him a good 
 record in all his relations to life and society. It is as un- 
 just as it is unnecessary to fling mud upon such a record 
 for anything that has since happened.
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 THE BOSTON DRYGOODS CLERK - THE GOVERNMENT CONTBACTOB 
 - ADMITTED TO THE FIRM OF JORDAN, HARSH & CO - A MON- 
 OPOLY BUNKING COTTON THROUGH THE LINES - INCOMPAT- 
 IBILITIES - HE RETIRES FROM THE FIBM. 
 
 i '- --- 
 
 The drygoods used by Mr. Fisk in his business at 
 Brattleboro were purchased flf the young Boston house 
 of Jordan, Marsh & Co. This firm was not only im- 
 pressed by the frequent large bills of goods which their 
 young customer from Vermont purchased but was also 
 struck by his general bearing and manner of doing busi- 
 ness. Detecting in him abilities worthy of a higher and 
 larger sphere of action, and perhaps spurred on by the more 
 self-interested desire to secure the abilities of such a 
 stirring man in their firm, they suggested his aban- 
 doning peddling and entering their establishment as a 
 salesman. There was much about his peddling business 
 that was very congenial to such a nature as his and he 
 liked it not a little. There was constant change, variety 
 and moderate excitement in the life, constant opportunity 
 for indulging his inclination to sport and jokes ; he was
 
 WITH JORDAN, MAESH & CO. 17 
 
 his own master, -wholly independent ; and, above all, he 
 was very conspicuous, the cynosure of all eyes, the centre 
 of an almost constant sensation an aliment indispen- 
 sable to his contentment. But his style of living and 
 conducting his business was extravagant for such a trade. 
 He hated and would not practise that rigid economy 
 which alone could make it a paying enterprise. Hia 
 expenses were so great that the promise of pecuniary 
 success was not good. For this reason, as well as for the 
 attraction there naturally would be for a man of his 
 temperament in passing from a peddler's cart to a very 
 large wholesale house, and from a home in the country 
 to life in a great city, the proposition of the Boston firm 
 was at once accepted. With that promptitude which is 
 one of his most marked traits, he wound up his business 
 at Brattleboro immediately and entered the house of 
 Jordan, Marsh & Co. on a salary. 
 
 The inexorable laws of his nature here exhibited them- 
 selves very strikingly at once, and in a manner as unex- 
 pected to himself as to his employers. The salesman 
 seemed entirely out of his element. The young man's 
 energy seemed to have suddenly collapsed. "Drum- 
 ming" customers was a work he instinctively recoiled 
 from and could not do. Exhibiting goods and talking 
 a man into a purchase suited him no better. It had an 
 air of pettiness, servitude and dependence that grated 
 , harshly upon every fibre of his spirit. There was no 
 eclat or dash about it. It was a fall from the position he
 
 18 THE DRTGOODS CLERK. 
 
 liad enjoyed in the- country, where people came to him 
 and wanted to buy, where he bossed and gave orders and 
 managed things with a great flourish, and was looked up 
 to by all as being a grand affair. Now ho was insig- 
 nificant, swallowed up in a great establishment with 
 many gradations of clerks, -where he was bossed and had 
 to take orders. Ho felt the change. Leaving the coun- 
 try for the city seemed to have been a great mistake. 
 The prince of country peddlers had bee*n spoiled to make 
 a very poor city salesman. In short, his first six months 
 in Boston were a complete failure and at the end of that 
 time the firm advised him to return to his peddling bus- 
 iness as being that for which he was best adapted, and 
 in which he would meet with most success. But here 
 another marked trait of his character and nature asserted 
 itself and appeared in bold relief. He is not a man to 
 acknowledge failure in anything he' undertakes. His ia 
 one of those spirits that much prefer to fight on un- 
 daunted against every obstacle rather than brook such a 
 thought as returning to what has once been laid aside to 
 go up higher. In this first trying circumstance of his 
 life he acted from that impulse and instinct within him 
 which has ever been his trusted and unquestioned guide, 
 the one light by which his steps have been directed 
 through all his remarkable career. To the suggestion 
 of the firm ho replied " Give me a fair chance, Mr. 
 Jordan. Don't be discouraged too quick. Try me six 
 months more. If you are dissatisfied at the end of that
 
 HIS OPPOETTINITT COSIES. 19 
 
 time, I shall be glad to quit. I'm not particular about 
 any salary. I'm willing to accept a commission on my 
 sales for my pay. Only let mo have a fair chance." 
 There was something in his manner that inspired hope 
 and confidence and his request was readily granted. 
 Ho had not the slightest tangible reason except the 
 vaguo but potent something within, like Sheridan's " It's 
 in mo and it shall come out ! " for indulging such hope 
 and cherishing such faith. Ho had not the remotest 
 definite idea how his salvation was to bo wrought out. 
 His hour came, however, and then he speedily justified 
 his wisdom in following impulse. 
 
 The war broke out. Ho saw in a flash that this was 
 his opportunity and he instantly embraced it. The gov- 
 ernment must have large supplies of woolen and cotton 
 fabrics and there were large and very profitable contracts 
 to bo given to somebody. This was enough for him to 
 know. Hero was attractive game, a foeman worthy of his 
 steel. The spirit that chafed at -being an inconspicuous 
 salesman and felt humbled and ashamed to go about 
 "drumming" small purchasers, here saw something tho 
 management and securing of which would make him a 
 man of some importance both with his firm and "with 
 those whom ho had to approach. It required abilities, 
 tact, liberal, ideas, was on a scale sufficiently grand to 
 gratify vanity, the profits sure to bo derived wcro im- 
 mense, and when once secured ho would only have to 
 give orders and directions and not attend personally to
 
 20 eOVEENMENT CONTEACTS. 
 
 small affairs of detail. For these prizes Mr. Fisk was one 
 of the earliest, most active and most successful contes- 
 tants. He foresaw all, scented his trail, and set about 
 accomplishing his design before anything of the kind had 
 occured to the firm. He soon secured several large con- 
 tracts for his house and they speedily changed their opin- 
 ion as to the advisability of his returning to peddling. 
 The man's peculiar genius 
 
 " for ways that are dark, 
 
 s And for tricks that are vain," 
 
 came into full play and shone in all its brilliancy in 
 securing the first contract. It is said that a Boston lady, 
 through the influence of one of the Massachusetts Sena- 
 tors, had obtained a large contract for supplying under- 
 clothing for the army and had already disposed of a 
 portion of the contract to a prominent Boston house. Mr. 
 Fisk at once set to work to secure a graceful introduction 
 to this lady of much consequence, succeeded, and ingra- 
 tiated himself \vith her so speedily that he induced her to 
 annul the sub-contract she had already given out and 
 award it to his rival firm instead. Other contracts soon 
 followed from the same source and the profits accruing to 
 Jordan, Marsh & Co. therefrom were immense. 
 
 This stroke, though brilliant and successful, was soon 
 quite eclipsed by another. The firm had quite a large 
 quantity of blankets that had been on their hands for a 
 long time and which were now stowed away in one of the 
 lofts and regarded as dead stock. An idea struck James
 
 A TBIP TO WASHINGTON. 21 
 
 one day. He went immediately to the head of the firm 
 and simply said "Mr. Jordan, I'm going to sell those 
 blankets up in the loft." Nothing more explicit in re- 
 gard to his designs or the idea he had conceived could be 
 got out of him ; but it had now begun to be felt that 
 when James said he was going to do anything he would 
 do it, and so, with a smile that was a mixture of hope and 
 incredulity, he was answered, "All right! -Go ahead 
 and sell them for anything you can get." The next train 
 for Washington carried James Fisk, Jr., among its pas- 
 sengers. The nest morning of course James Fisk, Jr., 
 was registered at Willard's. Of course he had one of 
 Willard's best suites and lived in as free and sumptuous 
 style as Willard's generous larder and capacious wine 
 cellar permitted. It is of course that he did all this, for he 
 never had done, and by the laws of his nature never could 
 do, anything on any other than a grand scale, in the best 
 style, in a manner sure to attract attention. Strange 
 though it may seem, the doors of that suite of rooms were 
 not closed to quartermasters, congressmen, or any one of 
 position or influence among the powers that were. If 
 any such came they were admitted as readily and made 
 as welcome as any one else to all the hospitalities. There 
 was great popping of corks, the sparkling goblets passed 
 freely round, the landlord filled the flowing bowl and 
 kept it running over, everybody enjoyed life, and 
 
 " Jim Fisk is a jolly good fellow " 
 was nightly sung with great gusto by a company in the
 
 22 AT WILMKD'S. 
 
 usual hilarious mood in which that tune becomes a great 
 favorite. The host while overseeing every desire sup- 
 plied, joined in the " flow of soul," got off innumerable 
 puns as if free from every care, 
 
 " And hb smiled as be sat by the table 
 With a smile that -was child-like and bland." 
 
 At length, as one of those incidents in which conversation 
 around the social bowl is ever fruitful, it casually leaked 
 out that there was great need of blankets of a certain 
 kind for the army. As a most fortunate coincidence, Mr. 
 Fisk happened to havo a hundred or two with him as 
 samples of some he could furnish to supply the pressing 
 want. He produced them for inspection with an air of 
 much indifference and, as he did so, facetiously quoted 
 Artemas Ward's famous pill-box label, " For such people 
 as liko this kind of pills, these are just the pills they 
 ought to take." A joke and a laugh is said often to go 
 much further than logic in swaying a jury. Whether 
 facetiousness bo equally potent with quartermasters is 
 not so well settled, but there is in this case some further 
 indication that human nature is ever the same under all 
 circumstances whether in the jury box or under a 
 quartermaster-general's uniform. Happy result all 
 those old blankets stowed away in Jordan, Marsh & Co.'s 
 loft were not only disposed of for three times as much as 
 the firm would gladly have taken for them, but they 
 also got a contract for a further supply of a million or 
 more dollars iii value, and their house must have realized
 
 LOOKING OT7T FOfi NO. 1. 23 
 
 between two and three hundred thousand dollars as the 
 result of this little pleasure trip to Washington. 
 
 It will readily be surmised that Mr. Fisk was not a 
 man that would be likely to overlook the fact that ho who 
 could secure for his employers contracts from which tho 
 larger portion of their profits was derived, contracts for 
 which any number of houses stood ready to pay an 
 immense sum, was a man of no small consequence to the 
 firm and had some rights which they were bound to 
 respect, nor was it at all unnatural under the circum- 
 stances that he should feel it might be just as well for him 
 to turn the opportunity to his own behoof. In short, soon 
 after securing his earliest government contracts, tho 
 quondam country peddler boldly announced to tho firm 
 one morning that he had a no less ambitious and presum- 
 ing desire than that of being immediately admitted into 
 the partnership. The members laughed. It was one of 
 James's little jokes, they thought, and was very good in 
 its way. Of course it was too preposterous to be intended 
 seriously, thought they. A joke? Not a bit of it! un- 
 less they made it so, and then it would be a joke the hu- 
 morous side of which they would not at all relish. They 
 speedily woke to a consciousness that James meant busi- 
 ness. They found he held the balance of power, saw his 
 opportunity, and had the disposition and nerve to make 
 tho most of it. He had been shrewd enough to secure 
 certain contracts in his own name instead of tho name of 
 the firm, consequently he could dispose of them as he
 
 24 ADMITTED TO PABTNEESHIP. 
 
 pleased. If they would not, there were other first class 
 houses that would gladly give him a partnership for the 
 contracts he could secure for whatever house he was with, 
 so they could have their choice between taking him in as a 
 partner or seeing contracts worth hundreds of thousands 
 of dollars carried off from their door to some rival house. 
 He did not care. It was only to oblige them, not himself, 
 that he wished to become a member of their firm. But 
 from his ultimatum there was no escape. Aut Ccesar aut 
 nullus ! A partner or quit ! The comic smile which the 
 preposterous demand at first raised disappeared instanter. 
 A little consultation was held in which nothing of the 
 humorous entered, and soon the crisis was settled. A 
 new name, James Fisk, Jr., was thenceforth included in 
 the elastic " Co." of Jordan, .Marsh & Co. 
 
 The new sense of dignity, importance and power which 
 naturally came with the consciousness of being a partner 
 in one of the largest establishments in New England, in 
 no wise diminished the confidence, zeal and boldness of 
 the new member. Large contracts continued to flow in 
 to their house as the fruit of his tact and energy, and 
 very soon the business of the firm showed various signs 
 of the infusion of new blood into its veins. Mr. Fisk, 
 never having studied Bowen's Political Economy, was 
 happy in the possession of a mind wholly unclouded by 
 any befogged metaphysical abstractions about the beauty, 
 simplicity and great advantage to humanity, resulting 
 from the division of labor, and he therefore clearly saw
 
 NEW ENTERPRISE. 25 
 
 that by manufacturing their own goods, instead of buying 
 them from manufacturers and agents, his firm could add 
 the manufacturer's profit to their own, and would also in 
 that way be able* to undersell rival houses that bought 
 instead of manufacturing their goods, and thus largely 
 increase the amount of their sales and profits. Accord- 
 ingly he urged this course upon his firm. At first it was 
 looked upon skeptically, but was tried in a small way as 
 an experiment. The experiment was a grand success. 
 The new member stuck a new red feather in his cap and 
 was in his glory. The firm now bought several cotton 
 and woolen mills, built as many more new ones, operated 
 them at a profit that seemed almost fabulous in some 
 cases, and thus for other hundreds of thousands of dol- 
 lars were indebted to the originality and quick percep- 
 tions of the man whose name still rested in the oblivion 
 of the now important " Co." 
 
 . A single stroke at this period of his career disclosed 
 all those striking mental qualities which have conduced 
 so greatly to his later exploits an intuitive perception of 
 a whole situation almost instantly, an immediate resolve, 
 a nerve and daring to do anything, and the greatest 
 celerity of action. Being in New York on one occasion, 
 and snuffing afar off the first indications and knowledge 
 that there was likely to be a great demand soon for a 
 certain kind of goods, and knowing or learning that 
 there was but one mill in the country where such goods 
 were manufactured, he immediately telegraphed his firm
 
 26 HIS FIRST "CORNER." 
 
 to send an agent to Gaysville, Vt., to buy that mill at any 
 price demanded, and at the same time he bought up all 
 the goods of that kind to be had in the market. The firm 
 had now learned to obey the laconic and even mysterious 
 directions of James as unhesitatingly as Napoleon's sub- 
 ordinates obeyed his every word. The agent was sent as 
 the telegram ordered and the coveted mill was purchased 
 at a fair price. In less than an hour after the bargain was 
 closed, the former owner received a telegram from New 
 York offering him $5,000 more than the price at which 
 he had sold it. But it was too late. Fisk had been too 
 quick for them. Jordan, Marsh & Co. had an entire 
 monopoly and controlled the market. James Fisk, Jr., 
 had got up his first " corner" and engineered it through 
 to entire success. After running the mill some two 
 years at an annual profit of upwards of $100,000, the 
 Boston firm resold it to the former owner. 
 
 Another project, and one which, in point of ethics, the 
 difficulties besetting it and the means by which it was to 
 be accomplished, savored more strongly of the character of 
 his later and well-known exploits, now suggested itself to 
 the versatile drj'goods man. Cotton was selling in New 
 York and Boston at $1.70 to $1.80 the pound, and there 
 was but very little to be had even at those figures. Yet 
 within the Confederate lines cotton was abundant and 
 was a dead weight which the owners were as anxious to 
 dispose of as the New England mills were to obtain, and 
 that at figures almost as far in one extreme as the ruling
 
 corroir spEcutATioir. 27 
 
 prices outside of the Confederacy were in the other. 
 Query in Mr. Fisk's mind how could these two facts bo 
 made to work together for good to those who loved the 
 fortune lying between ? Two difficulties were in the way. 
 To most minds they would have seemed wholly insur- 
 mountable ; but not so to the man to whom nothing seems 
 impossible when only human beings are to be managed. 
 All sentimental nonsense about there being a moral ele- 
 ment in the problem, the right and wrong of giving aid 
 and comfort to the enemies of his country, violating the 
 laws of blockade, etc., Mr. Fisk dismissed at once in great 
 contempt 'as worthy only of some brain-cracked lunatic, 
 and immediately addressed himself to the practical ques- 
 tions, how to get cotton through the lines without its 
 being seized by the goverainent authorities as contraband, 
 and how the delicate and perilous business of buying and 
 forwarding inside the Confederacy could be conducted. 
 He paid a visit to Tennessee, the point where the lines 
 must bo passed and the region where cotton was plenty. 
 The government superintendent of the railroads here hap- 
 pened to be a man that ho had formerly known in Boston. 
 This was most fortunate. The tarry at Memphis was 
 brief and ho returned with a mind evidently at ease on 
 one point. The hare could be cooked, and in this caso 
 that was more difficult than to catch it. Boring a tunnel 
 through Iloosac Mountain requires ton years or more, and 
 many lives. The seemingly impassable barriers between 
 two hostile territories engaged in a life and death struggle
 
 28 BONING THE GAUNTLET. 
 
 
 
 Mr. Fisk pierced in a day and night so as to let the golden 
 light shine through. The machine by which this unpar- 
 alleled feat of tunnelling was accomplished has never been 
 patented perhaps for the reason that no one but the in- 
 ventor could ever use it, so a patent would be useless. Its 
 exact nature is therefore wholly a matter of inference. 
 The remaining branch of the problem was now taken up 
 and in the solution of this there was displayed a knoVledge 
 of human nature as keen and sagacious as that which is 
 supposed to have carried General Grant through at the 
 head of our armies so triumphantly. To buy cotton inside 
 the rebel lines under such ticklish circumstances required 
 a person of great tact and intuitive judgment of men and 
 circumstances, and for this duty a woman admirably 
 adapted to the purpose was employed. To collect and for- 
 ward it when purchcsed was a work still more thickly 
 beset with difficulties and pitfalls at every step, to elude 
 the suspicions flying in front and rear, run the gauntlet 
 of wary sentinels and get the forbidden fruit safely 
 through to some market in the North. A single false 
 step might defeat the whole project, sink all the capital 
 invested, and involve the person found thus engaged in no 
 slight danger of v his personal liberty for a term of years. 
 To brave all these risks and dangers and undertake these 
 delicate duties, Mr. Fisk secured the services of his own 
 father. The venture is supposed by those who pretend to 
 know, to have been a very profitable one pecuniarily. 
 One of the noblest and most inspiring spectacles ever
 
 1. NOBLE DKED, 29 
 
 witnessed in Boston, and one which those who witnessed 
 it will never forget, was largely due to the originality and 
 exertions of Mr. Fisk. The news of the battle of Antie- 
 tam, in September, 1862, reached Boston on Sunday 
 morning. When the Sabbath school bells rang on the 
 bright lovely morning, all hearts were appalled by tidings 
 that sent the death shadow into many a home and told of 
 thousands of brave men suffering the agonies of a bloody 
 battle field. Mr. Fisk and his partner, Mr. Jordan, con- 
 ceived the idea of having the churches suspend services 
 and devote themselves to the practical religion of relieving 
 the suffering of the men who had fallen for them. The 
 idea caught like magic. The churches were closed, the 
 citizens forgot self and put forth every exertion to miti- 
 gate the suffering of the --wounded and dying. Tremont 
 Temple was transformed into a depot for the collection of 
 hospital supplies. Delicate ladies worked all the day long 
 with the devotion and enthusiasm peculiar to the sex in 
 the hour of great trials and suffering. Lint, bandages, 
 and the necessities for binding up the gaping wounds, 
 wines and all the delicacies that could mitigate the suffer- 
 ings of the fallen in the hospital, poured in from every 
 direction, each household contributing according to its 
 means. It was a scene which mado it hard for any be- 
 holder to repress the tears, and suddenly threw into bold 
 relief all the noblest traits of humanity. By nightfall 
 many carloads of supplies were on their way to the field 
 of suffering. Mr. Fisk worked in this as he does in every-
 
 80 CHAPEKO.N TO GEK. 
 
 thing, with all his might, superintending and directing; 
 and when this (perhaps his noblest) day's work was done 
 ho said, with an excusable pride and satisfaction, " There ! 
 what will New York say of Boston now ?" 
 
 During these years and enterprises, Mr. Fisk was of 
 course quite prominent after his peculiar fashion, always 
 living in the sumptuous, regardless-of-expense style, and it 
 was at this period that ho saw the best society ho has ever 
 mingled with familiarly. His contempt for tho most car- 
 dinal laws of decent social life had not then been openly 
 manifested. He maintained a respectable attitude to the 
 relations deemed most sacred by all decent people, and the 
 doors of society of tho middle class were open to him and 
 his family. "When General McClellan visited Boston on "his 
 tour to New England soon after receiving tho famous or- 
 der to report at Baltimore, Mr. Fisk was quite conspicuous 
 and active in doing tho honors for Boston on that occasion, 
 met tho distinguished visitor on quite familiar terms, and 
 is said to have ingratiated himself not a littlo with the 
 hero of tho Chickahominy Swamps. 
 
 Tho house of Jordan, Marsh & Co., already prominent 
 among tho Boston firms when Mr. Fisk entered it, had, 
 during tho four years of liis connection with it, rapidly 
 grown to bo one of tho very foremost and probably now 
 stood at tho head of tho list in extent of business done and 
 profits realized. They not only gathered tho same rich 
 harvest in tho doubling, trebling, quadrupling or more, in, 
 value of tho largo stocks of goods on Land, but they Lad
 
 DISTANCE UCHDS EKCHANTMiarr. 81 
 
 also secured in addition to their regular business many 
 enormously profitable government contracts, and had en- 
 gaged extensively in manufacturing at just the time when 
 this \vas most remunerative and when a single mill brought 
 a fine fortune annually. For many of the richest contribu- 
 tions to this immense pool they were indebted directly and 
 solely to Mr. Fisk, and it is probable that his abilities had 
 a greater influence than those of any other one man in tho 
 firm, if not more than all the rest united, in swelling |he 
 grand total of wealth they had accumulated during these 
 four eventful years. However this may be, it was not 
 long before it became evident that, at the rate things were 
 going, the firm of Jordan, Marsh & Co. would soon come 
 to mean what the Erie Railway has since come to mean 
 and just what everything with which this spirit is connect- 
 ed is sure soon to mean James Fisk, Jr. A man of such 
 strongly marked individuality cannot be long kept in a 
 position of secondary authority and influence in anything 
 he is connected with. His voice must be the potent one, 
 his will the 'ruling force, or else there will be trouble at 
 once. While the era of government contracts and large 
 outside speculative enterprises continued, this was his spe- 
 cial field, and while thus engaged he was necessarily away 
 much of tho time at a distance that lent enchantment and 
 was not brought into such close personal contact with 
 the other members of the firm daily as to make his pe- 
 culiar propensities felt unpleasantly ; but as this era waned 
 he was brought more constantly in personal contact with
 
 32 XXCOXPATABILITISg. 
 
 his partners. The very qualities which had made him 
 their most valuable man when government contracts were 
 plenty, stocks rising, and a smile of prosperity rested over 
 everything, were precisely the most dangerous ones to be 
 influenced by now when business had become unsettled 
 and hazardous, making it necessary to take in much of the 
 sail that had been spread before the favorable and reliable 
 breeze and manage all affairs with the utmost care and 
 caution. His bold, venturesome, impulsive spirit now 
 clashed at once with the cautious counsels of his partners 
 and the man's individuality and dominant traits were at 
 once felt in their full force. His native confidence, self- 
 assertion and persistence in his own impulses and will, 
 were not lessened of course by the consciousness of the im- 
 portant part he had played in the very successful career of 
 the firm. It became evident at once that either the men 
 whose names alone appeared upon the sign boards, must 
 change place in importance with a single name covered up 
 under the " Co.," and they be forced to accept a back seat 
 while that ruling spirit stood chiefly at the helm, or else 
 that spirit must bo exorcised from the concern entirely. 
 The latter was the alternative chosen and this proved not 
 to be difficult of accomplishment. The firm freely ad- 
 mitted the great value Mr. Fisk's services had been to the 
 house and they were willing to deal generously with him 
 if he would now withdraw. He, on the other hand, con- 
 fident of his own fertility of resources under any circum- 
 stances, cared not a rush about remaining in the firm pro*
 
 HE RETIRES FKOM THE FIEM. 33 
 
 vided he were paid what he deemed a fair sum to quit. 
 Such being the spirit on either side, the question was 
 easily settled and the man who had entered the establish- 
 ment at one end as a salesman four years ago now made 
 his exit at the other end as a partner, retiring with what 
 he would have considered a princely fortune in his ped- 
 dling days, and also carrying with- him the satisfaction of 
 knowing that ho had been the most important element in 
 the unrivalled success of a great firm during four most 
 eventful years. 
 
 r>v>
 
 
 7/OJK I ;. -'" e I/if 
 
 i- hi s'.i -mrrh-'i ^frvj;rraq a I^o-ioJii^jjoa ^Y^tf i>ii:f>7' ;(' 
 CHAPTER TTT. 
 
 A DBTOOODS JCEECITllfT TTITStrCCESSFinL VEimTRKS - A EOXLTH0 
 STONE - MISFOETUNES THICKEN - A FOKETASTE OF R17IX - 
 THE GODDESS SMILES AGAIN THE APPROPRIATE SPHERE AT 
 LAST - A MILLIONAIRE. 
 
 Mr. Fisk withdrew from the firm of Jordan, Marsh & 
 Co. possessed of what would have been quite a comfort- 
 able fortune to retire upon for a man having no heir 
 apparent. But he was not one of the retiring kind. 
 Activity and bustle as a man of affairs are as neccessary 
 to his contentment as is oxygen to his lungs. He 
 immediately resolved to continue in the trade and 
 establish a business of his own that should rival that of 
 the house in which he had served such a brilliant appren- 
 ticeship. In a surprisingly short time a large new sign 
 bearing the name of James Fisk, Jr., appeared over the 
 doors of a fine large store at the corner of Sumner and 
 Chauncey Streets a conspicuous building in a conspicu- 
 ous part of the city, within a stone's throw of the house 
 from which he had just separated. To build up a dry- 
 goods jobbing business by himself would not have been
 
 THB DHYG000S MERCHANT. 86 
 
 r **" - i" * '-' ' -4 fir, ' . f F--\r 
 
 an easy matter under any circumstances, and it was 
 especially difficult just at that period. The constant and 
 rapid rise in the price of fabrics, which had made the 
 business so very prosperous and safe during the past four 
 years, had reached its climax and the ebbing tide had set 
 in and raised the reflex wave that introduced such great 
 uncertainty and hazard into the trade and was destined to 
 bury not a few beneath it in its fitful motions. The task 
 that had been undertaken was as difficult as to stand on a 
 barrel and roll it with the feet. Government contracts, ia 
 which his previous success had largely consisted, were no 
 longer to be had, for the authorities were now confident 
 of a speedy termination of the war and were retrenching 
 expenditures. Manufacturing was at a standstill or was 
 prosecuted only at a loss. Building up a regular legiti- 
 mate jobbing trade was not at all in Mr. Fisk's vein. 
 Ho felt for its duties the same aversion he had felt for 
 " drumming " during his early months in Boston and let 
 it alone in the same way. His attention and efforts being 
 thus left unengrossed by the undertaking he had proposed 
 for himself, he engaged in various speculative enterprises, 
 not only such as were partially allied to his ostensible 
 business (as cotton) but in anything that suggested itself 
 to him or was presented in a favorable light and promised 
 the requisite elements of diversion with a fair chance of 
 profit. But everything was paralyzed and stagnant under 
 reaction from the stimulant which the war had afforded, 
 and all business that required the investment of capital
 
 38 DULL TIKES. 
 
 seemed destined to entail loss. It was the most critical 
 period of dread suspense when everything was unsettled 
 and under a lowering future, and a tremor was running 
 through all business in expectation of a great financial 
 crash. Drygoods began to tumble at such leaps that any 
 jconsiderable stock on hand meant a small fortune lost 
 eyery .month. His speculative ventures rarely proved 
 successful, often were bad failures. After a few months 
 of thjs precarious fortune, again yielding to impulse and 
 iinstinct rather than convictions reached by reflection and 
 calculation, he resolved to close up his business and go 
 out of the tnido. This resolution .to discontinue was exe- 
 cuted with the- same celerity, as had been the former one 
 jtp start by himself. The fortune drawn out from the 
 iirm ,of Jordan, Marsh & Qo. had melted rapidly in the 
 unprosperous months succeeding, but he settled up all 
 .his #Sai?s JLeaying no unpaid obligations. 
 
 T,here is a certain famous being or character, half 
 JhjUtpric, half fabulous, favored in the fancy of both poot 
 $ud theologian, who, it is positively .alleged, is always 
 sure to claim his own sooner or later. James Fisk, Jr., 
 went to New York. He allowed "natur" to take its 
 f?QU*se ppw, And as naturally as the needle dips to the 
 pole or the force of gravity draws all things towards the 
 earth's centre, he brought up in Wall Street the favorite 
 haunt of the worst breed of gamblers the world has yet 
 produced HIGH /whom one who knows them beat* has 
 
 if VjMvVttM.M:
 
 "IHS DEVIL CLAIMS HIS OWW." 8J 
 
 called "a set of thieves and cutthroats," every one of 
 whose transactions leaves the world so much the worse 
 off, and whose most fitting and forcible commentary is to 
 be read in the fact that if every one of them were to drop 
 out of existence instantly society and every honest call- 
 ing would be greatly benefited. It was with the men of 
 this ilk that the ex-drygoodsman now proposed to put 
 his lance in rest and measure swords. All the world 
 will admit the wisdom and appropriateness of the course 
 selected as one for which he was eminently adapted. It 
 
 ' ''~.'<\ "t ~..j ~' ' " ''''":""> "V' f'.'^U 
 
 was just the course Fowler would have advised him to 
 pursue had he gone to him and had his head "examined. 
 In fact, so very natural and appropriate seems this migra- 
 tion to the great focus of respectable gambling and legal- 
 ized robbery that the only wonder is that he did not gra- 
 vitate to the genial clime and kindred, though inferior, 
 spirits immediately on leaving Jordan, Marsh & Co. 
 instead of first attempting to found a drygqods establish- 
 ment. He has taught them many a lesson at their own 
 tricks and it is questionable if the world at large does not 
 owe him more gratitude than execration for the deeds 
 that have made him 
 
 " By merit raised to that bad eminence " 
 among such leeches and pests. 
 
 It was in the waning months of 1864 that the resolu- 
 tion was taken to shake off the Puritan dust and pass 
 from the shadow of Bunker Hil) to that of Trinity 
 Church, He still had sufficient capital to operate quite
 
 ST.-, 
 
 THE BOLDJTESS OF ONOCE1TCB. 
 
 extensively on a "margin," the broker's most cunning 
 decoy duck to bring game -within his reach. Ho took 
 offices on Broad Street and furnished them in the most 
 sumptuous style, the man's individuality providing some 
 original features found in no other office. He launched 
 out boldly and almost haphazard in all the leading stocks 
 and most active speculative enterprises, putting up his 
 margins in pretty much the same way that ho would 
 place his " chips " in roulette or faro, thus at once dis- 
 closing his just conception of the character of the business. 
 But in his first experience in the new field there seemed to 
 hover over him the same untoward fortune that beset his, 
 last months in Boston and the proverbially fickle goddess 
 seemed to have turned her smile and face from him 
 entirely. He was not yet fully awake to the genius of 
 
 the guild - 
 
 ' for ways that are dark " 
 
 -:i-i!di.!^o > r .'..i/vjfj a luiuol c1 niin .rhi j>na 'io 'bx&ysi 
 and the artful dodges by which things were moved in 
 
 "Wall Street. Ho had heard of " honor among thieves '* 
 and in his unsophisticated confidence in human nature- 
 eou^ld not suspect that his new associates were sunk so/ 
 far beneath even faro bank and roulette keepers in point 
 of honor as to play with stacked cards and loaded dice. 
 The scales had not yet all fallen from his eyes. He still 
 had some lingering, verdant, boyish, Puritan, nonsense 
 about there really being such things as honor and hon- 
 esty, actually believed that there was such a crimo as 
 robbery or fraud known to the law and that it would lead
 
 THE VICTIM OF BULLS AITD BEAKS. 89 
 
 a man to the State Prison. His senses must be quick* 
 ened in the severe crucible of burnt fingers before he 
 could fully emerge from these hallucinations imbibed in 
 his early country home and understand that all this was 
 but a name, a poetic fiction, a ridiculous Yankee notion 
 probably invented by the same man who first sold 
 wooden nutmegs. He is one of the aptest scholars in 
 such a school and he plunged his fingers into the molten 
 metal so boldly that he was not long in dispelling the 
 clouds of rustic innocence that obscured the light. He 
 made some successes, as all do; he made many more 
 losses, as most do. It was but a few months before his 
 margins were all swept away, his bank account cancelled, 
 and the remnant of a once comfortable fortune which he 
 had brought from Boston had wholly disappeared gone 
 the way of so many others before and since. The young 
 man who had always had means and known plenty pro- 
 portionate to his position and needs, who had constantly 
 risen in worldly condition till his days had passed in 
 familiar contact with men of high position, authority 
 and influence and he felt himself a man of consequence 
 and power established on a secure pedestal that could 
 not be seriously shaken by fickle fortune, suddenly found 
 iumself penniless when his daily wants had grown to 
 be very large, his fancied power and security broken 
 and gone in a flaw of wind, despair driving its pitiless 
 arrows through his breast, helpless and unresisting in
 
 40 
 
 ETHNED. 
 
 the Surging tide that was sweeping him down in its 
 merciless whirlpool ruined! 
 
 Such a spectacle is always sad and touching. No- 
 matter who or what the man in whose breast the terrible 
 emotions of such an hour are passing, they touch a 
 responsive chord of sympathy in the great heart of aggre- 
 gate impersonal humanity as though it saw its own 
 uncertainties and possible misfortunes typified therein. 
 It is a situation whose agony in all its fullness can be but 
 faintly imagined by one who has never felt the' dread 
 creeping coil of misfortune and ruin closing silently and: 
 fatally around, want, J suffering and all the horrors of 
 poverty gathering On every side, gnawing ceaselessly at 
 the very vitals of the inner life and making death at 
 one's own hand the one welcome relief from despair. 
 It is a situation to be met with only in the life of a' 
 great cosmopolitan city. 
 
 For a moment (and perhaps it is the only instance in 
 all his life) this man of singular experiences' knew the- 
 keenest pangs of despair, became pensive and introspective 
 and indulged a momentary meditation' upon the vanity 
 and mutability of human affairs. But it was only for & 
 moment. His is not a spirit to sit down and acknowledge 
 irretrievable failure. Nil despefcvndum ! "Never say 
 die ! " is his motto and it is one to which he is eminently 
 entitled. As he sat overlooking the street of world-wide 
 fame and gazed down upon its hurrying throng, of which 
 but yesterday he was one, half dreaming what to do, the
 
 WALL STKEET SHALL PATc FOB IT. 41 
 
 pangs of failure piercing him, the spectre of want 
 glaring at him, suddenly, as if himself unconscious of 
 his words, he blurted out," Wall Street has ruined me, 
 and Wall Street shall pay for iff" At the time, the 
 words seemed the weak ravings of a mind in despair a 
 vain boast that might well provoke a smile. But that the 
 threat of vengeance has been well redeemed Wall Street 
 bitterly knows and will not soon forget. Jena was not 
 more thoroughly avenged at Sedan, the mortification of 
 Berlin not more thoroughly atoned by Bismarck and 
 the troops of Fatherland marching in triumph through 
 the gates of Paris. Nor rests Wall Street in a feeling 
 pf assurance that the thirst for revenge is even yet 
 fully sated. At the moment of uttering these words he of 
 course had as little idea as any one how they were to be 
 made good. He had not the most remote conception of 
 any plan for recuperating his broken fortune but, genius- 
 like, confidence of a power within him to do it, though 
 vague, was there. The threat was hardly cold upon 
 his lips ere he bade adieu "for* a season" to the 
 threatened street, packed a carpet bag, which sufficed his 
 purpose now, and started for Boston, aimless except to 
 get away from the scene of his disaster. 
 
 On this journey to " the Hub " the victim of Wall 
 Street did not sit in moody silence moaning to himself 
 over his bleeding wounds but presented an unruffled sur- 
 face as though everything was all right, mingled in con- 
 versation with his usual spirits and puns, and made
 
 42 A CAR 
 
 chance acquaintances as every one does when travelling 
 Among those -with whom ho thus got to talking was a 
 young man who seemed sorely troubled and dejected. 
 Perhaps it was animal magnetism that drew the two to- ~ 
 gether, for however calm the surface with the late opera- 
 tor in stocks ho was probably somewhat bilious down in 
 tho depths. The two spirits naturally waxed communi- 
 cative, and soon tho young stranger told his story. He 
 proved to be one of tho quite numerous class of pitiable 
 mortals that nearly everybody has seen something of a 
 man laboring in distress with tho elephant of a patent 
 on his hands and brain. Ho had invented it, got it 
 patented, and spent all his own means and as much 
 more as ho could borrow, endeavoring to get it before 
 tho public and reap tho fortune ho had dreamed 
 would surely flow to him from it. He, too, was going 
 back to his home, dejected and crest-fallen, for his 
 enterprise had been ill-starred, his exertions and ex- 
 penditures had nil been in vain, and the dreams that 
 had sustained and lured him on so long had now all van- 
 ished, and ho must carry disappointment to those who 
 had helped him. Like all men with patents, he was 
 ready and eager to explain its great merits and value and 
 talk about it and nothing else as long as any ono would 
 listen. Ho explained its nature and utility to his fellow 
 miserable, who listened attentively, at first because he 
 was quite as eager to forget his own sorrows as the young 
 patentee was to expatiate upon his, but very soon because
 
 A PATENT. 48 
 
 a sudden ray of light beamed upon his vision. Mr. Fisk 
 saw at once that the patent -was of value, and that the 
 young man's dreams of the fortune there was in it had 
 been far from baseless ; but, strange to say, ho did not 
 give his new acquaintance the consolation of suspecting 
 this now-born conviction. However, ho induced tho do- 
 jected spirit to go pn to Boston instead of stopping at 
 homo, philanthropically encouraging him to hope that 
 they might possibly pick up eome greenhorn there who 
 could bo wheedled into giving a littlo something for it, 
 and whatever ho could get now would be so much clear 
 gain of course, as he was going homo to throw it up 
 entirely. Arrived at their journey's end, the young man 
 gladly disposed of hiss patent-right for a comparative 
 trifle and went home somewhat less heavy hearted. The 
 purchaser that had been wheedled into buying it was 
 not, however, so much of a greenhorn as might be. Fisk 
 nudged the young inventor in the ribs and chuckled with, 
 him over tho sharp manner in which they had duped 
 somo unwary wight and when ho had got him to feeling 
 nicely ho left him and hurried away to reap the benefit of 
 the large interest which ho had taken good care to securo 
 to himself. Tho patent was a small improvement of great 
 utility and extensive application in machinery used in cot- 
 ton and woolen mills, proved to bo of immense practical 
 and pecuniary value, and brought the now owners a hand- 
 some income. 
 
 The downward tide in Mr. Fisk'a fortunes was stemmed.
 
 44 HE MEETS DANIEL DBEW. 
 
 Confidence and courage were replenished, and with the 
 possession Once more of capital sufficient for quite exten- 
 sive operations on a margin, his longing turned to Wall 
 Street again. But before starting back he learned tliat 
 some parties in Boston were desirous of buying the Bris- 
 tol line of steamers running on Long Island Sound. It 
 occurred to him that he might turn this circumstance to 
 some account for himself and this was the pretext of his 
 next visit to New Tort. His first business was to secure 
 a letter of introduction to the president of the company 
 owning the coveted line of steamers. This he readily pro- 
 cured and presented. The person to whom he was thus 
 introduced was the celebrated Daniel Drew. But for this 
 meeting the world would probably never have heard of 
 James Fisk, Jr. That event constitutes the most promi- 
 nent and important landmark in his life and turned his 
 career into the course that has conducted him to his pres- 
 ent position. The presidency of the Bristol Line Steam- 
 boat Company was but one small bob on the Drew kite. 
 Already past his three score and ten, he wore the scars of 
 many fierce battles, some of which were still fresh and 
 scarcely cicatrized. Born a farmer's boy, at Carmel, on the 
 Harlem road, he had been successively a drover, proprie- 
 tor of the Bull's Head Tavern (of great fame in the olden 
 time), and a large owner in steamship enterprises. In this 
 last character he came into contact with Vanderbilt and the 
 two had since been life-long rivals. He had been the 
 Commodore^ great antagonist in the then recent Harlem
 
 TH* "S-rtCtfLATTVlf DtfiWrrSB." 45 
 
 " corners " the pioneer coups-de-main in WaH* Street 
 stock jobbing operations, and in these had been badly 
 worsted by his veteran foe. He was now the great Mogul 
 of Erie one of its directors, its treasurer, its sole manipu- 
 lator, the first to use his position to gamble in the stock of 
 his own corporation, already dubbed the " speculative direc- 
 tor," and the acknowledged leader of Wall Street's " bear" 
 brigade. Drew was much pleased with his new acquaint- 
 ance, was quite surprised and fascinated with the grand 
 and liberal ideas which the young man very freely ventil- 
 ated on the question of steamships and affairs generally, 
 and immediately authorized him to act as his agent in 
 negotiating the sale of the Bristol steamers. This trust 
 was executed in a manner that confirmed and heightened 
 the old gentleman's first impressions and gave him entire 
 satisfaction at the same time that it put a nice little sum 
 into the skillful agent's pocket as his commission for con- 
 ducting the transfer. 
 
 Mr. Fisk now looked upon Wall Street as his headquar- 
 ters again, but as he had learned that the game there was 
 played with stacked cards and loaded dice he sagely con- 
 cluded it would be much safer to have a finger in the 
 stacking business or be privy to its manner, and make 
 himself master of the magic cubes, instead of having them 
 played on him again. He is not to be caught twice in the 
 same trap. He had seen those " twenty-four jacks " fall 
 out of Ah Sin's sleeves in their first hand of euchre and 
 he was not going to sit down to the game again till he
 
 46 DKEW'S GKBAT CAHPAIGH. 
 
 had a, pair of sleeves just like Ah Sin's only a little 
 larger and they should be well filled with right bowers. 
 Drew, in the first flush of his admiration for the young 
 man's bearing, spoke the necessary words of encourage- 
 ment, and shortly after the sign of a new firm of brokers 
 appeared bearing the firm name of Fisk & Belde.n. They 
 made a specialty of dealing in Erie and soon became 
 known among the fraternity as Drew's brokers. The 
 head of the firm being a special favorite, confidant and 
 protege of the crafty director and treasurer, it is more 
 than probable that he was privy to sufficient information 
 and " points " not for general use, to enable him to oper- 
 ate on his own account with all desired safety and make 
 much more than a simple commission as broker for 
 others. It was in the spring of 1866 that Drew exe- 
 cuted his first great master-stroke in bear operations, 
 inaugurating a system of manipulations wholly original 
 and unparalelled, making the entire bull clique writhe 
 under his goad, and finally strewing the pavement with 
 their skulls and bones, establishing for himself an endur- 
 ing fame in the history and traditions of Wall Street. 
 Fisk, being fully behind the scenes in this campaign, 
 enjoyed the sport immensely and turned his opportunity 
 to much substantial account. He was immoderately 
 amused at. the mad boundings and bello wings of the ram- 
 pant animals, shook a red flag before them to incito them 
 on and cried " Ilabet! liabet!" in delight as his uncle 
 Daniel poured in the final broadside and sent them reeling
 
 EX LEAEHS HOW THE WIRES ARE WORKED. 47 
 
 to the ground. This was an excellent school for the apt 
 pupil. He took to its ways with a readiness that showed 
 a genius for the science. The briefest period of tuition 
 sufficed to make him master of its entire curriculum. All 
 tho scales having now fallen from his eyes, he resisted 
 a longer pupilage and came forward at once as a profes- 
 sor. Having caught the principle and spirit of the 
 process by which puppets were made to dance on the 
 Wall Street stage, he immediately saw that many im- 
 provements could be made in the modus operandi of his 
 instructor and felt he could play upon the magic keys 
 much more deftly than he saw it done by the fingers 
 clumsy in size and stiffened by the toils and chills of more 
 than three score and ten winters. His subsequent career 
 speaks for the close attention he paid during his brief 
 term of schooling, and no one can testify better than the 
 teacher how thoroughly the lesson was learned both in 
 letter and spirit, for the pupil soon repaid the debt of 
 gratitude, principal and interest, to his instructor by 
 teaching him in turn many tricks at his own trade. But 
 the improvements were of a nature requiring a cunning 
 of hand which the veteran director could not hope to 
 conjure in his weight of years, and it is more than 
 doubtful if the instructor feels at all proud of his pupil, 
 accurately as he has followed instructions and brilliant as 
 his exploits flowing therefrom have been, for the teach- 
 ings were returned in a practical way that was not highly 
 appreciated, though its force was acknowledged. When
 
 *8 L HILLIONAIJUS. 
 
 the .pupil had once seen how the cards were stacked he 
 brought to the work such rare manual skill that he stacked 
 them under his instructor's very eyes without his seeing 
 it and played them upon him before he was aware of it. 
 After this had been repeated a few times, the old gentle- 
 man rose from the table, offended at this disrespect for 
 his years and refused to play any more. He now stands 
 a looker on at the table at which he was once master ,and, 
 with hands folded behind him, he gazes with an expres- 
 sion of mute curiosity at the grace and dexterity with 
 which his pupil shuffles the cards and throws the dice. 
 
 With wind and tide both in his favor, Mr. Fisk very 
 soon recovered what he had involuntarily lent to Wall 
 Street, and it was but a few months before the man who 
 had lost his last dollar again had a bank account of over 
 
 a milHnn. 
 
 irr TT
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "SHORT AND LOITO" "BTTLLS AND BEABS" "OPTIOK" 
 
 " COBKEB " " MABGIN " " CABBYING " GOLD EXCHANGE 
 
 BANE THE GOLD BOOH. 
 
 Wall Street has a dialect peculiar to itself, concise and 
 expressive, but utterly unintelligible to the uninitiated. 
 Some of the terms are quite familiar to many who yet 
 have but a vague idea of their exact meaning. As an ac- 
 curate understanding of the terms employed and some of 
 the machinery used by brokers will be necessary to an in- 
 telligent reading of some of the following chapters, a brief 
 elucidation may not be unwelcome to some into whose 
 hands these pages may fall. 
 
 Suppose the stock of a certain railroad is selling to- 
 day at $90 a share. A, for reasons known to himself, 
 thinks the price is going to fall soon. He meets B who 
 thinks, on the contrary, that the price is going up. A 
 owns none of the stock at present, but he agrees to deliver 
 B 100 shares at 90 sometime within 10, 20, 30 or 60 days. 
 A has now gone "short" of the stock, i. e., he is under
 
 50 THE PBINCIPLB OF STOCK SPECULATIONS. 
 
 obligation to deliver at a future day, and for a fixed price, 
 stock that ho does not now possess; and B has gone 
 " long," i, e., ho is under obligation to take tho stock at a 
 future day at a price already agreed upon. The two 
 terms are correlative, the one always implying the other, 
 it being impossible for one man to go "short" till he 
 meets another who will go "long." 
 
 Of course A's design is to wait till the stock has fallen, 
 say to 85, then buy a hundred shares at that price, carry 
 them to B and make him take them as agreed upon at 
 90, and clear $500 by the operation. B's design is to 
 wait till the stock has risen, say to 95, then call on A to 
 deliver the 100 shares at 90, as agreed upon, sell them at 
 95 and clear $500 dollars by the operation. The essence 
 of the whole matter is, A bets tho stock will fall and B 
 bets it will rise, the amount of the bet being left to be de- 
 termined by the amount of fluctuation in the stated time. 
 And as a matter of fact it often, if not generally, happens 
 that none of the stock is ever bought at all, but one simply 
 pays to the other the difference in price at the two dates. 
 Thus if the stock falls, A does not buy 100 shares, pay 
 $8,500 therefor, take them to B and get $9,000 for them, 
 but B simply pays A $500, the sum he would make by the 
 operation what has turned out to be the amount of the 
 bet, As B entered into the contract only on speculation 
 and not because he wanted to keep the stock as an invest- 
 ment, he would only have to sell it again at the lower rate, 
 and all this useless trouble of two actual purchases, trans-
 
 BULLS AKD BEAE9. 51 
 
 fers and deliveries is avoided and the same result attained 
 by simply paying A the amount he -would make. 
 
 When such an agreement has been entered into, of 
 course it is for A's interest that there should be a fall in 
 the stock of which he is short, for the greater the fall the 
 greater will be his profit, and therefore he, now exerts 
 himself to make it fall. Ho represents the stock as a bad 
 one to invest in ; hints that there is going to be an oppo- 
 sition road built, so the stock will soon pay smaller divi- 
 dends or no dividends, and greatly decrease in value ; that 
 the road is being badly managed, its officers are dishonest, 
 using it for their own personal ends, and there is danger 
 of its becoming bankrupt ; or that there has been an issue 
 of new stock, etc., etc. Those who hear and believe these 
 rumors naturally become afraid of the stock, are anxious 
 to sell it if they own any, and unwilling to buy. It thus 
 becomes plenty in the market, is depressed and falls. 
 A in such a case is said to "bear" the stock or be a 
 "bear." It being for B's interest that the stock should 
 rise, he sets to work circulating rumors of just the oppo- 
 site nature and influence, endeavoring to make the stock 
 attractive and in great demand. He is then said to 
 "bull" the market or be a "bull." Therefore a man 
 who has gone "short" is naturally by interest a "bear" 
 and a man who has gone " long " is naturally by interest 
 a "bull." 
 
 When A and B have made an agreement as supposed 
 it often makes a great difference which one of them has
 
 52 omoir. 
 
 the right of demanding its fulfilment any day within the 
 limit. For if A agrees to deliver the stock within 30 
 days and it should fall rapidly in the first five days and 
 get as low as he thinks it will go, he will buy at this low 
 price and, if he has the right of choosing the day for car- 
 rying out the agreement, he will force B to take it the day 
 on which it is lowest; whereas, if B has the right of 
 choosing the day, he will wait in the hope that the stock 
 will rise again during the remaining 25 days and will 
 call on A to deliver on the day when it is selling highest. 
 The transaction must be closed on the last day of the 
 limit. This right of choosing the day is called the 
 " option." It is always settled at the time of making the 
 agreement who has the ''option" and it often makes a 
 great difference in the price whether the buyer gives or 
 takes it Of course A can buy when the stock is low, 
 though the option is against him, and hold the stock till 
 B calls for it In such a case he is said to " cover his 
 shorts." 
 
 As a man who sells short has none of the stock at the 
 time of contracting for its future delivery, it is easily 
 possible that contracts may be entered into for the deliv- 
 ery of a greater number of shares than can possibly be 
 had, or even than there are in existence. A shrewd 
 operator may easily find a hundred men each of whom 
 will go short a thousand shares ; he makes a contract 
 with each without any of the others suspecting it and he 
 will thus have contracts out for the delivery to him of
 
 COBNEB. 53 
 
 100,000 shares of the stock within 30 days when, it may 
 be, there are but 50,000 shares in existence. He now 
 buys up the stock as quietly as possible at the present low 
 price and before any of the shorts are covered or any one 
 suspects what is going on, he may have the whole 50,000 
 shares locked up in his own safe. Men suddenly find 
 that not a single share of the stock is to be had in the 
 market at any price and yet contracts are out for the 
 delivery of 100,000 shares. The operator now has the 
 shorts in what is called a "corner." They must satisfy 
 their contracts or fail. Stock cannot be had to fulfill the 
 agreements, therefore they must make the best terms 
 they can to be let off from their contracts. They are 
 wholly in the operator's power and his demands will be 
 limited only by what he deems the utmost each can pay 
 without failing. 
 
 The capital required in manipulating such a plot being 
 very large, there are but few single individuals of sufficient 
 means to manage a " corner " operation alone, but combi- 
 nations of several men are often formed for the purpose, 
 each contributing his means to a general fund to be used 
 in the operation and sharing a proportionate part of the 
 proceeds. Such a combination is called a "pool." 
 
 When a man directs a broker to buy stock for him he 
 does not supply the broker with money to the full value 
 of the stock, but only a certain per cent, thereon 5, 10 or 
 20 per cent, as the case may be so much as is deemed 
 ufficient to cover any probable fall in the price. Thejt>r
 
 54 HA. ROUT. 
 
 cent, thus deposited -with the broker is called a " margin," 
 it being the range or margin over which the price may 
 fluctuate without risk to the broker. The rest of the money 
 or credit needed is furnished by the broker, who charges 
 interest thereon, keeps the stock in his own hands as se- 
 curity and is said to " carry " it for his customer. By this 
 means a man with only five or ten thousand dollars can 
 operate with a capital of a hundred thousand, and a man 
 with a hundred thousand dollars can operate with a capi- 
 tal of two millions. Herein lies the great temptation to 
 indulge in such speculations and the whole secret of the 
 great power which a few men, or even a single man, can 
 exert in such matters. 
 
 An active broker often buys or sells the same stock 
 or gold several times the same day. One customer directs 
 him to buy and he buys ; another directs him to sell and 
 he sells. If a stock rises rapidly the customer who buys 
 early in the morning may sell again in an hour or less ; 
 if it falls rapidly the man who sells in the morning may 
 buy again in a few minutes. Fluctuations in the price 
 are often so rapid that a man may buy and sell the same 
 hundred shares of stock or the same lot of gold half a 
 dozen times in as many Sours, making a handsome profit 
 at every turn. This would make a great deal of work 
 and require many clerks in a broker's office if there was 
 an actual transfer of thp stock and gold in every tran- 
 saction. To simplify and facilitate this work, an institu- 
 tion to which all, brokers belong has been established to
 
 DEALING BT BALANCES. 55 
 
 manage this part of the business and superintend all the 
 actual transfers of property. As soon as a broker buys, 
 he sends a notice of the transaction to this institu- 
 tion. Five minutes after, ho sells either the same or 
 another stock or lot of gold and immediately sends the 
 institution a notice of this transaction. And so on 
 through the whole day till a quarter past two o'clock, 
 when transactions through the institution close for the 
 day. A statement of all the purchases and sales of the 
 day is now mado out and balanced and handed in to the 
 institution. If the amount of the purchases exceeds the 
 amount of the sales, the broker pays tho institution the 
 difference ; if the sales exceed the purchases in amount, 
 tho institution pays the broker the difference ; if tho two 
 aro just equal, all his transactions for tho day, amount- 
 ing, it may be, to many millions, aro completed by simply 
 balancing tho two sides of tho account and without one 
 cent having been used by him in tho operation. By this 
 means tho samo stock or gold may bo sold a hundred 
 times during the day and yet there will bo only one 
 actual transfer of it. A starts the transactions, selling 
 to B ; B sells to C, C to D, and so on through tho whole 
 alphabet till the close of the day ; then A, the first seller, 
 hands it into the institution and Z, the last purchaser, 
 draws it out. All the others have both bought and sold 
 it, therefore it is only necessary for them to balance their 
 accounts and settle the difference. 
 
 This arrangement, which renders neocessary capital
 
 56 THE GOLD EXCHANGE BANK. 
 
 equal only to the difference in the two sides of all the 
 accounts for the day, supplements the " margin " and is to 
 the broker what the "margin" is to the operator. The 
 two form a system of compound leverage by which a hun- 
 dred dollars is made to move a million, or any amount, the 
 principle being the same as that which justified the boast 
 of Archimedes that he would move the world if any one 
 would give him a place to stand on. It was by this 
 system of paying only the balance of their accounts that 
 it was possible for the dealings of the gold brokers to 
 amount to five hundred millions of dollars on Black 
 Friday when there was .not in reality twenty millions of 
 gold among all the brokers in New Tork. 
 
 The stock and gold brokers have separate clearing 
 houses or institutions for effecting their clearances, i. e., 
 superintending the transfer and settlement of the bal- 
 ances. That of the stock brokers is called the New Tork 
 
 Stock Exchange, and that of the gold brokers the Gold 
 
 <TJ,_ ' 7 i e> 
 
 Exchange Bank. 
 
 It is important to note that the dealings of the brokers 
 are so interlaced, as they appear at the clearances, jthat if 
 any one firm fails to hand in a statement of its trans- 
 actions the whole machinery may be clogged up and the 
 clearing house unable to proceed with its work. The 
 following is an actual statement of the transactions of the 
 firm of Smith, Gould (Jay Gould) & Martin on Black 
 Friday:
 
 THE GOLD EXCHANGE BANK. 
 
 67 
 
 Received from 
 Win. Heath & Co. 
 White, Morris & Co. 
 Dakin Gillespie 
 E. K. Willard 
 Hodgskm,Randall & Co. 
 Budge, Schiff & Co. 
 Cushman & Hurlburfc . 
 8. R. Jacobs 
 Lange, Bolle & Aiming 
 Dean, Maginnis & Co. 
 M. Morgan's Sons 
 Foster & Randall 
 J. W. Seligman & Co. 
 Hallgarten & Co 
 Domett & Nichols 
 B. Hall& Young 
 G. H. & H. Redmond 
 W. C. Mumford 
 Meyer & Grave 
 Kennedy & Hutchinson 
 Robinson, Cox & Co 
 Lees & Waller 
 Reed, Leo & Content 
 Hagen & Billing 
 E. H: Bicdermean 
 Q. P. Persch 
 Robert Waller 
 Stout Thayer 
 
 Here were fifty-one different transactions by one firm rn. 
 a single day, amounting to 28,149,600 and they were all 
 adjusted, so far as this firm was concerned, by the single 
 act of drawing from the bank $13,151,000 in gold and 
 handing in a check for the currency" value thereof. Now 
 
 m 
 
 Delivered to 
 
 $6,210,000 
 
 Lockwood & Co. . $10,000 
 
 . 400,000 
 
 Stout Thayer Jli1;o; 20,000 
 
 . 984,000 
 
 Dzondi, Springer & Co. 50,000 
 
 . 5,845,000 
 
 Carver & Co. . 430,000 
 
 Co. 50,000 
 
 Gibson & Beadleston . 75,000 
 
 . 300,000 
 
 B. K. Stevens, Jr., . 25,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 Lounsberry & Fanshaw 1,700,000 
 
 . 100,000 
 
 Fanshaw & Milliken . 300,000 
 
 ag 50,000 
 
 Haligarten & Co. . 3.5,000 
 
 >. 95,000 
 
 Kamlah, Sauer & Co. 134,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 Parker, Bros. & Geston 15,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 Fellows* Co. T. J. 15,000 
 
 >. 225,000 
 
 Cunningham & Mead. 85,000 
 
 . 200,000 
 
 Maxwell & Graves . 30,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 Norton, Haughtou & Co. 50,000 
 
 . 500,000 
 
 Tansing, Fisher & Co. 90,000 
 
 a 875,000 
 
 N. R. Travers .. 50,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 Grey, Prince & Co. 1 . 1,245,000 
 
 . 200,000 
 
 Chapin, Bowen & Day 2,915,000 
 
 son 100,000 
 
 Wm. Heath & Co. . 200,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 Cushman fc Hurlburt. 25,000 
 
 . 1,015,000 
 
 i ainM-..-.- $7,499,000 
 
 . 200,000 
 
 Coin dua dealer 13,151,000 
 
 . 735,000 
 
 $20,650,000 
 
 . 655,000 
 
 Ofl I--VTCti!9 SISJZ otJiW/OIft 
 
 90,000 
 
 :, bar. '~jx'-* tr>bv',w vbite;: 
 
 $20,650,000 
 
 r..r.:- iy.ft^vIilKi.ri.a tfloh
 
 58 THE GOLD BOOK. 
 
 if (as actually happened) this firm failed to hand in this 
 statement the clearing house -would be unable to adjust 
 the accounts of any one of the nearly fifty firms appearing 
 therein, and as each of these firms would have trans- 
 actions with many others, the whole machinery of settling 
 must come to a standstill till the statement of every one 
 is in. 
 
 For its services in effecting these clearances the Gold 
 Exchange Bank receives ten cents for every $10,000 
 cleared. This may seem a ridiculously small commission 
 at first, but when it appears that the average annual 
 amount of clearances has been about $20,000,000,000 
 and that even at this small commission the bank has 
 received in the neighborhood of $200,000 annually for 
 its services, the remuneration does not seem quite so 
 ridiculously small. 
 
 The (Jold Room is the place where the gold brokers 
 meet at certain hours of the day to buy and sell, the 
 price then paid being officially recorded and forming the 
 " quotations " for the day. It is a dingy, dismal room of 
 moderate size, entered from New Street by narrow, 
 untidy wooden stairs and quite disappoints the expecta- 
 tions naturally formed from the fame of its doings. On 
 one side is a large clock^ over : rwhich isr the indicator 
 showing, in large figures moved by telegraphic wires, the 
 price at which gold is selling. On the opposite side is a 
 gallery for spectators and such as have not the counter- 
 sign that secures admission within the exclusive circle.
 
 THE GOLD BOOH. 59 
 
 The body of the floor is an amphitheatre, i. e., in the 
 form of a circle and descending gradually by steps from 
 the outside towards the centre. A circle in the centre, 
 about eight feet in diameter, is surrounded by a strong 
 iron railing enclosing a fountain. Tho design of this 
 ornament is quite unique, being a bronze statuette stand- 
 ing upon huge oyster- gftiells -and hugging a dolphin to its 
 breast; a jet of water constantly spouts from the dol- 
 phin's mouth, falls back upon tho bronze and babbles 
 down into tho reservoir at tho base tho whole consti- 
 tuting, a forcible and fitting satire upon tho life and 
 doings of the men who daily crowd around it and deport 
 themselves in a manner vividly suggestive of Babel, 
 Bedlam and pandemonium united. 
 
 It was this small circular pit that constituted the most 
 sensitive pulse of the nation during the trying days of the 
 rebellion. It was here that the news of Bull Run and the 
 Chickahominy, Gettysburg and the Wilderness, was most 
 quickly felt. At this point was dropped the pebbles that 
 started the magic waves which broke only on the limits 
 of the nation. It was the yells of the men surging within 
 this circle, shouting and gesticulating like maniacs, that 
 determined the figures so eagerly scanned from each 
 morning's news as it reached tho remotest hamlet. Here 
 still these men keep up a fitful losing battle to prolong 
 their calling, though the circumstances that gave it being 
 and some small elements of usefulness have long since 
 passed away.
 
 
 
 CHAPTEE V.i-iJa? 
 
 J BBIE DJ3UBCTOB ^HOW THE SLATE WAS MADE TIP FISK AND 
 GOULD MEET - A POOL SOLD OUT - VANDEKBILT BOUSED - 
 A BATCH OF BAENAKD'S INJUNCTIONS COUNTERBLAST FB.OM 
 BKOOKLYN- TEN MILLIONS OF NEW STOCK SECEETLT ISSUED 
 - VANDERBILT TRAPPED AND DREW BITTEN - FLEEINO THE 
 
 STATE. 
 
 Mr. Fisk first became officially connected with the Erie 
 Railway on the 8th of October, 1867, being chosen a 
 director at the annual election held on that day. The 
 campaign for this ejection opened with three parties in 
 the field. The officers in control of the road, headed by 
 Drew, sought reelection. With this party Mr. Fisk was 
 identified. Next came Vanderbilt, who, having made 
 himself absolute and undisputed master of the Harlem, 
 Hudson River and N. Y. Central roads, now sought to 
 grasp control of Erie in like manner, that he might have 
 despotic sway over all the roads connecting New York 
 with the great lakes and make himself practical dictator 
 of the material interests of the commercial metropolis. 
 The third party was headed by John S. Eldridge and
 
 MAKING UP THE SLATE. . &} 
 
 composed of men largely interested in the Boston, 
 Hartford & Erie road a line running from Boston 
 through Connecticut and New York to FishkiU, where it 
 meets a branch of Erie. This corporation was in a 
 desperate struggle for existence and was in bad financial 
 odor. The Massachusetts Legislature had voted to assist 
 the company to the sum of $3,000,000 provided it would 
 raise an additional sum of $4,000,000 elsewhere. The 
 laudable purpose of this third party was to gain a con- 
 trolling voice in the Erie councils in order to get this 
 corporation to assist them to the much-desired 
 $4,000,000. Under the Eldridge banner Jay Gould was 
 training. 
 
 At these elections each share of stock entitles the 
 holder to one vote, consequently a party must control a 
 majority of the stock in order to carry the election. With 
 three parties competing for possession, there was a fine 
 prospect of a rapid and extraordinary rise in the stock, 
 promising a lively time and a rich harvest for the brokers, 
 operators, and owners of Erie. But before the contending 
 chiefs had marshalled their forces and mounted their 
 heavy guns for this great triangular battle, the Eldridge 
 party resorted to diplomacy and secured a coalition with 
 Yanderbilt. These two factions agreed to unite their 
 forces in ousting Drew and electing a board of directors 
 that would manage the road so as to secure both their 
 interests. They knew that their united power made their 
 victory certain in a square fight ; but they also knew very
 
 62 XAKIA'G UP THE 8LATB. 
 
 \rell that it would not be a square fight if Drew was left 
 with his peculiar fertility of resource untrammelled. 
 They remembered the ingenious device by which he had 
 supplied himself with 58,000 shares of Erie stock to meet 
 an emergency the year before and they knew the same 
 convenient machinery would be made to do service again 
 and grind out any desired number of shares at the proper 
 crisis and thus, after relieving them of several millions of 
 their money, rob them of victory at the last moment. To 
 guard against this favorite spe.cies of Drew tactics they 
 resolved to invoke the majesty of the law. The necessary 
 preliminary affidavits and papers were made out prepara- 
 tory to obtaining an injunction that should effectively 
 prevent Drew from using at the election or in the market 
 
 a single share of stock beyond the already authorized 
 
 -L i i i f ,1 rrir. ) <"f v'irrn u'C 
 capital stock ot the company. 
 
 In this position stood matters the Sunday before the 
 election. On that day Drew, as if troubled with premo- 
 nitions of approaching discomfiture, called npon Vander- 
 bilt at his residence. The Commodore kindly entertained 
 his caller by relating to him the arrangements made to 
 compass his overthrow and complacently read for his 
 edification the legal documents that were to bo used for 
 his special behoof the next morning. Drew seeing at 
 once that the elements were getting too strong for him 
 and that he was doomed to take an unwilling leave of the 
 helm whereat ho had stood for ten years and retire to the 
 quiet life of his native Carmel unless he could effect some
 
 UP THK SLATE. 68 
 
 compromise, and being ever ready to do anything to save 
 and serve himself, immediately proposed to change front 
 entirely, abandon his chronic antagonism and bear oper- 
 ations, unite in a movement for running Erie up as 
 Harlem, Hudson River and Central had been run up 
 before, become the sworn ally of his life-long rival and 
 serve him in all his schemes, on the sole condition of 
 being permitted to retain his position as director and 
 treasurer of Erie. The Commodore was entirely dis- 
 armed by this unexpected tender of the olive branch. 
 He saw this would relieve many millions of dollars that 
 else must be used in getting and keeping control of Erie 
 and he knew that no other ally could i serve him so well. 
 Besides, there may have been a touch of the poetic in 
 feeling reconciled to a foe after long years of warfare and 
 mutual scars, and a natural affinity and preference for 
 an ally as venerable as himself in years. At any rate, 
 without the slightest regard for the agreement made with 
 the Eldridge party, he accepted the proposition at once, 
 and these two inveterate enemies, on the eve of another 
 fierce conflict, struck hands over the altar of friendship, 
 buried the past and coalesced to serve each other, 
 unmindful of pledges recently made, reckless of the 
 interests of great corporations entrusted to their care, 
 indifferent to the rights of the (to them) somewhat vague 
 and mythical entity, the public. Beautiful is it to wit- 
 ness in declining years such reconciliations of the feuds of 
 along life! But the Eldridge party were so singularly
 
 64 MAKING UP THE SLATS. 
 
 lacking in appreciation and love for the poetic that they 
 were actually displeased and disposed to be indignant at 
 being thus slighted and shook their heads at the affecting 
 tableau much as the evil one is said to do at the sight of 
 holy water. They called upon Vanderbilt soon after 
 Drew had taken his leave, and when he informed them 
 that he had changed his plan and decided upon a course 
 looking to the continuance in power of the very man 
 whose removal had formed the keystone of their union, 
 they were utterly astounded, shouted for the agreement 
 as Shylock for his bond, and signified their intention of 
 taking a very bellicose attitude in case of any bad faith 
 with them. Their suave host mildly proposed an ad- 
 journment of the interview to the residence of Mr. Drew. 
 This was agreed upon, and a few hours later in the 
 evening these devout spirits met for their third Sabbath- 
 day, services. The Eldridge faction still wearing a very 
 bellicose and uncompromising visage, Vanderbilt coolly 
 proceeded in their very presence to talk with Drew upon 
 the course to be pursued to secure the utter defeat of the 
 presuming youths and shut them out of all power and 
 influence in the control of the road. The Bostonians 
 we'll knew that these two powerful veterans working 
 together could have things entirely their own way with- 
 out the slightest difficulty, and finding that they were 
 only derisively laughed at when they suggested that 
 agreements and promises were of any binding force in, 
 such matters, and that they must-make a new tack or be
 
 rrr THE SLATE. 65 
 
 "swamped, they speedily dismounted from their high 
 horso, adopted that discretion which is the better part of 
 valor, resorted to diplomacy once more, and manoeuvred 
 for a fusion and harmonizing of all opposing interests 
 and purposes. The council -was prolonged far into the 
 night and finally resulted in a proclamation of universal 
 amnesty and impartial suffrage to a degree of perfection 
 that should satisfy even Horace Greeley. When the meet- 
 ing broke up and the parties emerged from the mansion 
 of the " speculative director " in the gray dawn of the 
 morning, all was peace. The rumble of cannon, yester- 
 day moving into position for a fierce triangular battle had, 
 died away in the harmony of a magnanimous tripartite 
 alliance. Once in a compromising mood, it had been 
 found quite feasible to arrange for a mutuargrinding of 
 all their little axes and let Wall Street, the public and the 
 Erie Railway bleed for all three parties instead of one. 
 .Drew was to be continued in his position and Eldridg% 
 was to go into the direction and become its presides*; 
 the road was to be run in league and fraternity with -the 
 Vanderbilt roads and in accordance with his wished, and 
 give him the monopoly he desired over New York; the 
 corporation was to provide the Boston, Hartford & Erie 
 Company (of which Mr. Eldridge was also president) 
 with tho much desired $4,000,000; thero was to be a 
 grand combination to run up the price of Erie stock ; and 
 Drt>w was to be the great factotum of all theeo litdo 
 matters, which would enable him to add to hi* million*
 
 66 MAKING UP THE STATE. 
 
 by judicious use of the power and private information 
 incident to the position. 
 
 This arrangement was eminently satisfactory to all 
 three of the parties, as well it might be, but the Eldridge 
 men foresaw that its execution involved one unpleasant cir- 
 cumstance for them. Opposition to Drew had been their 
 chief stock in trade from the start. They had professed 
 themselves greatly scandalized at his conduct in abusing 
 his trust to further his private schemes and speculate in 
 the stock in contempt of law and directly against the in- 
 terests of the stockholders. " Down with the speculative 
 director!" was the motto they had inscribed on their ban- 
 ner to win favor, and upon this purpose they had based 
 their special claim to consideration and support. They 
 had not yet acquired the lofty contempt of their veteran 
 confederates for the opinion and esteem of both public and 
 friends provided they carried their point, and therefore 
 naturally felt a little squeamish at the thought of appear- 
 ing before their friends with such a sudden abandonment 
 of the cause they had so loudly championed, their indig- 
 nation and offended moral sense so inexplicably collapsed, 
 and advocating the reelection of the man whom they had 
 so unsparingly denounced as unfit to be continued : in 
 power. They dreaded the reproach of bad faith and 
 treachery which they felt would be deservedly charged 
 upon them by their friends and followers. Out of regard 
 to this mawkish sensibility it was arranged that a ticket 
 with Drew's name left off should be made up and elected,
 
 A FLUTTJEE IN WAIL STBBET. 67 
 
 but one of the men on the ticket should be an obliging 
 man of straw who would kindly resign immediately after 
 election, and then the remaining directors, in virtue of the 
 power given them to fill any vacancy in their board, 
 would choose Drew to fill the place resigned by the locum 
 tencns. This would save appearances for the sensitive 
 spirits and raise a dust that would conceal their "job" 
 from the eyes of their friends till it was forgotten. By a 
 most fortunate chance, too, this piece of strategy would 
 have an incidental consequence not to be despised or neg- 
 lected. These contradictory actions would produce vio- 
 lent fluctuations in the stock on election day, which those 
 behind the scenes would know how to turn to good ac- 
 count. With all matters thus nicely cut and dried, the 
 protracted meeting in the house of the distinguished 
 Methodist broke up and this Gideon's Band came forth 
 from the mansion of peace with serene countenances. 
 
 The first act in the programme thus settled upon was 
 faithfully carried out. The election came off and the news 
 reaching Wall Street that the great leader of the bears had 
 been defeated and driven out of his fort, spread a panic 
 among his followers and Erie bounded upward. Two 
 hours later came the news that Mr. Underwood had re- 
 signed his place as director and that Drew had been 
 chosen to fill the vacancy and was reinstated in his old 
 place. This acted like magic on the bear brigade, which 
 instantly became ascendant again, and Erie fell as quickly 
 as it had risen. There was a difference of 3 per cent, in
 
 08 FISK AND GOULD MMT. 
 
 the extreme prices of the day, a fluctuation sufficiently 
 large to yield a rich profit to those who knew beforehand 
 how the wires were to be operated and thus were enabled 
 to reap two harvests in a single day. 
 
 The strange course of things on election day puzzled 
 and confused operators, and brokers utterly but the 
 mysterious movement was soon forgotten in the sweeping 
 tide of Wall Street and Erie settled down for a calm of a 
 few weeks, remaining quite steady at about 70. Jjni ^ 
 
 Among the new directors chosen at this election were 
 
 - c ,Trr o 
 
 Jay Gould and Jamea Fiok, Jr., who met for the first 
 tune at the preliminary meeting of the new board. Mr. 
 Fisk says the date of this election is well fixed in his 
 memory, because it constitutes an " episode " in his life. 
 He dates his grey hairs from that day, and says he saw 
 more robbery during the next year than he had ever seen 
 before ,jn his Avholo life -a statement that will receive 
 ready credence. But it is amusing, to note that this date 
 which is; so indelibly marked in his memory he testified^ to 
 be the 13th of October when it was in reality the 8th. 
 He has also said he had not been in office, fifteen minutes 
 before ho, made up his mind there was going to bo 
 trouble, 
 
 The first ac.fr of the programme had been successfully 
 performed and it was now time for the next. In 
 pursuance, of the agreement to run the stock up, a large 
 " pool " was formed the last of November or early part of 
 December jand Drew was left in charge of the fund to
 
 engineer the movement. Besides their contributions to 
 the pool many of the confederates made large purchases 
 on their own private accounts, looking to a rapid rise. 
 The prices did not make rapid leaps upward at once but 
 fluctuated two or three per cent. " forward and back " 
 rather mysteriously for four or five weeks. The members 
 of the pool who had made outside investments being 
 surprised that the stock fell back heavily after each ad- 
 vance instead of rising uniformly and rapidly as antici- 
 pated, applied to Drew for information and advice ; but 
 he, in his childlike innocence and simplicity, seemed more 
 confused and puzzled than any of the rest and utterly at a 
 loss to account for the strange manner in which their 
 stock acted, yet felt sure it would soon move regularly 
 under their purchases. With this assurance from their 
 sagacious chief they made still further private purchases, 
 some of them even borrowing some of the pool money 
 from Drew to put up as a margin and in addition went 
 " long " extensively. They were confident the looked-for 
 bound upward must come soon, began to count the hours 
 ere their fortunes would be reckoned in millions, and 
 were already forming many little plans and dreams to be 
 executed when they came in possession. . They continued 
 their purchases while the stock rose four, five or six per 
 cent, and then, to their utter amazement, it dropped 
 heavily back to the starting point and was plenty to all 
 purchases. They now became alarmed, for their " long " 
 contracts were near maturity and but a few days
 
 70 KB. DREW HAS NO " KHT8." 
 
 remained in which to reap the golden harvest they had 
 deemed as good as secured. 
 
 The day on which this decline occurred was one of those 
 days at the close of which operators and brokers are too 
 excited and anxious to go home. In the evening, the 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel presented the appearance of an 
 adjourned meeting of the Stock Exchange, the main halls, 
 corridors and public rooms being thronged with the hab- 
 itues of Wall Street, all excited and utterly confounded over 
 the course of Erie that day. Standing by the grand stair- 
 case was an old gentleman with a peculiarly wrinkled face- 
 and brow, with an expression of the most artless simplicity 
 upon his countenance as he surveyed the scene around, 
 him and watched the writhings of the bulls with mute 
 curiosity, utterly unable to comprehend the meaning of 
 the situation. A prominent broker approached him and 
 said," Well, Mr. Drew, is Erie going to fall ? " " Other 
 folks think so, but I can't give you no 'pints'* in it," 
 was the reply of the old gentleman of childlike innocence 
 and he continued his disinterested survey of the scene. 
 
 Eenewed applications of the members of the pool to* 
 Mr. Drew for light on the subject were like efforts to get 
 blood out of a turnip, so blissfully ignorant was he and so- 
 sphinx-like were his responses. They then commenced- 
 making investigations through their brokers, endeavoring 
 to trace the stock furnished them to the source of supply. 
 Their efforts had not been exerted long in this direction; 
 when they were suddenly stricken with horror tho most
 
 JL GUKUO-N HOBNOB. 71 
 
 ickeniiig of gorgon horrors. Their blood was chilled, 
 cold perspiration gathered on their brows and a tremor 
 ran through their very bones. Nearly every share of 
 stock they had bought had been supplied by Drew him- 
 self! through his various brokers. The truth dawned 
 upon them. They had been betrayed and sold out by 
 their own leader, and must lose thousands where they had 
 counted upon making hundreds of thousands.. Who could 
 have dreamt of such duplicity and treachery ? Who could 
 have believed that the man who was wholly indebted to 
 the pool for a recent new lease of power, who had been 
 able to make terms only by promising to join efforts with 
 the pool and work for its aim, who had been entrusted by 
 the pool with the pool fund to manage their " bull " 
 movement, who had been confided in by members of the 
 pool for advice, and who had kindly loaned them some of 
 the pool money to operate with privately who could have 
 believed that this man would deceive and dupe them? 
 victimise them so treacherously while acting as their 
 trusted ally and chief? That was what Daniel Drew had 
 done. He had played the bear and duped his most inti- 
 mate associates so long that the disease was chronic, a 
 "second nature" with him, and the weak nerves of the 
 poor old man could no more resist the temptation of such 
 an unprecedented opportunity for duping a fine lot of con- 
 federates, playing such a comical trick upon the trust 
 reposed in him and acting his normal character of bear 
 despite all pledges and obligations, than water can help
 
 72 YANDEIiBILT KOTTSEir. 
 
 running down hill or sparks can resist flying upward. 
 When Erie was low he laid in a large stock. When it rose 
 he kindly furnished his friends with money to buy with, 
 and then, one good turn deserving another, he had kindly 
 supplied stock for them to buy. He loaded the market 
 till the price fell and then he bought again, sending the 
 market up, when once more his friends borrowed money 
 of him to buy his own stock. And thus while Erie had 
 acted in a manner that puzzled and surprised not only the 
 general dealers but even those who thought they knew all 
 about it, the wily old man had been manipulating these 
 moderate turns, duping his friends and making large 
 profits for the pool in general and himself in particular. 
 
 As soon as these facts became known, a meeting of the 
 pool was held at which the comical Drew coolly and 
 and soothingly announced that the pool had made a hand- 
 some sum and proceeded to divide the spoil. The grim 
 humor of this situation has but few parallels and will be 
 fully appreciated by aH the world now, though the hu- 
 morous side of it was not at the time at all apparent t6 
 the members of the pool, except, perhaps, Fisk and Gould. 
 These gentlemen have a very lively sense of the humorous, 
 and as they were too sharp to get caught, and probably 
 even profited by the proceeding, it is more than likely that 
 they appreciated the position in all its phases. 
 
 The wrath of Vanderbilt knew no bounds and was 
 something inspiring to behold, like the fury of a mighty 
 Biornu It was not that he had been duped. It was not
 
 A NEW POOL 73 
 
 at Drew's ingratitude and duplicity. It was not that his 
 friends had been victimised, pledges broken and his aims 
 momentarily thwarted. It wag at himself for allowing it 
 to be possible to be caught at all, for putting himself in 
 the power of any man, for falling so unsuspectingly and 
 unguardedly into the trap of his inveterate foe. His 
 ' motto is, " Never put it in any man's power to ruin you." 
 He was not ruined nor seriously harmed, but he had 
 infringed the rule of his life and been caught napping for 
 once by his enemy under the most irritating circum- 
 stances. Drew chuckled, looked innocent as a babe and 
 felt many an old score wiped out. Fisk and Gould 
 chuckled, thought it a huge joke and carefully treasured 
 the moral thereof. 
 
 Tanderbilt was now determined that Erie should come 
 under his power, absolutely and beyond the will of any 
 man or body of men to say him nay. He first submitted 
 to the directors certain propositions expressing .his desire 
 as to the management of the road, and the rejection of 
 these by the board showing him that he was not supreme 
 ruler but had been duped all round, he drew himself up 
 in all the majesty of his mighty power and resolved to 
 make Erie his by main force, as he had done with the 
 others. A new pool was immediately formed to do what 
 the first one had failed to do. For reasons not necessary 
 to mention, Daniel Drew was not a member of this pool. 
 Jay Gould, however, was. All these scenes changed 
 rapidly, noiselessly, and by unseen forces, and Erie had
 
 74 LAUGHING AT STATTTTE8. 
 
 rlV* ' ' rV-rrf!* 
 
 scarcely fallen back under Drew's last unloading upon 
 
 his friends when it wheeled and shot up from 70 to 80 
 under the inspiration of the new combination and Van- 
 derbilt's roused will so suddenly as to puzzle and con- 
 found brokers more than ever by tho queer, unexpected 
 and inexplicable movement. Drew, now left out in the . 
 cold, was sad visaged, the picture of childlike innocence 
 and simplicity, and despondent, as usual, but also as 
 usual he boldly sold short of Erie despite the upward 
 bound, despite the combination which he knew had been 
 formed against him, despite the bitter experience he had 
 had in going short when Vanderbilt was opposed to him. 
 His course seemed strange, reckless and rushing upon 
 self-destruction, as viewed by the multitude, but the wary 
 
 Commodore was quick to read its significance and act 
 
 j. H.T l> 
 accordingly. 
 
 T I - T ,qUf VJS .';_ V '-" 
 
 The law of the State forbade any increase of the capital 
 stock of any railroad by a direct issue of new shares. 
 
 But 
 
 oart>i -{"'' " Danger deviseth shifts : wit waits on fear," 
 
 ' \ia . ' [ ,.,.,- ""(>{. '! fi'^ff* T-"*''? !>:(? Jl'tflotm: 
 
 and Drew's genius had devised a ready and easy way of 
 getting round this little difficulty. The charter . of the 
 company does authorize the directors to issue bonds of 
 the corporation for various purposes in the management 
 of the road, and these bonds may be made convertible 
 into capital stock at the option of the holder. The 
 directors were only too glad to issue bonds in any amount 
 whenever they could find any one to take them, and
 
 THB MY8IEBIOU8 LITTLE MTT.T_ 75 
 
 these being immediately converted into shares of capital 
 stock at the demand of the purchaser, Mr. Drew grace- 
 fully raised his hat at the cobweb restraint of statutes and 
 proceeded on his course. The principle is quite simple. 
 A step thirty-six inches long being forbidden, the space 
 is divided into two steps of eighteen inches each and 
 trippingly passed. 
 
 It was by this simple machinery, then used for the first 
 time, that Mr. Drew provided himself with some 58,000 
 shares of new Erie stock in the spring of 1866. In that 
 instance, however, it was placed with him only as collat- 
 eral security for a loan to the corporation, the directors 
 not suspecting it was to be put upon the market. He 
 nevertheless made use of it in his famous bear campaign 
 of that spring and had thereby laid himself liable to legal 
 proceedings and heavy damages. He had been left un- 
 disturbed, however, and after having sent the stock down 
 from 95 to 50 under the staggering load of new shares, . 
 he bought his collateral back again at the lower figure 
 and held it in reserve for any new emergency. 
 
 By a recent statute it was also permitted to a railroad 
 to issue its own bonds in place of those of any road under 
 lease to it. Availing themselves of the door thus con- 
 veniently opened, Drew and some of his fellow directors 
 had purchased the Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburg Rail- 
 road. It was a worthless road and was bought for 
 $250,000. Immediately after purchasing it they issued 
 bonds in its name to the amount of $2,000,000, then
 
 76 A MALICIOUS DESIQIf. 
 
 leased it, thus burdened, to Erie *. e., in their private 
 capacity they leased it to themselves as directors of Erie- 
 oil such favorable terms that they, as individuals, made an 
 annual profit of $140,000 by the transaction. Erie bonds 
 were then issued in place of those of the leased road and 
 immediately converted into stock. 
 
 With his 58,000 shares of "collateral" ready to be 
 launched upon the market any instant ; with the shares 
 into which the $2,000,000 of bonds of the leased road had 
 been converted, ready for use whenever the market was high 
 enough ; and with the simple machinery of the two unlim- 
 ited sources of supply easily put in motion at any moment 
 to turn out any desired amount of stock, well might Mr. 
 Drew recklessly go short in Erie when it stood somewhere 
 above 70, and continue to look despondent, " with a smile 
 that was child-like and bland." However rash and suicidal 
 his course might seem to Wall Street, he innocently felt 
 confident that he could oblige the greedy Commodore with 
 as much Erie as he would take. 
 
 Vanderbilt understood perfectly well this blind confi- 
 dence that went short so boldly, unterrified either by his 
 combination, his wrath, or his vast power, and he was not 
 such a chicken as to put his foot in the trap of his enemies 
 again. He bethought himself of maliciously breaking; 
 some jof the small wheels in Mr. Drew's little machines, 
 clogging them up, throwing them out of gear so they 
 would not work, and absolutely spoiling the poor old 
 man's pet plaything so fondly constructed to amuse him-
 
 TEN MILLIONS OF NEW STOCK. 77 
 
 self with in the dull hours. He therefore ordered a halt 
 in the operations of the pool and his brokers till ho could 
 cripple the process by which Erie stock might be dumped 
 upon him by the cart-load when he had lifted it to a 
 tempting figure. 
 
 It was past the middle of January, 1868, when 
 Drew's treachery leaked out and the pool and Vanderbilt 
 had found themselves sold. Three weeks had passed in 
 tho rearrangement of wires, laying new pipes and forming 
 the new battle lines. They had been three weeks of that 
 dark portentous calm that heralds the coming of a mighty 
 storm. On the 17th of February Vanderbilt fired the 
 opening gun. It was an injunction from Judge George 
 G. Barnard, tieing up the 58,000 shares of stock held by 
 Drew as collateral so effectually that they could not be put 
 upon the market. Two days later came a second order 
 from the same judge suspending Drew from the office of 
 treasurer and director and ordering him to appear on 
 the 10th of March and show cause why he should not 
 be permanently removed from the direction of the Erie 
 Railway. Drew was the leading spirit and great arch- 
 enemy and it was felt that with him out of the way and 
 his hands effectually tied, all would be well. The 58,000 
 shares which he held having been tied up by tho injunc- 
 tion of tho 17th, he induced the board of directors to pass 
 a resolution to issue 810,000,000 of new bonds to supply 
 various needs of tho road. Theso wore of course con- 
 verted into shares at once, and so for the 58,000 shares
 
 7.8 LAW HAS 90 TEBKOB FOB THE INNOCENT. 
 
 which. Vanderbilt had tied up 100,000 new shares had 
 been manufactured. This brilliant stroke was achieved 
 on the 19th, before Judge Barnard's order of that date, 
 suspending Drew from office, had been served, and was 
 of course kept a dead secret to all but the directors con- 
 cerned, no suspicion of it reaching Wall Street or 
 Vanderbilt. Therefore when the second injunction 
 arrived, it was received with a smile more childlike and 
 bland than ever and did not disturb the old gent's nerves 
 in the least. He chuckled and said, " Fire away, with 
 your injunctions, Mr. Barnard ! Fire away ! An in- 
 nocent man like me has nothing to fear from the law." 
 Fisk and Gould exchanged winks, chuckled and whispered 
 to each other " What jolly sport to see these old bucks 
 butt heads ! " 
 
 Of the new shares thus issued, Drew took 50,000 and 
 James Fisk, Jr., 50,000. Drew immediately divided his 
 into small lots, placed them where they could bo used at 
 a moment's notice and waited developments. When the 
 two injunctions had been served, Vanderbilt regarded the 
 hands of Drew tied beyond the power of doing further 
 harm and therefore gave orders for the pool and his 
 brokers to move forward in the purchase of Erie. The 
 order was obeyed with alacrity and the great railroad king 
 was fast gaining possession of the coveted power. The 
 stock was very active, the chief feature of the street and 
 the price tended upward. Drew thought it time to pour 
 in his first broadside, send the price down and cover his
 
 BA.RTTABD FULMINATES. 
 
 79 
 
 shorts. February 29th Erie was selling in the morning 
 at 08$ and the demand for it was strong. Drew gave 
 orders to his brokers, among whom the 50,000 shares 
 had been distributed in small lots, to sell, and the whole 
 load was dumped upon the bulls and eagerly swallowed 
 by them before they were aware of its source. Soon the 
 rumor that there had been a large issue of new stock 
 spread like wildfire, striking terror into the bulls, and in 
 a few minutes Erie reeled and tumbled to 65. A howl of 
 delight went up from the bears and nearly every one was 
 expecting to see it fall to 50, when it as suddenly wheeled 
 again and shot back to 73. Like a : great general stem- 
 ming a panic among his men and turning a rout into 
 victory, Yanderbilt commanded his brokers to stand firm 
 and buy every share of Erie stock offered. Something 
 like $5,000,000 worth of it was loaded upon him that day, 
 but he stood up under it all without the slightest sign of 
 being heavy laden, holding it with ease and even sending 
 the price up ! i The little bears were all scooped up in his 
 net and the nerves of even their great leader himself were 
 somewhat unsettled by this manifestation of tremendous 
 power and determination. 'Drew had now flung upon the 
 market all the stock he could command, and yet the price 
 had gone up and left him with largo short contracts un- 
 covered. On the 3d of March his nerves received a fur- 
 ther shock, for on that day, at the instance of Vanderbilt, 
 Judge Barnard fulminated his third injunction, this time 
 not against Drew alone but against the whole body of Erie
 
 80 A. COUNTEBBLAST. 
 
 directors, peremptorily forbidding tlieir issuing or using 
 any stock of the company in addition to the 251,058 
 shares outstanding at the last annual report. As 50,000 
 new shares were already on the market and they had got 
 Vanderbilt's money therefor, they could not restrain a 
 slight smile at the Judge and his patron for this injunc- 
 tion. But Drew could not join in this smile at all. He 
 could think of nothing but "them shorts" and was alarmed 
 lest this last move had placed him in Vanderbilt's power 
 once more. Nor did any of them long indulge in humor 
 over ' the comical phase of this last move, but they seri- 
 ously addressed themselves to the problem of breaking 
 the cordon that was gathering around them, rr.q j 
 
 A week wore on". Vanderbilt pushed Erie steadily 
 upward and it now stood at 78. During these days the 
 directors came to the conclusion that "two can play at 
 that game " of injunctions. The 10th was the day on 
 which Drew had got to appear before Judge Barnard and 
 show cause why ho should not be turned out of Erie. He 
 knew that the crisis of the whole situation must culminate 
 on that day. But on the morning of the 9th the directors 
 quietly went over to Brooklyn, and upon affidavits stating 
 that a conspiracy had been entered into to injure the Erie 
 Railway and speculate in its stock, and that Judge Bar- 
 nard himself was interested in it and was using the power 
 of his Court to help it on, an injunction was obtained from 
 Judge Gilbert staying proceedings in all the suits that 
 had been instituted, Judge Barnard being included in the
 
 PISK AND GOULD'S HEADS 10GETHEB. 81 
 
 restraint, and ordering the directors to proceed in the 
 management of the road precisely as if no suit had been 
 instituted. This placed matters in a very interesting 
 position. On one hand Judge Barnard had forbidden 
 certain things to be done and therefore if the directors 
 proceeded that functionary would visit them with his 
 mighty vengeance for contempt of his Court ; on the other 
 hand was the order of Judge Gilbert directing them to 
 move forward in those same matters, so if they stood still 
 they were equally liable to be punished by him for con-- 
 tempt of his Court. Drew, being a devout Methodist, 
 probably never plays cards and so had most likely never 
 heard of Hoyle's famous maxim, " When you are in 
 doubt, take the trick ; " but he had seen quite enough of 
 law in his long life to know that a prisoner is always enti- 
 tled to the benefit of any doubt, and Judge Barnard was the 
 man the terror of whose process for contempt it was de- 
 cided to brave. In this position the opposing forces rested 
 on their arms facing each other the last night before the 
 great decisive battle, knowing that on the morrow would 
 come the final crisis of the campaign and that before the 
 sun set again the laurels would be awarded to bull or 
 bear, Vanderbilt or Drew. 
 
 It had been a case of " love at sight " between Fisk 
 and Gould. They recognized at once the elements of 
 strength which their union would have and had been 
 putting their heads together through all these months to 
 improve any opportunity that might arise. Gould had
 
 82 DREW FEISHTENED. 
 
 retained the confidence of Vanderbilt all this tinn and he 
 now so far presumed upon this confidence as to suggest 
 to Vanderbilt that as the day was to bo one of much ex- 
 citement in the Courts the bears might take advantage of 
 it to depress Erie and it would therefore be advisable for 
 the Commodore to give his brokers orders to sustain the 
 market. Vanderbilt saw the propriety of the course 
 suggested. Gould then played upon Drew's nerves by 
 ominously hinting that Fisk was acting a little peculiar, 
 might not put his 50,000 shares upon the market after 
 all, and if he did not Vanderbilt would triumph and Erie 
 might go to 200 or higher as Harlem did. This greatly 
 increased the old man's alarm and his weak knees began 
 to tremble badly. 
 
 The morning of the 10th dawned. Vanderbilt gave an 
 unlimited order to sustain the market, then standing at 
 79. Drew scrutinized Fisk's actions and found they did 
 look dubious, as Gould said. He was seized with a fear 
 that he was going to be duped in the house of his friends 
 as he had duped others, and immediately sent, orders for 
 his brokers to buy Erie to cover his shorts. This was the 
 moment Fisk" was waiting for. His 50,000 shares were 
 immediately distributed among numerous brokers in small 
 lots and orders given to sell when the word came. The 
 stock board met at 10 o'clock, and the street was already 
 tremulous with nervous excitement. The presiding offi- 
 cer commenced calling the list of stocks and all were 
 passed quickly with scarcely any dealings or bids till he
 
 BEDLAM LET LOOSE. 83 
 
 called " Erie !" At that word, before it was off his Hpe, 
 the thickly packed crowd of brokers bounded as if a mine 
 had been sprung beneath them. Their united yells rent 
 the air of the large room as had not been done for many 
 a long day. They shouted till their faces were as red as 
 demons', each trying to make himself heard above the 
 rest, gesticulating frantically to the utmost extent of their 
 physical power. It seemed more like a mad-house filled 
 with raving maniacs suddenly released from constraint 
 than a gathering of rational beings. Erie changed hands 
 by the five and ten thousand shares per moment. The 
 battle raged madly for ten minutes and the stock was 
 going at 80, when the presiding officer announced that 
 dealings in Erie must cease and called the next stock on 
 the list. Instantly the whole body now bolted from the 
 room and poured down the long, large staircase into the 
 street like a wild sweeping torrent, leaving the vice-pres- 
 ident to go through the formality of calling the list to the 
 end to an empty room. On the street the battle was con- 
 tinued and raged in still greater disorder, each of Van- 
 derbilt's brokers forming the centre of an eddying circle 
 in the grand whirlpool and quickly catching at all offers 
 to sell, while Drew's men were equally busy and eager 
 covering his shorts. The struggle was kept up with 
 unabated fury till noon when Erie, under the combined 
 purchases of Vanderbilt and Drew, touched 83. Fisk's 
 men no*w received their word and flung his 50,000 shares. 
 They were snatched up as beggar boys snatch at pennies
 
 84 A pAjac. 
 
 thrown among them and still ask for more. Still the 
 battle raged on till those who had purchased got a chance 
 to glance at the shares that had been delivered to them. 
 It was then suddenly discovered that large quantities of 
 brand-new stock, clean and unrumpled, issued to James 
 FisJt, Jr., had been put upon the street that day. In- 
 stantly and like wildfire a panic ran through the heart of 
 "Wall Street. Here, even more than elsewhere, rumors 
 gather volume as they fly, and rumor now soon had it 
 that new stock had been dumped upon the street in 
 unlimited quantities. The shock was like the work of 
 magic. The antics of those who had gobbled down the 
 new stock unsuspectingly now resembled the contortions 
 of a goose that has swallowed a piece of red-hot iron 
 mistaken for corn. Their retchings and eructations in the 
 effort to disgorge were a rare mixture of the comic and 
 painful to behold. All were eager to expel the indigest- 
 ible, burning foreign matter from their maws, and sold 
 to the first man who would buy. The panic extended 
 even to Vanderbilt's allies. The men who were con- 
 cerned with him in the new pool and who had made large 
 outside investments under their agreement to run Erie up 
 became utterly demoralized by the rumors flying wildly 
 around them. Sharing the general conviction that the 
 Drew party had triumphed and Vanderbilt been beaten, 
 and knowing that in such an event Erie must tumble to 
 40 or even lower, they made haste to sell ere the Commo- 
 dore could countermand the order to sustain the market,
 
 VAJfDEBBILT LOADED DOW1T. 85 
 
 and thus saddled all their loads upon their chief before 
 the news of the situation reached him. 
 
 Under the panic Erie reeled heavily and made a sudden 
 lunge down to 71 a fall of 12 per cent, in two hours. 
 There it halted quite firmly, making the wonder of the 
 day, not that it fell so quick, but that it did not tumble 
 50 per cent, further. The whole shock of the battle, the 
 whole huge load of the market, was sustained by one 
 man, standing alone in his mighty power, deserted by his 
 allies, who had sold out upon him at the trying moment 
 and skulked away. But his own brokers had already 
 been much the heaviest purchasers, so the additional 
 amount loaded upon him was not very large compara- 
 tively, and as they held a vast volume of stock and still 
 bought as it fell, they were able to stem the tide at 71 
 and hold it firmly. 
 
 When the panic started news of the crisis was sent to 
 Vanderbilt and he was asked if his brokers should sell. 
 " SELL !! you fool! No ! ! ! JBuy every share offered!" 
 was the response roared by the man who saw with the 
 quick eye of genius. One moment of hesitation, one 
 faltering word of command, one instant of wavering in 
 his position, and his lines would be hopelessly broken; 
 Erie, of which ho now held millions, would break and 
 tumble 50 per cent. ; Central, Hudson River, and Harlem, 
 all of which he carried on his shoulders, would follow in 
 the panic and he would be hopelessly swamped. He took 
 in the whole situation at a glance and knew that Erie
 
 $6 . KI8K AtfD GOULD WIN THE FiH*T HAND. 
 
 must be sustained at all hazards now, and by the force of 
 his will alone the tide was stemmed, the panic stopped 
 short, and disaster stayed. 
 
 The battle was done. Fisk and Gould had triumphed 
 over Vanderbilt, defeating his purpose and hopes while 
 relieving him of some $10,000,000 of his money, and had 
 also bitten Drew quite severely by the way just for a 
 little side diversion, risk's dubious looks ceased the 
 moment they had produced their desired effect in leading 
 Drew to give orders to cover his contracts, and when the 
 old gent learned an hour later that Fisk was going to 
 sell, he sent a fleet messenger to countermand his order 
 to buy ; but it was too late. His brokers had acted 
 promptly and his shorts, contracted at about 70, had been 
 covered at about 80. Still, the result of the whole battle 
 of three weeks was such that the veteran leader of the 
 bears was eminently satisfied, and he heartily joined in 
 the chuckle that ran round the self-satisfied circle 
 gathered at Erie headquarters in "West Street that even- 
 ing around the uncovered chest containing Vanderbilt's 
 millions in exchange for the small slips of clean paper 
 ground out by their little mill only a few days before. 
 
 The roar of the wild battle in Wall Street had com- 
 pletely drowned the loudest noise in the neighboring 
 halls of justice that day, and Judge Barnard's deepest 
 and most powerful pipes had been as the squeaks of 
 a penny whistle beside a battery of booming cannon. 
 Nevertheless he had piped away after his fashion, vent-
 
 BAENAED OK THE WAE PATH. 87 
 
 ing much righteous indignation, overflowing -with a 
 more than noble Roman's valor and virtue, conclud- 
 ing in shrill tones, " My voice is still for war." The 
 man he had sternly ordered to appear before the 
 majesty of his law that morning, shielded himself 
 behind a judge of co-ordinate power with Barnard, 
 found it inconvenient to attend and failed to put in an. 
 appearance* Moreover, as "his Hon6r'" took his seat 
 upon the bench that morning he was himself treated to a 
 little tas^e of injunctions, being at that moment, without 
 the slightest awe of his august dignity, diamond studs, 
 frilled shirt front, and velvet coat, served with Judge Gil- 
 bert's order peremptorily forbidding him to take any fur- 
 ther proceedings in the matter of the orders and injunc- 
 tions he had so freely fulminated against Drew and the 
 whole body of Erie directors. He was amazed at such an 
 extraordinary act on the part of his Brooklyn compeer, 
 promptly declared it utterly null and void, and proceeded 
 to treat it with entire contempt. But while he himself 
 thus treated with contempt an order of the Supreme Court 
 on the one hand, on the other he proposed to visit sum- 
 mary punishment upon those who had presumed to dis- 
 regard his own annulled orders. Drew had failed to 
 appear. That was contempt despite an order of the Su- 
 preme Court staying proceedings and telling him he need 
 not appear. That day's history in Wall Street had dis- 
 closed that the Erie directors had issued new stock after 
 " his Honor " had enjoined them from so doing. That was
 
 88 SURPRISED AT MOBHIKO DEVOTIONS. 
 
 contempt despite a subsequent order of equal authority 
 authorizing them to do as they pleased about it. At least, 
 so thought the pure-minded and immaculate Barnard, 
 consequently he suffered not the majesty of his law to be 
 slighted. 
 
 Before the sun was well up the next morning the coat- 
 tails of all the sheriffs and deputy sheriffs that could be 
 found in the celebrated new Court House were stuffed 
 full of formidable documents bearing at the bottom what 
 those who claim to speak from acquaintance pronounced 
 to be the sign manual of George G. Barnard, judex. The 
 said savage-looking documents with the formidable name 
 at the bottom were writs for the arrest of the whole posse 
 of Erie directors, including "the body of James Fisk, 
 Jr.," for contempt, and "bis Honor" now made these 
 pellets of justice as plentiful around the City Hall as Fisk 
 had made Erie stock in Wall Street the day before. The 
 Erie directors, after a night of rest and pleasant dreams of 
 victory and new fortunes made, had assembled at their 
 headquarters in West Street again on the morning of the 
 llth and were on their knees taking a fresh matutinal 
 peep into the chostful of pleasing souvenirs of their friend 
 Vanderbilt. In this morning devotion they were sur- 
 prised by the arrival of a messenger nearly out of breath 
 from the haste he had made to warn them that a small 
 army of Judge Barnard's minions was in eager search for 
 them, armed with writs for their arrest and intending to 
 drag their precious bodies before "his Honor" of the
 
 EAELT LESSONS IX LAW. 89 
 
 august and terrible shirt frill. Upon the explosion of this 
 shell in their midst, the knees of Drew smote each other 
 as might a sinner's at the sound of Gabriel's trumpet, his 
 countenance assumed a most woe-begone expression, and 
 ghastly spectres of Ludlow Street jail haunted his aged vis- 
 ion. Fisk's first thought was for the security of that chest. 
 He hastily closed the lid and located himself with his two 
 hundred pounds and more of flesh on top thereof, an- 
 nounced that he should not get off till Barnard's dogs 
 took him off, and called a council of war to meet around 
 him to deliberate on the situation. 
 
 At Brattleboro in his boyhood he had often seen perse- 
 cuted individuals whom the sheriff wanted to see- very 
 particularly, run through the covered bridge which here 
 spans the Connecticut and when they had safely reached 
 the New Hampshire side, turn suddenly round, put thumb 
 to nose and set their fingers in a lively wiggle at the 
 Vermont sheriff and kindly inquire the state of his health. 
 This early practical instruction in the complexity of 
 American jurisprudence resulting from our political sys- 
 tem had amused him too many times in his youth to be 
 forgotten and his knowledge of law thus gained now 
 served him a good turn. The Erie offices were close upon 
 the river bank directly opposite the ferry to Jersey City. 
 It immediately struck Fisk that it would cut the Gordian 
 knot of their present predicament and be a good joke on 
 Barnard to step aboard the next boat and take a little 
 pleasure trip to the Jersey side of the Hudson. That being
 
 90 PBBPAKATlONS FOR FLIGHT. 
 
 the terminus of the Erie road, they could superintend 
 the affairs of their corporation as well there as in New 
 York ; and close by the water's edge where the ferry 
 would land them stands Taylor's Hotel, an establishment 
 that makes excellent provision for all the needs of the 
 inner man. The proposition had so much to recommend 
 it to their urgent necessity and so few drawbacks that 
 .it struck his fellow miscrables as a brilliant idea and 
 was immediately adopted by a unanimous vote. Hasty 
 preparations for the foreign tour were at once com- 
 menced. Fisk deftly removed his two hundred pound 
 corpus from the chest and Drew, as treasurer, placed 
 therein all the funds of the Erie treasury, locked 
 it securely and placed it in charge of two trusted 
 porters to be taken to the ferry. Having thus at- 
 tended to his official duties, he proceeded to gather up 
 his private funds the proceeds of his brilliant manage- 
 ment as confidential agent of Mr. Vanderbilt's pool, the 
 reward of lending men money to buy his own stock, 
 selling out his most intimate friends and various similar 
 brilliant exploits requiring several small trunks to hold 
 them, and sent them in the wake of the chest. Fisk pro- 
 ceeded to stuff the pockets of his coat, vest and pants with 
 the greenbacks gathered as the fruit of wearing a dubious 
 look in Drew's presence the previous morning, smiling as 
 he did so to note the mournful glances cast at his pleth- 
 oric pockets by the despondent old gentleman. Haste 
 being imperative, the preparations were few and soon
 
 " CONSCIENCE MAKBS COWARBS." 91 
 
 made, and now the band, taking with them such of the 
 books, papers and more important documents as they could 
 easily carry, made for the ferry, Fisk being careful to fall 
 in directly behind the chest, so small had grown his con- 
 fidence in human nature in general and in Daniel Drew 
 in particular. As the party emerged from the building 
 to the sidewalk, three or four policemen happened to be 
 conversing together on the opposite corner. This being 
 the general employment of New York police, that circum- 
 stance should not have caused any alarm ; but 
 
 "Conscience makes cowards of us all," 
 
 and the absconding directors instinctively halted for a 
 moment at the sight of the brass-buttoned Hibernians with 
 lignum vitce clubs, apprehensive lest they were stationed 
 there in the service of Barnard and were waiting for this 
 appearance. The strange tableau which the directors 
 thus presented; with their confused countenances and 
 furtive glances, naturally attracted the attention and 
 fixed upon themselves the stare of. the policemen. Their 
 first apprehension now became certainty, and the in- 
 stinctive impulse to self-protection and personal safety 
 becoming dominant, they broke and ran, not as sheep 
 do, in a united band in the direction of the one that 
 starts first, but some one way and some another. In 
 their utter demoralization, they reverted to the condition 
 of mind existing before the Christian era, when stranger 
 and enemy we're synonymous terms, and were now
 
 92 QOTTSDONNEHKIiEUZSCHOCKSCHWEBENOTH 1 
 
 anxiously suspicious of every man unknown to them that 
 they met, lest he should prove to bo armed with one of 
 Judge Barnard's writs for their arrest. The meandering 
 lines traced by their flight under such circumstances, their 
 sudden dodgings and duckings ' and turning of sharp 
 corners, were comic in the extreme. A few of them only 
 made at once for the ferry, but of these few Fisk was one. 
 The porters bearing the chest of funds, conscious of no 
 offence, had not been at all disturbed at sight of the 
 policemen but had moved directly on to the ferry and so 
 were somewhat in advance of the party who had halted 
 from fear. The boat with the chest and porters on board 
 was just starting when such of the fugitives as ran in 
 that direction arrived upon the slip ; but Fisk seeing that 
 chest was like Hans Breitmann, the soldier in Maryland, 
 when scouts came in reporting a rebel town near by in 
 which there was lager bier. 
 
 " Gottsdonnerkreuzschockschwerenoth I 
 How Breitmann broked do bush 1 
 O, let me see dat lager bier I 
 O, let me at Trim rush I " 
 
 He of the plethoric pockets made a desperate leap for the 
 boat, successfully accomplished the hazardous feat and 
 was safe safe from the water ready to receive him, safe 
 from the wrath of the virtuous Barnard, safe near that 
 chest. He wiped his brow, puffed for a moment, then 
 imitated those funny men he had seen pass so hastily 
 through the bridge at Brattleboro years before.
 
 LANDED Qy A PEACEFUL &HOBX. 93 
 
 The other directors made their way, to Jersey in 
 straggling parties as best they could. Some went by the 
 ferry; others, fearing they would now be watched for 
 there, got themselves privately ferried over iu small row 
 boats. By nightfall all but two of the most unoffending 
 ones had succeeded in placing the Hudson between them- 
 selves and danger. The two., luckless, ones felj into the 
 sheriffs clutches and were marched into the august pres- 
 ence of Judge Barnard but were released under heavy bail. 
 As soon as Fisk had reached the land .of safety and 
 taken some refreshments, he took up his position at the 
 head of the slip in the ferry house and, as the successive 
 boats came in, walked up and down with his hands in his 
 trowsers pockets, one of Park and Tilford's finest Ila,- 
 vauas in his mouth, overflowing with spirits and humor, 
 and made many kind inquiries about his friends Barnard 
 and Vanderbiit. He welcomed each small squad of his 
 fellow exiles with much delight as they straggled in, 
 taking them warmly by the hand with the cheery words 
 "Well, boys, how's everything over'n York ? " 
 
 "With the first shades of evening twilight, March llth, 
 1868, a merrier company than is often gathered around 
 the festive board in Taylor's Hotel sat down for " a feast 
 of reason and a flow of soul." United once more, with 
 the exception of the hapless two, after many struggles 
 and dangers, 
 
 " mnltnm ille et tends juctatns ct alto 
 
 Vi Superum, ttevi mcmorem Barnardis ob iram, 
 
 Malta quoque et bello passus,"
 
 94 " POK8A.IT BT HAEO OLTM." 
 
 a right merry band were they now. Safe from all harm 
 or intrusion, protected by the broad rcgis of the land of 
 the Camden & Amboy Railroad, other-wise known as the 
 State of Ne\v Jersey, the home of large mosquitoes, they 
 recounted the incidents of the past three days with an 
 abundant flow of wit and wine, enjoying that weird fasci- 
 nation and pleasure that hovers over dangers well passed. 
 
 cjjn ;-: .oy 
 
 Imr. yjwwa.'lft . iwui oxU f."Jt>;-t.I/Hii ^-i'I!.C uu'w ,./. 
 otit .r~ -uoi;:,-ajf &Li \ju ioo; t>U ,.u0&;iiiL?o$3i OOTO^. r.^; i. 
 ovi-.i--. ^ua o/li.fi ..r-n e?o; r 'c?^ euJ si qiia oJi ! fifi^ii 
 till el .-;;"fiij-i ti;: i;;i..v .:.-vv.-f> : :r;5.<Ty />;jiiic'/r ^cri Oirrt-.- 
 -rJV\ iiOiiii h'l.'iu. ; JT .'iuii /'i>ri ^o ouo ,gio Joocj .-TOSVK-TJ 
 f iOi-if".'I lijiA. rfivrirl ,:!jiw 5aiv;.'U-!'.'.vo iUt-i>j.:i elil 11! 
 
 o v/'c-il .u 
 
 oil.: Jo {nlntauj, fei-rrai J> ,.':": jrr;r;ui..i " 
 . ; . .ctiTiiognS IT 
 I'Ki 3f> cjpei'p -
 
 ot OOO.fiTP.* "io ir. i --. -vis ]--nr'^r--">i nt^sft .000.0^0.4-3 
 
 : u;a<W'il&f?i!ii '.'._. .i. ; .' . : < ')! Lilted- kill -!-: 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 EXILED IN JERSEY A QEEAT SCAEE AND NOBODY HTTHT 
 
 SECEET TEIPS ACROSS THE HUDSON" DEEW SHADOWED AND 
 
 EUCHEED BATTLE IN . THE LEGISLATX7EE A SETTLEMENT 
 
 HOME AGAIN -ON THE WITNESS-STAND. 
 
 When the exiled directors had fully vented their humor 
 and were ready to turn their attention to the practical 
 affairs of their trust once more, the first step was to 
 secure a firm legal footing in their new abode. An agent 
 was immediately sent to Trenton, a bill making the Erie 
 Hail way a New Jersey corporation was pushed through 
 the Legislature in two hours, was soon signed by tho 
 Governor, and Erie was now perfectly at home in its new 
 quarters. 
 
 Another practical question that immediately presented 
 itself for settlement related to the division of the spoils of 
 the recent campaign. Of course the $10,000,000 of new 
 bonds issued had not been negotiated at par. For the 
 $5,000,000 worth issued to Mr. Fisk the Erie treasury 
 realized 03,625,000, and as the stock into which he 
 converted his bonds had been disposed of for about
 
 d6 GBOWLIXU OVEK TBLE SPOILS. 
 
 $4,000,000, there remained the sum of $375,000 to be 
 divided among the parties to compensate them for their 
 valuable services in getting the stock upon the market 
 When it was decided to issue the $10,000,000 of new 
 bonds, a written agreement was entered into by Drew, 
 Fisk, Gould and another, as to the manner in which the 
 profits should be divided ; but Fisk having come to put 
 little faith in Drew's agreements, even though in writing, 
 declined to hand over to the keeper of Mr. Vander bill's 
 late pool the $375,000 which he held as the profit of his 
 half of the transaction, till Drew also accounted for his 
 profits in the late campaign, in accordance with his agreo- 
 , ment. The wrangle was finally settled by Fisk giving 
 the treasurer his check for $375,000 instead of surren- 
 dering the cash in his possession. This check was 
 uncertified, which of course made it nothing but a due 
 bill, and therefore of just as much value as Mr. Drew's 
 agreement, and no more. It was however accompanied 
 by about $180,000 worth of stock, as collateral, and the 
 amount realized on this may be taken as the treasurer's 
 profits from this single item of the day's transactions, for 
 .history does not record that Mr, Drew ever pt that check 
 of James Fisk, Jr., for $375,000 cashed, llalf that sum 
 being equally divided among the other three parties to 
 the agreement, Fisk and Gould must have profited 
 upward of $60,000 each by this one item of tbo day's 
 
 9' 
 
 transactions, and. they w.ere not men that would fail to 
 tin. i\i,'i.'ff v*-^ jioclj* Ji4-" " " s^'i ' ' ' ' ' i *< c >c? I 
 
 have several items of a like profitable nature. 
 
 ]:ro-J -;. . ': I .3fcOf|a!f> aekf ben EinTod Si!
 
 CHEATING PUBLIC SENTIHBKT. 97 
 
 These two matters being settled, the next thing to be 
 attended to was public sentiment. Their proceedings had 
 been of a nature that would have created a very unpleas- 
 ant odor around their names in Wall Street, even had 
 they remained upon the field and exerted themselves to 
 counteract an unfavorable judgment; and the evil wrought 
 by their deeds had been greatly enhanced by the sudden 
 withdrawal from circulation of so many millions of 
 currency as they had carried with them to Jersey. Money 
 had been made very scarce all at once, causing serious 
 embarrassment in financial matters and still further de- 
 pressing the stock market heavily beyond what was done 
 by the demoralizing effect of the issue of $10,000,000 
 of new stock. Both wind and tide had thus been set 
 strongly against them and the current was increasing 
 daily as the evil effects of their doings developed. But 
 far worse than all this was the stench of having fled the 
 State. The public had long since grown so indifferent to 
 the course of events in Wall Street that, whatever their 
 exploits there, it would have been regarded only as a 
 " diamond cut diamond " proceeding and after a little 
 harmless noise of the bulls and bears and a few equally 
 harmless newspaper articles, all would have been forgotten 
 and their names would not have been materially injured. 
 But they now rested under the stigma of being fugitives 
 from justice, and that circumstance alone branded them 
 with great disgrace in the public eye. Therefore thej 
 now exerted themselves strenuously to counteract all this 
 
 D
 
 98 DEBATING PUBLIC SENTIMENT. 
 
 and turn the tide in their favor. To all the reporters, 
 interviewers and committees that now visited them by the 
 score from every quarter, they represented themselves as 
 the most disinterested and self-sacrificing champions of 
 the public interests against the monopolizing schemes of 
 Yanderbilt and affirmed that all they had done was not 
 only a justifiable but absolutely necessary means to that 
 most desirable end, and their only way to defend the road 
 committed to their trust. And instead of being fugitives 
 from justice, they claimed to be martyrs to the public weal 
 and persecuted victims of the most corrupt judge that 
 ever disgraced a bench, alleging that Barnard was nothing 
 but the obsequious tool of Vanderbilt, in league with him 
 to speculate in Erie stock, and scandalously abusing his 
 power and position as a judge to harrass them for thwart- 
 ing his knavish schemes. As these allegations had a firm 
 basis in the facts of the case, the position in which they 
 pictured themselves was very plausible and the tub thus 
 constructed to sail a stormy sea would have been an ex- 
 cellent one had it only had a bottom. But to think of Fisk 
 and Gould in the character of self-sacrificing guardians 
 of public and corporate interests strikes one as extremely 
 comic, and how much they surpassed Vanderbilt in seek- 
 ing the welfare of the Erie Railway and the commercial 
 interests of New York the sequel has left no room to 
 doubt ; but their character was not then developed or 
 known and Mr. Eldridge, their president, enjoyed a high 
 reputation both as a railroad manager and a man of
 
 NEW TOKK BOTTOHS. 99 
 
 character. Their agreement with Vanderbilt at the time 
 of their election had not yet leaked out to the public and 
 their several purposes were not yet patent. Therefore 
 their tub, bottomless though it was, sailed very well tem- 
 porarily. None of their visitors departed hungry or 
 thirsty. All left with a very favorable impression of the 
 kind-heartedness of the exiles, and the spirit of hospitality 
 and bonhomie that pervaded Taylor's Hotel distilled a 
 gentle infusion of roses into the ink of the newspaper 
 men, who now clearly saw two sides to the question and 
 began to think the generous spirits chased out of New 
 York by Judge Barnard not so black as they had been 
 painted. 
 
 And now occurred a most ludicrous incident which 
 served to help the exiles somewhat in turning sympathy 
 in their favor. On the 16th, a large body of New York 
 "roughs" of the worst type made their appearance in 
 Jersey City, about the ferry house, Erie depot and Tay- 
 lor's Hotel. The news immediately spread that Vander- 
 bilt had offered a reward of $50,000 for Drew, Fisk or 
 Eldridge and this party had come over intending to kidnap 
 all the directors they could find and take them back within 
 the jurisdiction of the terrible Barnard by main force and 
 with as much violence to Jersey law as might be neces- 
 sary. Great excitement ran through the city at the news 
 and a large 4 crowd soon gathered in the vicinity. A large 
 number of Erie employes was immediately summoned 
 from the work-shops and formed into a body guard to
 
 100 OKT TATLOB. 
 
 protect the directors, and Taylor's Hotel was at once and 
 not inaptly dubbed "Fort Taylor." A heavy detach- 
 ment of police was detailed for service within and about 
 "the Fort" and the whole force of the city was 
 instructed that if a rocket were sent up any time during 
 the night they should regard it as a signal to hasten to 
 the threatened quarter. General fear of a riot prevailed, 
 the stores were closed in the evening, the streets in the 
 disturbed quarter were avoided and the militia was placed 
 Tinder orders to rally at a signal. The excitement of the 
 situation was rather enjoyed by the directors, and 
 especially by Mr. Fisk, who now bustled about with a 
 most determined looking visage, mounted his guard, 
 issued orders, puffed away at his cigar, kept up a con- 
 stant discharge of puns, vowed he would never be taken 
 alive, and braved all the terrors and hazards of the deep 
 and Judge Barnard's jurisdiction by daring trips across 
 the Hudson in a small row boat under cover of the 
 darkness and fog to act as a spy in the camp of his 
 enemies, a la King Alfred, and get something good at 
 Delmonico's and elsewhere. No demonstration whatever 
 was made by the roughs, most of whom returned to New 
 York within an hour or two after their first appearance. 
 Fort Taylor was kept heavily garrisoned, however, and 
 continued to wear on the inside the air of a besieged 
 fortress. New rumors of an imminent attack came into 
 camp at intervals of two or three days, to renew the 
 excitement and prevent the situation from becoming
 
 JL OBBAT SCARS. lOl 
 
 monotonous. This state of things was kept up for two 
 weeks, when, the novelty and excitement of the episode 
 having grown stale, the self-imposed siege was raised 
 without a single instance of disorder having occurred, all 
 the roughs having long ago retired to their favorite 
 haunts in the Five Points and elsewhere and quite 
 forgotten the affair in their active training for Alder- 
 men. 
 
 A great handle was made of this affair by the exiles to 
 show the reckless character of their persecutors and turn 
 sentiment against Vanderbilt, as it could only be a man 
 whose schemes were villainous and who hesitated at no 
 acts of violence and lawlessness, that would resort to the 
 assistance of New York roughs to help him on. Of course 
 Yanderbilt had no more to do with it than had the King 
 of Siam and it was the height of absurdity to represent 
 him as doing such a thing. It would be much more 
 supposable that Fisk himself hired the mea to come over 
 and that the whole affair was a contrived plot to excite an 
 unfavorable sentiment against Vanderbilt. At any rate 
 this turn was given to it. 
 
 But, far more than by any of these means, a popular 
 feeling in favor of th exiles and a disposition to look 
 upon them as the opponents of monopoly and champions 
 of the interests of the public and the Erie Railway, was 
 created by their lowering the charges for fare and freight 
 nearly one third, entering into a fierce competition with 
 the Commodore and hiq Central and running their road
 
 102 l-AKES AND FKEIGHI REDUCED, 
 
 at losing rates, which the money Vanderbilt had supplied 
 them "with easily enabled them to do. 
 
 In the midst of all these efforts to turn sentiment in 
 their favor, a bill to prevent the consolidation of the Erie- 
 and Central roads under the control of one man, or parties 
 in his interest, to guard against monopoly of railroads,, 
 to establish a broad gauge connection to the West, and to- 
 legalize the recent new issue of Erie stock, was introduced 
 into the Legislature at Albany. Under the various 
 influences the exiles had brought to bear, a strong senti- 
 ment now set in in their favor, and petitions and memorials 
 and letters poured in from all parts of the State, especially 
 from New York and all along the line of the Erie road,, 
 upon the grave law-makers at Albany, praying for the 
 passage of the bill to defeat Vanderbilt' s monopoly 
 schemes, and a large portion of the press took up the* 
 cudgel on the same side. But Vanderbilt was no com- 
 mon antagonist. He had started with thinga much in hia 
 favor, or against the runaways, and had done nothing of 
 a doubtful legal look. The New York Courts had given 
 him their fullest sanction and the adverse order which thfr 
 Drew party had obtained of the Brooklyn judge to serve 
 their purposes of the 10th had been indignantly dismissed 
 on the day for its hearing, the judge intimating that it 
 had been procured in a scandalous and fraudulent 
 manner, thus making it look that Vanderbilt's cause was- 
 wholly within, while that of the Drew party was wholly, 
 without, the pale of law. The sentiment and influence of
 
 TANDEKBILT'S METAL TRIED. 103 
 
 Wall Street, too, had been decidedly in favor of Vander- 
 bilt at the first and had steadily increased, for matterg 
 there had been placed in a very trying and critical 
 position by the action of the fugitives, and were daily 
 getting worse. All stocks were falling, money was very 
 scarce and commanded high rates of interest, many 
 brokers were failing, and the turn which affairs should 
 take in the crisis depended wholly upon the course of 
 Vanderbilt. He was bearing a tremendous load upon 
 his shoulders. All his stocks were falling, gradually but 
 constantly. With the least sign of wavering or weakness, 
 he would be swamped and there would result a greater 
 crash in the stock market than had been known since the 
 era of stock speculation commenced. In this hour of 
 supreme trial the metal of which he was made gave no 
 uncertain ring. His genius as well as the immensity of 
 his resources now loomed up like the shaft of Bunker 
 Hill. With unshaken nerves he issued instructions to 
 his brokers, holding the market as he wished, went 
 off for a drive with his fast horses in the afternoon, 
 and played whist in the evening, the merriest and 
 seemingly the freest from care of any of the company. 
 But there were circumstances not known to the public 
 that enabled him to see clearly and feel confident. The 
 exiles took to their New Jersey life not unpleasantly 
 at first, but the Pater Anchises of this epic soon grew 
 lonesome, despondent and homesick in his expatriation 
 and became anxious for some settlement of the difficulties
 
 104 
 
 BLESSINGS OF THE SABBATH. 
 
 that would allow kirn to return to his home and attend 
 Methodist prayer meetings with his family once more. 
 While the young and jovial Fisk continued in the finest 
 spirits, Drew pined and refused to be comforted, and 
 when the merry company gathered around their evening 
 camp fires, smoked, listened to Fisk's puns, laughed and 
 sung war songs, the old man broke in at intervals with 
 the strangely discordant refrain, " I want to go home.'* 
 Sunday disarms sheriffs and Judge Barnard, and, 
 pleasantly as time seemed to hang on their hands, it was 
 amusing to note the promptitude with which the whole 
 party laid down their pipes and started for the ferry 
 when the clock struck twelve Saturday night. They 
 appreciated the blessings of Christianity or the institu- 
 tion of the Sabbath very highly now and improved the 
 immunity it gave them to appear boldly in their familiar 
 haunts. Fisk may have attended church but Drew 
 embraced the opportunity to call on his friend Vanderbilt. 
 Monday morning found them back at their posts with 
 military promptitude. But Drew was now suspected. 
 He was missed from barracks at night and Fisk detailed 
 a detective to watch all his movements. He was followed 
 up the shore to Weehawken ferry, thence across to the 
 city and to the house of Vanderbilt. The detective 
 returned and reported. It was as had been suspected. 
 Drew was intriguing for a compromise and they knew he 
 would do anything with his friends and Erie if he could 
 only escape unharmed himself. Soon it was found the
 
 DBEW SHADOWED AND EUCHRED. 105 
 
 funds of the Erie treasury had been taken to New York 
 by Mr. Treasurer Drew. On learning this Fisk immedi- 
 ately got all of Drew's private funds, which were still ia 
 the Jersey bank, attached. No one unacquainted with 
 the old gentleman's facial peculiarities can imagine the 
 comic expression of mingled surprise and disappointment 
 that marked his countenance when he returned from 
 what he supposed a secret journey and found how com- 
 pletely his pupil had euchred him. He found he had 
 been training up a power to be more than a match for 
 him. The funds of the Erie treasury came back where 
 James Fisk, Jr., could daily enjoy the sight of them. 
 These secret visits told Vanderbilt that the position of 
 things across the river was not pleasant and made him 
 confident that no more Erie stock would be issued, which 
 was his greatest danger, and he saw that he had only to 
 hold things as they were to force his enemies to terms 
 ultimately. 
 
 Despite all the efforts of his opponents, therefore, the 
 star of Vanderbilt was still much in the ascendant and 
 the moment anything was to be done at Albany the su- 
 periority of his position at once showed itself. He had 
 been long familiar with the ways of the New York 
 Legislature and the considerations most potent with law- 
 makers, and the Central, of which he was now master, 
 had long had things quite its own way there. Conse- 
 quently the bill introduced in the interest of the Drew 
 party was promptly rejected on the 27th of March by the
 
 106 DBFBAT OF THE EEIE BILL. 
 
 decisive vote of 83 to 32, despite all the petitions that 
 had been sent in requesting its passage. 
 
 This overwhelming defeat taught the Fort Taylor 
 warriors that public sentiment was not exactly the harp 
 to play upon if they would charm the ear of legislators, 
 and that they could not successfully wield more potent 
 influences at such arm's-length while their antagonist was 
 on the battle field in propria persona. It was decided 
 that some one of the principals must be present at the 
 scene of action instead of longer trusting to mere agents 
 and telegraph and mail, and Jay Gould was detailed 
 from headquarters to go. to Albany to remove the preju- 
 dices of the legislators and place things before them in a 
 clearer light, taking along half a million dollars for pocket 
 money and hotel expenses. He made his advent in 
 Albany March 30th, registered his name at the Delavan 
 House, took one of the finest suites of rooms, and had 
 just got nicely installed in them when he received a very 
 urgent invitation to visit New York, the invitation being 
 signed by Judge -George G. Barnard and presented by a 
 gentleman so excessively polite in his attentions as to 
 insist that Mr. Gould should accept the invitation and 
 either go down with him immediately or give assurance 
 in the shape of half a million of dollars that he would 
 appear at the appointed place on the following Saturday. 
 There was important work on hand at Albany that 
 needed attending to immediately, therefore for this and 
 other reasons the required assurance was given in prefer- 
 
 1 6 f
 
 LEGISLATIVE MACHINES!. 107 
 
 ence to going with the officious gentleman, and Mr. Gould 
 
 set earnestly about the business in hand. 
 
 The New York Legislature has for several years 
 manifested unlimited faith in " investigating committees " 
 as an invaluable adjunct to legislative machinery and as 
 the most reliable and efficient mode of getting at the 
 truth in many matters. Especially is this the favorite 
 method of procedure if a large corporation is concerned or 
 a question involving a large amount of money comes up 
 for consideration. Either some standing committee is 
 directed to inquire into the state of things generally and 
 report its opinion for the information and guidance of the 
 Legislature, or, in an extraordinary case, a special com- 
 mittee is appointed for the purpose. As the committee 
 report, so the Legislature is pretty sure to decide, hence 
 the committee often become men whom it is very impor- 
 tant to persuade by all possible arguments to take a 
 favorable view of matters. It is this circumstance that 
 has rendered the Chairmanship of the Committee on Rail- 
 ways a position so very much sought after and the next 
 most desirable place after the Speakership. The 
 successful candidate for Speaker generally assuages the 
 disappointment of his most prominent rival in his own 
 party by appointing him Chairman of this committee, for 
 then, though he has failed of the highest honors, he is 
 pretty sure of returning home at the close of the session 
 comfortably provided for for life. And in fact all the 
 members of this committee, unless they have uncom-
 
 108 0102 MB. MATT001C. 
 
 monly poor luck, can rely upon returning to their 
 constituents very much bettered in worldly condition. 
 
 Even prior to the last grand master-stroke of the Erie 
 directors in Wall Street, the queer movements of the 
 stock, the general rumors of corruption and unlawful 
 acts and the extraordinary litigation instituted against the 
 managers, had produced such a strong impression that 
 there was something decidedly wrong that a special 
 committee of five, to inquire into and report upon the 
 condition of the Erie Railway, was appointed by the 
 Legislature March 5th. This committee achieved great 
 temporary celebrity and was known as the " Mattoon 
 Committee," from the name of its most conspicuous mem- 
 ber. Now, Mr. Mattoon was not one of your bigoted, 
 prejudiced, opinionated men who prejudge a case and 
 having formed a bias beforehand, shut their minds to the 
 influence of all arguments and refuse to look at the 
 matter in a new light or modify their opinion. He was 
 one of those lofty natures whose minds are always open 
 to conviction, who are not only willing but even eager to 
 receive further light and be convinced that their views are 
 erroneous and delight to admit their error and adopt the 
 right position. Being of this peculiar mental cast, Mr. 
 Mattoon very naturally deemed it indispensable to go 
 straight to the fountain head for light immediately upon 
 being appointed on the investigating committee. He 
 visited the chiefs of the Drew faction to hear their side of 
 the story and listen carefully to their arguments, and
 
 WOKTH OF THE LAST WORD. 109 
 
 then he visited Mr. Vanderbilt to hear his cause and the 
 opposing arguments. So intricate was the case and so 
 difficult was it to get at the real merits that a single 
 hearing seemed not to set the Mattoon mind and con- 
 science at rest as to the right of the matter and his duty 
 in the premises, and therefore he found it necessary to 
 make several visits to each party in order that full justice 
 might be done. Singularly enough, Mr. Mattoon seemed 
 ever to incline to the views of the party that had his ear 
 last, hence it became a matter of much more than usual 
 importance who should have the last word. Some base 
 spirits, judging from their own evil natures, insinuated 
 that something more powerful than mere verbal argu- 
 ments were brought to bear upon this mind ever so open 
 to conviction, but it may be sufficient to satisfy a certain 
 type of mind that these insinuations were only vile 
 calumnies to state that there has never been produced in 
 the matter any evidence that would constitute "legal 
 proof." The investigation had been thus carried on for 
 more than a month, during which time each party had 
 several times thought the unbiased mind finally fixed in 
 its favor, but only to find itself granted a furthe* hearing. 
 When at last the committee felt ready to report, it so 
 happened that the other four members were equally 
 divided, two desiring a favorable and two an unfavorable 
 report upon the condition of the Erie Eailway and its 
 management. Mr. Mattoon finding himself thus holding 
 the deciding vote, became suddenly impressed with the
 
 110 GOULD ASTOUNDED. 
 
 gravity and responsibility of his position and the great 
 necessity of proceeding conscientiously in the matter and 
 requested a little further time to hear any further 
 argument that might be offered, reflect and make up his 
 mind. The report was still further delayed for his 
 accommodation, and the matter stood in this position 
 when Mr. Gould reached Albany. Being now on the 
 ground, he felt his chance for getting the important last 
 word, and so a favorable report, was much improved and 
 it was for this reason that he much preferred not to 
 accompany Judge Barnard's polite messenger to New 
 York immediately. He now applied himself vigorously 
 to bring the most cogent arguments to bear upon Mr. 
 Mattoon and remove the last cobwebs of doubt from the 
 mind of the conscientious Senator. And he finally parted 
 with him satisfied that he had had the last word, supplied 
 the dust that was to turn the scales, and that a favorable 
 report would be made so that further legislation favor- 
 able to Erie would be easily secured. The report was 
 made April 1st, and it was unfavorable to Erie. Mr. 
 Mattoon had placed his signature with the two whose 
 views were of the Vanderbilt hue. Gould expressed 
 himself " utterly astounded," when he heard how Mat- 
 toon had voted, but still he despaired not. 
 
 On Saturday morning Mr. Gould presented himself in 
 accordance with Judge Barnard's invitation, and after 
 much wrangling and some singular legal gymnastics he 
 was remanded to the charge of the sheriff. He, however,
 
 AW ILLNESS NOT SEBIOUS. Ill 
 
 speedily made his way back to Albany, taking the sheriff 
 along as a travelling companion. When the time arrived 
 for the sheriff to produce the body of Jay Gould in court 
 in New York again, Mr. Gould did as some Sophomores 
 do in college when they wish to get away from recitations 
 for a short time he fell suddenly ill and got a physician's 
 certificate that he was under treatment and should be 
 excused from attendance. With this instead of the body, 
 the sheriff went back to New York and the magic certifi- 
 cate of the physician seemed to satisfy the mysteriously 
 abating ire of the New York judge. And as the 
 Sophomore finds that he is in no great danger soon after 
 the^ physician has left a prescription, a certificate of ill 
 health, and departed, but tears up the prescription, care- 
 fully preserves the certificate and goes off to visit some 
 young lady cousin, so Mr. Gould found that he was not 
 in too feeble a condition to devote himself earnestly to the 
 difficult task of reversing the unfavorable votes that had 
 been given and turning the tide in favor of Erie. . 
 
 The defeat of the Erie bill March 27th and the un- 
 favorable report of the committee April 1st, seemed to 
 announce the entire triumph of Vanderbilt and the 
 certain and speedy doom of Drew and his adherents. 
 Their influence was very sensibly felt in the Stock Ex- 
 change, and Central, which had fallen from 132 to 109 in 
 the three weeks of depression, instantly rallied again three 
 or four per cent, and other stocks felt the influence. But 
 Gould was not in the least disheartened. He surveyed
 
 112 60ULD HETURN8 TO TH1C CHAEOB. 
 
 the position carefully and determined to win the smile of 
 the Legislature yet. His rooms at the Delavan House 
 became the favorite resort of many of the legislators. 
 They all departed with smiling faces, and Mr. Gould 
 soon had little left of his check book except the stumps. 
 On the 13th of April a bill of precisely the same import as 
 that rejected by the House March 27th, was introduced 
 into the Senate and the battle for its success now became 
 gigantic. One man was said to have come to Albany 
 furnished with $100,000 to work for Vanderbilt's interest 
 and to have been given $70,000 by Gould to run away 
 with Vanderbilt's $100,000. One Senator was openly 
 accused of receiving $15,000 from one side and $20,000 
 from the other. Many minor incidents of the struggle 
 were equally unique and interesting. It was a battle of 
 the giants and Erie must win this time or surrender at dis- 
 cretion. On the 18th the bill passed the Senate by a vote 
 of 17 to 12 Mr. Mattoon voting for the bill. The 
 result took the public by surprise and Wall Street felt a 
 little shudder. The bill was sent down to the House and 
 the members of the lower branch of the Legislature were 
 rubbing their hands with delight that it had now come 
 their turn to be tickled as the upper branch had been. 
 The lobby was out in full force in light drab overcoats, 
 diamond studs, large watch-chains and rubicund noses. 
 Every train from New York brought new recruits for the 
 battle. April 20th was the day for the grand final shock, 
 and the members took their seats of honor eager for
 
 THE ERIE BILL PASSED. 113 
 
 business to begin, each hoping his vote would be an 
 object of Gould and Vanderbilt's rival bidding. The 
 decisive moment approached and the bill -was called up. 
 In a few minutes a sickening shudder like that which was 
 felt in Wall Street the day Fisk threw the last $5,000,000 
 of Erie stock upon the market ran through the Assembly. 
 Hearts sank and hopes of fortune vanished. The news 
 went round that Yanderbilt had tied up his purse strings 
 and would not " bleed " another dollar. The wrath of the 
 disappointed members was unbounded. The bill rejected 
 three weeks before by a vote of 83 to 32, was now rushed 
 through in the storm of rage by a vote of 101 to 6. Sev- 
 eral other bills designed to injure the Central road and 
 spite Vanderbilt were introduced at once for revenge. The 
 bill went to the Governor and became a law by the signa- 
 ture of Ruben E. Fenton. 
 
 This bill Judge Barnard aptly described as " a bill to 
 legalize counterfeit money." When its passage was 
 made known at the Stock Exchange by telegraph, it was 
 regarded as the defeat of Vanderbilt and the warning of 
 a panic. The stocks with which Yanderbilt was known 
 to be heavily loaded fell at once and large short sales 
 were made in Central and Erie, when in another hour 
 Central bounded from 112 to 120 and Erie from 66 to 71. 
 Everybody was utterly astounded and puzzled at a move- 
 ment so utterly at variance with the influence of the 
 news. But it soon leaked out that Vanderbilt had not 
 withdrawn his opposition at Albany without knowing
 
 114 MTSTEEIOU8 MOVEMENTS. 
 
 what he was about. He had indeed found men more 
 than a match for him in boldness at corrupting the Leg- 
 islature and saw it could only be a battle of the lion and 
 the skunk. He could succeed only by spending more 
 money to corrupt men than Erie would bo worth and he 
 was now fully awake to the fact that he was dealing not 
 with Drew but with nfuch more daring spirits, who would 
 hesitate at nothing to carry their point. Still, he released 
 his hold at Albany only when he was assured that the ex- 
 iles would make a satisfactory settlement with him in order 
 to get back to their homes. Secret visits from across the 
 river had made him certain of this, and suggestions and 
 proposals for a settlement had been such that it was for 
 the interest of both parties to hold up the stocks. The 
 first rumors of this nature that reached the brokers were 
 confirmed by the appearance of Drew and some of the 
 other exiles on Wall Street the next day unmolested by 
 Barnard's sheriffs. April 25th arrangements for a settle- 
 ment had proceeded so far that " Fort Taylor " was 
 abandoned and the exiles returned to their homes in 
 peace. The terms of this settlement were not made 
 known for some time, and then it proved to be quite in 
 keeping with the arrangement made by the same parties 
 six months before on the eve of election. The directors 
 took 50,000 shares of Erie stock off Vanderbilt's shoul- 
 ders at 70, for which he received $2,500,000 in cash, 
 $1,250,000 in Boston Hartford & Erie bonds at 80. 
 He was also paid $1,000,000 cash for the "option " given
 
 THB 8ETTLEMIWT. 115 
 
 the directors of calling on him for 50,000 shares more of 
 Erie at 70 any time within four months. And he was 
 to name two new directors to be taken into the Erie 
 board. This satisfied him, and for this he promised to 
 have all the suits discontinued and let the fugitives 
 return. The suits had all been brought, not in Vander- 
 bilt's name, but in the names of men under his command, 
 and to satisfy these men and the expenses of litigation, 
 $429,250 cash was necessary. Mr. Eldridge received 
 $4,000,000 of Erie acceptances for $5,000,000 of Boston, 
 Hartford & Erie bonds at 80 and that satisfied him and 
 his party. Mr. Drew was to retain all the money he had 
 made by his numerous manipulations of Erie for the last 
 two years, but was to pay into the Erie treasury $540,000 
 for a receipt in full for all claims the corporation might 
 have against him and as a settlement of all their mutual 
 accounts. This satisfied him. Fisk and Gould had not 
 come in for any of the pecuniary spoil in this settlement 
 and they opposed it strenuously till they found a majority 
 in favor of it, so it was sure to pass in spite of them ; and 
 they were then induced to give their assent for the 
 consideration that Eldridge, Drew and some others 
 should resign their positions as directors and leave Fisk 
 and Gould ia full and sole possession of the Erie Rail- 
 way. 
 
 Six months after this settlement a suit was commenced 
 against Vanderbilt by Fisk and Gould in behalf of the 
 Erie Railway to recover the money paid Vanderbilt at
 
 116 OK TUB WIT3JESS 8TA1TD. 
 
 this settlement and make him take back the 50,000 
 shares of Erie stock, on the ground that the transaction 
 was illegal. The testimony given by Mr. Fisk when on 
 the stand as a witness in this case, is so unique in charac- 
 ter and affords such a perfect picture of the man that 
 some extracts from it are worth preserving and may form 
 an acceptable close of this chapter. The suit was brought 
 and conducted by Mr. David Dudley Field and his part- 
 ners, his son and Thomas GK Shearman. The trial was 
 held by Judge George GK Barnard, and the court room 
 was crowded with distinguished lawyers and men who 
 listened with the greatest interest. When Mr. Fisk was 
 called he stepped upon the stand with most perfect self- 
 assurance, evidently enjoying the situation, and in answer 
 to questions testified : 
 
 I remember an interview with Commodore Vanderbilt 
 in the summer of 1868. I don't remember just when the 
 first interview was. It was after I returned from Jersey. 
 I was absent in Jersey for a lapse of time (laughter) and 
 on my return I made the Commodore a call (laughter). 
 He said several of the directors were trying to make a 
 trade with him and he would like to know who was the 
 best man to trade with. I told him if the trade was a 
 good one he had better trade with me (laughter). He 
 said old man Drew was no bettej than a batter pudding 
 (great laughter), Eldridge was completely demoralized 
 and there was no head or tail to our concern (laughter). 
 I said I thought so, too (great laughter). He said he
 
 OK THE WITNESS STAND. 117 
 
 had got his bloodhounds on us and would pursue us till 
 we took his stock off his hands he'd be d d if he'd 
 keep it. I said I'd be d d if we'd take it back (sensa- 
 tion), that we would sell him stock as long as he'd stand 
 up and take it (great laughter). Upon this he mellowed 
 down (laughter) and said we must get together and 
 arrange this matter. He said when we were in Jersey 
 Drew used to slip over and see him whenever he could 
 get out from under our eyes ; that he had had a good 
 deal of talk with him and wanted to know if a trade made 
 with Drew and Eldridge could be slipped through our 
 board, saying that if it could we should all be landed 
 in the haven of peace and harmony. (Looking very 
 determined.) I told him I would not submit to a rob- 
 bery of the road under any circumstances and that I 
 was dumbfounded that our directors whom I had sup- 
 posed respectable men (great laughter) would have any- 
 thing to do with such proceedings. 
 
 CoiDisel : Is that all that was said ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk: I presume not. We had half an hour's 
 conversation and I think I could say more than that in 
 half an hour (laughter). 
 
 Counsel: Can you give anything more that was said ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk: I don't remember what more was said. I 
 remember the Commodore put on his other shoe (laugh- 
 ter). I remember that shoe on account of the buckle 
 (laughter). You see, there were four buckles on that shoe. 
 I hadn't ever seen any of that kind before, and I romem-
 
 118 ON THB WITNESS STAND. 
 
 ber it passed through my mind that if such men wore 
 that kind of shoe I must get me a pair (great laughter). 
 This passed through my mind but I didn't speak of it to 
 the Commodore. I was very civil to him (laughter). 
 
 Counsel: Where was Q-ould all this time ? 
 
 Mr. FisJc : He was in the front room I suppose. I 
 left him there and found him there, but I don't know 
 where he may have been in the meantime (laughter). 
 The next interview was at the house of Mr. Pierrepoint. 
 Gould and I had an appointment with Eldridge at the 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel and as we did not find him there we 
 went out to see if we could find him. 
 
 Counsel : Can you give tho date of that meeting ? - 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Can you give the week ? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Can you give the month? A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Can you give the year ? A. No, sir ! Not without 
 reference. 
 
 Q, What reference do you want? A. Well, I shall 
 have to refer back to the various events of my life to see 
 just where that day comes in, and the almighty robbery 
 committed by this man Vanderbilt against the Erie 
 Railway was the most impressive event in my life 
 (laughter). The meeting at Pierrepoint' s was a week or 
 ten days after the first interview with Vanderbilt. Gould 
 and I went there about nine o'clock. We stepped into 
 the haH together. We asked if Mr. Pierrepoint was in. 
 The servant said he would see. When the servant went
 
 Off THE WITNESS STAITD. 119 
 
 into the drawing room I was very careful to keep on a 
 line -with the door BO I could see in (laughter). Presently 
 Mr. Pierrepoint stepped into the hall, resembling a man 
 who wasn't in much, (laughter). I asked him if our 
 president was there. After some thoughtfulness on his 
 part, he said he thought he was (laughter). During this 
 time I had moved along towards the drawing room 
 door, Mr. Pierrepoint having neglected to invite us in 
 (laughter). 
 
 Q. Where was Gould? A. 0, he was just -behind me; 
 he's always right behind at such times (laughter), and 
 while he entertained Pierrepoint I opened the door and 
 stepped in (laughter), and found most of our directors 
 there. I stepped up to Mr. Eldridge and told him we 
 had been to the Fifth Avenue Hotel and did not find him. 
 He said he knew he was not there (laughter). I asked 
 what was going on and everybody seemed to wait for 
 some one else to answer (laughter). Being better 
 acquainted with Drew than any of the rest of them, 
 though perhaps having less confidence in him (laughter), 
 I asked him what under heavens was up. He said they 
 were arranging the suits. I told him they ought to adopt 
 a very different manner of doing it than being there in 
 the night that no settlement could be made without 
 requiring the money of the corporation. He begun to 
 picture his miseries to me, told me how he had suffered 
 during his pilgrimage, saying he was worn and thrown 
 away from his family and wanted to settle matters up ;
 
 120 OK THE WITNESS STAKD. 
 
 that he had done everything he could and saw no other 
 way out either for himself or the company. I told him I 
 guessed he was more particular about himself than the 
 company and he said, well, he was (laughter) ; that he 
 was an old man and wanted to get out of the fight and 
 his troubles ; that they were much older in such affairs 
 than we were I was very glad to hear him say that 
 (laughter) and that it was no uncommon thing for great 
 corporations to make arrangements of this sort. I told 
 him if that was the case I thought our State Prison 
 ought to be enlarged (laughter). Then Eldridge, he took 
 hold of me. He talked about his great exertions, what 
 he had done and consummated, that there were only two 
 dissenting voices in the board Gould and myself and 
 that if we came into the matter to-morrow the company 
 would be free and clear of litigation and everything 
 would be all right, as he had got the Commodore and 
 Work and Schell to settle on a price. I told him I 
 couldn't see it; I had fought that position for seven 
 months night and day and -for seven weeks in Jersey I 
 had hardly taken off my clothes, fighting to keep the 
 money of the company from being robbed ; and I could 
 see no reason why we should not fight it on still. He 
 said he didn't want to go into it, but had tried to do the 
 best he could with Gould and myself and could do 
 nothing and now an arrangement had been made with 
 Vanderbilt and it was all right and must go through that 
 night I said I did not believe it was legal; these
 
 ON THE WITNESS 8TAWD. 121 
 
 lawyers were all on one side, and I wanted to see my 
 lawyer. He said that was no good (laughter). Then 
 Mr. Pierrepoint argued with me. He said he did not 
 think there was any one present who was not going to 
 derive benefit from it. Rapallo was writing at a table. 
 Schell was buzzing around (laughter) interested in get- 
 ting his share of the plunder. Work was sitting on a 
 sofa. I had nothing to say to him (laughter) as we were 
 not on very good terms. Gould and I had a conversa- 
 tion together and not till twelve o'clock at night did we 
 give our consent. I told him I did not believe the 
 proceedings were legal, that we had no lawyers, that the 
 lawyers there were sold to Eldridge hook, line and 
 sinker (laughter). Gould said Eldridge had paid Evarts 
 $10,000 for an opinion that it was all right and Eaton 
 had been paid $15,000 for an opinion and said it was 
 legal. I told him I thought it a queer way of classify- 
 ing opinions (laughter). Gould consented first. He said 
 he had made up his mind to do so as the best way to get 
 out of the matter. I told him I would consent if he did. 
 Drew came ^to me with tears in his eyes and asked me to 
 consent and I consented. Then there was some paper 
 drawn up and passed around for us to sign. I don't 
 know what it contained. I didn't read it. I don't think 
 I noticed a word of it. I don't know the contents and 
 have always been glad I didn't (laughter). I have 
 thought of it a thousand times. I don't know what other 
 documents I signed signed everything that was put
 
 122 ON THE WITNESS STAND. 
 
 before me (laughter). After the devil once got hold of 
 me I kept on signing (laughter). Didn't read any of 
 them and have no idea what they were. Don't know 
 how many I signed kept no account after the first. I 
 went with the robbers then and have been with them ever 
 since (laughter). After signing all the papers I took my 
 hat and left at once in disgust (laughter). I don't know 
 whether we sat down or not. I know we didn't have 
 anything to eat (laughter). 
 
 Counsel: Didn't you have a glass of wine or something 
 of that sort ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk : I don't remember. 
 
 Counsel: Wouldn't that hUve made an impression upon 
 you ? (Laughter.) 
 
 Mr. Fisk: No, sir! I never drink (laughter). I 
 think I left at once as soon as I had done signing. As 
 we went out I said to Gould we had sold our souls to the 
 devil (laughter). He agreed to that and said he thought 
 so, too (laughter). I remember Mr. White, the cashier, 
 coming ia with the check book under his arm and as he 
 came in I said to him that he was bearing in the balance 
 of the remains of our corporation to put into Vanderbilt's 
 tomb (laughter). 
 
 The next interview with Vanderbilt was several days 
 after. 
 
 Counsel: Was Gould with you ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk: Yes, Sir! We never parted during that 
 war (laughter). We went to his office one morning and
 
 OR THB WITNESS 8TAJTD. 128 
 
 found his man Friday in the front room (laughter). 
 Don't know his name. It was the same man I had seen a 
 hundred times before when I had been there with Drew. 
 "We found the Commodore in the back room. I asked 
 him how he was getting on. He said " First rate " 
 (laughter) ; that he had got the thing all arranged and the 
 only question now was whether it could be slipped 
 through our board. I told him that after what I had 
 seen the other night I thought anything could be slipped 
 through (laughter). He said we would have to manage 
 it carefully. I told him I didn't think so that they 
 would be careful to go it blind (laughter). He said the 
 trade had been consummated at Pierrepoint's house. I 
 said I had no doub^, of it. He said it ought not to have 
 been carried out ; that Schell had got the lion's share and 
 some of the lawyers on the other side might have to go 
 hungry (laughter). He asked if we were conversant 
 with the rest of the trade. I said I had no doubt the 
 whole thing had been cooked up in such a manner that it 
 could be put through. He spoke about putting Banker 
 and Stewart into our board and said it would help both 
 him and us c'arry our stock, as people would say we had 
 amalgamated, and Vanderbilt's men coming into the Erie 
 board^ould strengthen the market. That was admitted, 
 but it worked rather different from what we expected 
 (laughter). I next saw him a day or two before the 
 prosecution was closed up. Gould thought the Commo- 
 dore's losses had not been so large as represented and
 
 124 ON THE WITNESS STAND. 
 
 asked to see his broker's account. The Commodore said 
 he never showed anything and we must take his word. He 
 reiterated his losses and said they were so large because 
 when they had got him to give his order to sustain the 
 market the skunks had run and sold out on him (laugh- 
 ter). As we were coming away he said, "Boys, you 
 are young, and if you carry out this settlement there 
 will be peace and harmony between the roads." 
 
 Previous to commencing this suit I made a tender of 
 50,000 shares of Erie stock to Vanderbilt. I went up to 
 his house in company with T. G. Shearman. I received 
 the certificates of shares from Gould and put them in a 
 black satchel (laughter). It was a bad, stormy day, so 
 we got into a carriage and I held the satchel tight be- 
 tween my legs (laughter) knowing they were valuable 
 (laughter). I told Shearman not much reliance could be 
 placed on him if we were attacked, he was such a little 
 fellow (laughter, in which Mr. Shearman joined). We 
 concurred in the opinion that it was dangerous property 
 to travel with (laughter) might blow up (laughter). 
 We rang the bell and went in. The gentleman came down 
 and I said " Good morning, Commodore. I have come 
 to tender you fifty thousand shares of Erie stock and 
 demand back the securities and money." He sa?d he 
 had had no transactions with the Erie Bailway Co. 
 (laughter) and would have to consult his counsel. I told 
 him I also demanded a million of dollars paid him for 
 losaes he purported to have sustained. He said he had
 
 ON THE WITNESS STAND. 125 
 
 nothing to do with it (laughter) and I bade him good 
 morning (laughter). 
 
 I became director in the Erie Kailway on the 13th of 
 October, 1867. 
 
 Counsel: You remember that date ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk : I do, well ! It forms an episode in my 
 life. 
 
 Counsel : What fixes it in your mind BO well ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk: I had no gray hairs then. 
 
 Counsel : You have gray hairs now ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk: Plenty of them. And I saw more robbery 
 during the next year than I had ever dreamed of as 
 possible. 
 
 Counsel : You saw it, did you ? 
 
 Mr. Fisk : I didn't see it, but I knew it was going on. 
 I am now a director of the Erie Eailway and its comp- 
 troller. My duty as comptroller is to audit all the bills ; 
 as director, to manage the affairs of the corporation 
 honestly (laughter). 
 
 I would like to make an apology to the Court. This is 
 the first time I've been on the stand and I may overstep 
 some of the rules (laughter). If I do, it is wholly in ig- 
 norance. It is new business to me and if I don't keep 
 withia the rules I ask my counsel to guide me, for I don't 
 know when I may be imposed on (laughter). 
 
 Counsel : Your lawyer will look out for you. 
 
 Mr. Fisk: Oh, I'll look out for myself (laughter). 
 Don't give yourself any trouble about that
 
 Off THE WITNESS STAND. 
 
 Counsel: You seem to be a very frank and outspoken 
 witness (laughter). AI-I 
 
 Mr. Fisk: Well, I'm. not much, accustomed to you 
 fellows (laughter). I was never on the stand but once 
 before. 
 
 Counsel: When was that? 
 
 Mr. Fisk : That was when I was a boy, up in the coun 
 try in a QOW case (great laughter). 
 
 -; -A ,j- -ori h.,iU ,
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 . ~--f.:.'.-: ':: ,-f-j : 
 
 IN FULL POSSESSION DISPOSING OP AN ELEPHANT MILLIcmS 
 
 MORE OP NEW STOCK A " LOCK f P " DREW'S LAST BAT- 
 TLE RUMORED FLIGHT FRO it THE COUNTBT THE ERIE 
 
 CLASSIFICATION BILL ERIE STRICKEN FliOil THE LIST OP 
 
 THE STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 Though the settlement of all the difficulties of the 
 Yanderbilt-Erie war and the conclusion of peace was 
 arrived at the last of April or early in May, it was not 
 officially announced to the board of Erie directors till 
 July 30th. On that day the president made the terms 
 known to the board and after their adoption Mr. Eldridge 
 resigned and retired to Massachusetts to devote his 
 energies to the Boston, Hartford & Erie, which, after 
 causing about as much scandal in the Massachusetts 
 Legislature as Erie had done at Albany and swallowing 
 several millions of the State funds, became bankrupt. 
 Mr. Drew also retired from the board with several others, 
 leaving Messrs. Fisk and Gould in undisputed sway. 
 To most men the Erie Railway at the time these gentle- 
 men came into full possessisn would have seemed no very
 
 128 DISPOSING OF AN ELEPHANT. 
 
 goodly heritage. It had the appearance of a thoroughly 
 sucked orange. But the new masters still saw signs of 
 juice and felt it no mean windfall notwithstanding that its 
 treasury had just been depleted of $9,000,000, that its 
 affairs were in a very unfavorable condition and that the 
 worst odor attached to its name. They addressed them- 
 selves earnestly to the difficult task of bringing order out 
 chaos, infusing new life into the road and rescuing it 
 from threatened bankruptcy. They took Wm. M. Tweed 
 and Peter B. Sweeney* into their board to fill the vacan- 
 cies and irith this accession of the masters of New York 
 City and the State Legislature, Tammany Hall and the 
 Erie ring were fused in interests and have since continued 
 to serve each other faithfully. Messrs. Fisk and Gould 
 concentrated all the power in their own hands, Gould 
 becoming president and treasurer and Fisk comptroller, 
 and they with Tweed and Lane constituting the executive 
 committee. The new power had what is often a great 
 element of strength and gives great advantages they had 
 nothing to lose, and could act with the boldness which 
 that circumstance warrants. 
 
 The 50,000 shares of stock taken back from Vanderbilt 
 was an elephant upon their hands. The disposition of 
 this was the first thing to be attended to, and here they 
 were eminently ingenious and successful. It was a 
 season of the year when money was plenty and stocks 
 naturally buoyant. Besides, for some inexplicable cause, 
 English financiers commenced investing in Erie stock
 
 COMMODORE VANUERBILT.
 
 DISK)SING OP AN ELEPHANT. 129 
 
 / 
 
 quite extensively about this time. The new board had 
 purposely been made up in a way to create the impres- 
 sion that Yanderbilt had great influence in it, that his 
 reputation might sustain the price of the stock. He still 
 held several millions worth of it and therefore did not 
 wish it to fall just yet. In addition to all these in- 
 fluences tending to keep the price up, the new masters 
 resorted to a very shrewd piece of finessing for the same 
 purpose. When operators are caught heavily short and 
 feel confident the market will fall soon, instead of buying 
 stock to meet contracts, they often borrow it of those who 
 hold it, till they can buy at a lower price. The new 
 direction now bethought themselves of making this cus- 
 tom serve them a good turn. They sold moderate quan- 
 tities of Erie stock daily, but, instead of delivering the 
 stock they had in their possession, they borrowed of any 
 who held it and completed their sales by delivering this 
 borrowed stock. This naturally gave the impression that 
 there was a large short interest existing in the stock, 
 hence many became bulls in the hope of pinching the 
 supposed shorts and this tended to send up the price. At 
 the expiration of the time for which the stock had been 
 borrowed, it was of course repaid out of shares that had 
 been in the Erie treasury all the time. By this means 
 and under these various influences, all the 50,000 shares 
 were soon disposed of at about 70 without loss, and thus 
 the feeble condition of the treasury soon felt the healthy 
 stimulus of some $3,000,000. And finding that Erie went
 
 130 VANDEBBILT WASHES HIS HANDS OF EBJB. 
 
 so well, Fisk and Gould saw no good reason why all who 
 thirsted for it should not have their desire gratified, and 
 therefore, profiting by their early instruction, they set the 
 little mill going again and turned out stock in quantities 
 to suit purchasers as long as they would take it. More- 
 over, it was a season of the year when the road did a 
 heavy business and brought in a great deal of ready 
 money. From all these sources the treasury was soon in 
 a quite flourishing condition and the part that had fallen 
 to Messrs. Fisk and Gould in the settlement proved to be 
 something not so much like a sucked orange as at first 
 appeared. 
 
 But Vanderbilt had not neglected an opportunity he saw 
 when Erie was going readily at 70. By the settlement, 
 he was under contract to deliver the directors 50,000 
 shares at 70 any time before the end of August, and 
 they hoped he would not dare sell the stock he held for 
 fear they would then run the price up and corner him. 
 They also suspected he would make another attempt 
 to control the election in October and would there- 
 fore continue to' hold large quantities of stock for that 
 purpose. Should he pursue this course they knew the 
 market would remain buoyant till they got it so flooded 
 with new stock that it would tumble at great strides 
 all at .once and Yanderbilt would again bleed freely for 
 their benefit But the Commodore was too wary to be 
 caught in such a trap. He knew the men he had to deal 
 with now. He soon, became aware that they were put-
 
 TBANSFEU BOOKS. 131 
 
 ting upon the market all the stock they had taken back 
 from him and knew they would manufacture a new 
 supply for themselves if the price kept up. He knew 
 they could not manipulate a corner on him with such a 
 vast volume of the stock afloat, and he felt under no 
 special obligation to sustain the market at 70 while his 
 young friends amused themselves grinding out large 
 quanfities of new stock. He |herefore availed himself of 
 the demand for Erie at 70 to dispose quietly of the large 
 amount of that valuable property still held by him and 
 rid himself of all connection with it and the unscrupulous 
 men now in control. The influence of these combined 
 heavy sales soon began to be felt. Early in August Erie 
 suddenly commenced to fall rapidly, and on the 19th 
 went at 49. On that day the -stockholders and public 
 were taken by surprise by the announcement that the 
 transfer books were closed to get ready for the election, 
 which was not to occur till the 13th of October. 
 
 When stock is issued, the names of the parties to whom 
 it is issued and their respective amounts, are entered in 
 the stock register of the company. The entries thus made 
 on their books are the sole evidence to the company as to 
 who are owners of the stock, and from these entries is 
 made up the list of those entitled to vote at elections. If 
 any subsequent purchaser of the stock wishes to vote he 
 must go to the office of the company and have the shares 
 held by him transferred from the name of the man to 
 whom they were issued, or to whose credit they now stand,
 
 132 ABOVE THE LAW. 
 
 to his own, else his name will not appear on the voting 
 list made up from the books and some other man will have 
 the right of voting on his stock. It is customary to close 
 these transfer books i. e., suspend the privilege of having 
 stock transferred from one name to another after notice, 
 a few days before an election, to give time to make out 
 the voting list from them. Fisk and Gould had now sus- 
 pended this right nearly two months before the elsction. 
 The object was obvious. The 50,000 shares taken from 
 Yanderbilt and all the new stock they had since issued 
 now stood on the books in their own names or those of 
 men in league with them, and by thus preventing their 
 transfer they would be able to vote at the election upon 
 vast amounts of stock owned by other people and so 
 easily compass their own reelection. Of course the pro- 
 ceeding was daringly illegal, and in any community where 
 law has any force and a judge dare not openly be a 
 scoundrel, they might have been compelled to make trans- 
 fers till a reasonable time before election ; but with recent 
 experience as to the lengths these" men were ready to go, 
 and with Judge Barnard, who had driven them out of the 
 State and made a great show of virtue by denouncing 
 them in unsparing terms in March, now in closest friend- 
 ship with them, no one cared to make the useless attempt. 
 It had now got to the pass that these men openly defied 
 the law, and it could not be enforced against them. How 
 futile any such attempt would have been was proven two 
 years later when, under similar circumstances, some Eng-
 
 COUNSEL TEEA.TED WITH EIDICULB, 138 
 
 lish owners of 60,000 shares of the stock attempted to 
 have it transferred to their names so they might vote on 
 it at the approaching election. A motion for this pur- 
 pose having been made, of course it was managed to have 
 it come up before Judge Barnard and he coolly put it 
 down for hearing at a, day subsequent to the election! 
 Application was then made to Judge Cardozo to remedy the 
 outrage, but in vain. The counsel of the English stock- 
 holders was the Hon. Wm. M. Evarts, and all who are 
 not familiar with the New York Courts would naturally - 
 think that a judge would be very slow to treat such a dis- 
 tinguished lawyer with wanton indignity, and that if such 
 an outrage were perpetrated upon his clients a man of his 
 great name, abilities and influence would raise a storm of 
 public and professional indignation that would sweep th 
 infamous men from the bench; but he was made the mere 
 sport of the miserable ring-politician judges, driven back 
 and forth like a shuttle-cock between Jew and Gentile, 
 the rights of his clients were stolen from them, and all 
 had to be submitted to, awakening no murmurs of sur- 
 prise or resentment. This trick enabled Messrs. Fisk and 
 Gould to vote upon vast quantities of stock owned by 
 other men, and by the purchase of a sufficient number of 
 proxies to give them control of a majority of votes on 
 election day, they easily reelected themselves, though 
 they owned little or none of the stock the stock of the 
 men most anxious to turn them out having thus been made 
 to secure their continuance in power.
 
 134 JL LOCK UP. 
 
 Their reelection having thus been made sure two 
 months beforehand, they of course cared nothing more 
 about the stock. However low it fell they would lose 
 nothing as they owned none of it, so they not only con- 
 tinued to issue new stock and load it upon the market,, 
 but alscv deliberately entered upon a bear campaign to- 
 depress the price not only of Erie but of the whole list of 
 stocks. The means adopted to accomplish this purpose- 
 was what is called a "lock up " of currency. 
 
 In the early autumn a large amount of currency is 
 drawn from New York to the west and south to move the- 
 crops of the year. This makes money very scarce at the- 
 financial centre and in such demand that high rates of 
 interest prevail and the whole stock market is depressed. 
 The monetary stringency thus naturally produced was 
 further increased this season by the fact that Mr. Mc- 
 Culloch, Secretary of the Treasury at that time, favored 
 the policy of contracting the volume of currency as a 
 means of getting baek to specie payment. A combination 
 was formed by the Erie ring to take advantage of thi* 
 state of circumstances. They had control of some four- 
 teen millions of money, Daniel Drew engaging to supply 
 four millions to the pool. The first step was to sell 
 heavily short of all the leading stocks ; then they sud- 
 denly withdrew from circulation all the money controlled 
 by them, producing a critical stringency in money and a 
 great fall in stocks, when they covered their short 
 contracts at immense profits and the plot was an entire
 
 DREW DESERTS. 135 
 
 success. As soon as this scheme was well under way and 
 stocks had fallen considerably and money readily com- 
 manded extortionate rates ^f interest, the timorous Drew 
 became alarmed at the dizzy heights to which the young 
 eagles were bent on soaring with him and looked 
 anxiously about for a safe escape. Stocks had already 
 fallen so that a handsome harvest could be gathered, and 
 he was fain to be satisfied with this while his confederates 
 had their hearts fixed on something much more grand- 
 Among those who had already been forced into a very 
 critical situation by the fall in stocks and the scarcity of 
 money was Henry Keep, a former associate of Drew. 
 He was now in the most pressing need of two millions of 
 dollars to sustain himself and was willing to grant the 
 most profitable terms to secure it, as he would fail and be 
 ruined unless it was forthcoming. Faithful to his nature 
 to do the best he can for himself always, regardless of 
 associates, friends, and promises, Drew seized this fine 
 opportunity of covering a safe retreat, loaned Keep the 
 two millions, and withdrew his funds from the lock up. 
 Fisk and Gould, however, continued to turn the screws 
 and wring their victims without mercy, regarding the 
 writhing and agony as rare sport and amusement. 
 
 The practices of the New York banks are such that a 
 clique in command of such a large sum of money can 
 often place Wall Street entirely at their mercy. The two 
 customs of certifying checks and loaning money on spec- 
 ulative stocks are vulnerable points that may put the
 
 136 CERTIFIED CHECKS. 
 
 banks and all monetary interests in the power of such a 
 band of conspirators. A check is " certified " by the 
 cashier of the bank on which jrt is drawn writing " Good " 
 across it and signing his name. Properly this means that 
 the maker of the cheek has funds on deposit to meet it r 
 and the certification is the same as the endorsement of a 
 note, making the bank responsible, it being the cashier's 
 duty to refuse to cash uncertified checks when the maker 
 has in the bank only money enough to meet the checks 
 that have been certified. In fact, however, many of the 
 New York banks often certify checks of depositors in 
 good credit for much larger sums than the maker has on 
 deposit with them ; in other words, the bank endorses the 
 notes of its depositors. As certified checks pass as readily 
 as money, a man may command twice as much capital as 
 he is really worth. Banks also loan money and take 
 stocks for collateral security. It is in times of greatest 
 stringency of course that depositors are most apt to have 
 checks certified for much larger sums than they have on 
 deposit and that money is borrowed by speculators on 
 stock held by them. The banks thus become indirectly 
 parties to the speculations and when a crisis comes they 
 suddenly find themselves responsible for certified checks 
 in much larger sums than the makers of the checks have 
 on deposit, and they are themselves pressed for funds to 
 meet the certified checks, yet dare not call in the demand 
 loans they have made on stocks, for if they should the 
 stocks would have to be sold in a. depressed ox falling
 
 APPEALS TO WASHIlfGTOW. 137 
 
 market, thus increasing the depression and causing a 
 financial crash. In. this way the banks themselves aw 
 often drawn into a most critical position. 
 
 None of these opportunities for helping on their pur- 
 pose were neglected by Fisk and Gould during their lock 
 up. They continued to issue new stock and locked up all 
 the money it brought. Between the time of their coming 
 into absolute power in July and the 24th of October, 
 235,000 shares of new stock were secretly issued and put 
 upon the market, increasing the capital stock from 
 $34,265,300 to $57,766,300, or an increase of $23,501,000 
 in about three months. The first week in November was 
 a most trying and critical one. Money commanded 
 extraordinary rates of daily interest, all stocks were 
 falling, several of the banks were greatly embarrassed, 
 many firms were failing and a disastrous crash seemed 
 imminent. Urgent appeals went from Wall Street to 
 Washington for the Secretary of the Treasury to relieve 
 the situation by re-issuing some of the currency that had 
 been withdrawn from circulation under his policy of 
 contraction, but he regarded it as a mere contest between 
 speculators, in no wise affecting the business interests of 
 the country and so refused to interfere or swerve from his 
 course of contraction. Calumny even represented him aa 
 interested with the "lock up" clique, and of course the 
 leading spirits eagerly encouraged this impression. Fisk 
 and Gould now feeling Wall Street securely in their 
 clutches gave the screws another remorseless turn.
 
 138 THE LOCK UP BROKE*. 
 
 Another fall in stocks followed, Erie going to 35, a fall of 
 just 50 per cent, since the new management obtained 
 control, and N. Y. Central fell to 114, or 23 per cent, 
 since the commencement of the " lock up," a fall that told 
 the making and losing of many a large fortune. Other 
 stocks fell in like manner ; more firms failed, the condi- 
 tion of the banks became more critical and renewed 
 appeals were made to Secretary McCnlloch and he was 
 assured that unless relief was afforded there must result a 
 financial crash that would involve not only New York 
 but the business interests of the whole country. At 
 length, finding the situation so serious, on Saturday 
 morning, Nov. 7th, he telegraphed to New York that 
 he would re-issue $50,000,000 of currency to relieve the 
 situation if necessary. This gave assurance that the 
 power of the clique was broken and so relieved appre- 
 hension, but as the currency was not issued the stock 
 market did not react but dragged on through another 
 week of depression. The combination taking the news 
 from Washington as their warning, improved this week 
 to cover all their shorts and prepare a new scheme. Of 
 course stocks would react suddenly when the stringency 
 was removed, so, after covering their shorts, they bought 
 heavily and went long in all the leading stocks, prepa v 
 ratory to reaping another harvest from the coming rise. 
 And now was discovered an opportunity for gratifying a 
 little revenge. 
 
 When Drew deserted the " lock up," knowing that the
 
 BBVENGE ON DREW. 139 
 
 design of the managers was to depress the price of Erie 
 and being aware of the large secret issue of new stock, he 
 sold heavily short of Erie and waited for the fall. Fisk 
 and Gould found out that he was short and resolved to 
 make use of that circumstance not only to transfer large 
 sumg of money from his pockets to their own but also 
 to wreak vengeance upon him for turning traitor to them 
 in the "lock up" plot. Accordingly, while they made use 
 of the week following the news from Washington to cover 
 their own shorts most advantageously, they managed to 
 keep Erie declining slightly so that Drew failed to cover 
 his shorts. On Saturday, the 14th, all their plans being 
 ripe, Erie sold for 35 during the regular business hour, 
 but in the afternoon the managers of the "lock up" 
 unlock their twelve millions of currency, and put it in 
 circulation suddenly, making money very plenty and easy 
 and under their new combination for a rise Erie quickly 
 shot from 35 to 47 a rise of 12 per cent, in an hour or 
 two. Drew was immediately filled with alarm and 
 realized that he was caught in a trap. Great excitement 
 prevailed late in the afternoon and through the evening, 
 for it was now evident that new developments of an 
 important character were at hand. The course of things 
 for the last three months and the fall of 50 per cent, in 
 Erie had dispelled the delusion which had led to such 
 large foreign investments in that stock in July and 
 August, and it was now discovered that New York agents 
 of the foreign purchasers had been selling the stock and
 
 140 A "BULL 
 
 it was expected that large amounts of it would arrive 
 from England -by the steamer due on Monday, the 23d. 
 Those who had thus sold for their foreign customers 
 when the stock was depressed now naturally desired with 
 Drew that the price should not be suddenly run tip again 
 for speculative purposes. A consultation was held by the 
 agents of the foreign stockholders and their sympathizers, 
 and it was decided to resort to the Courts once more for 
 protection. Accordingly Saturday night was employed 
 by Drew in making the necessary affidavits, stating the 
 course of the Erie managers in issuing new stock, for spec- 
 ulative purposes in violation of statutes, etc. These affi- 
 davits were to be used on Monday to procure the 
 removal of Fisk and Gould from control of the Erie 
 Railway and the appointment of a receiver to take 
 charge of its affairs. Mr. August Belmont being the 
 most prominent agent of the foreign stockholders and a 
 gentleman of high standing and great influence, the suit 
 was to be brought in his name. But Drew, true to his 
 nature of pursuing no course vigorously more than a few 
 hours at the most in a critical situation, and naturally 
 having no very strong confidence in the efficacy of the 
 Courts to relieve him in his present exigency, had no 
 sooner sworn to the affidavits than he was ready to betray 
 either party or both provided he could only get himself 
 out of the difficulty. Accordingly after spending Satur- 
 day night in conference with those united with him to 
 oppose Fisk and Gould, and in making affidavits to be
 
 JAITOS-FACED DANIEL. 141 
 
 used by Mr. Belmont in legal proceedings against those 
 gentlemen on Monday morning, he made it his first 
 business on Sunday to call on Fisk and endeavor to 
 secure pardon and relief for himself by disclosing the 
 situation and betraying the designs of his friends in 
 council the previous night. He made a perfect confidant 
 of his whilom protege and pupil, revealing to him without 
 reserve all the details and dangers of the position in 
 which his victims were placed by the sudden rise, telling 
 him of the legal proceedings that would be instituted 
 against him on the morrow, and then, in return for all 
 this confidence, frankness and treachery, meekly re- 
 quested that some small hole be opened through which 
 he himself might escape. Fisk listened attentively till 
 he had drawn from his informant full knowledge of every 
 detail of the circumstances and designs of his opponents 
 and then to the request with which the narrative ended 
 he returned a sardonic laugh and said, " Ah ! ha ! old 
 fellow, I've got you just where I want you now ! By this 
 revelation of the situation you are all placed wholly in 
 my power. You're in and you can't get out, bellow as 
 much as you may !" 
 
 The "old man eloquent" in tears plead and besought 
 to be relieved and expressed an entire willingness to 
 retract the affidavits on which the suit was to be insti- 
 tuted and help to harrass all the rest in every possible 
 way if he were only assisted to provide for " them shorts" 
 on easy terms. But Fisk was inexorable. He knew
 
 142 DREW ON HIS KNEES. 
 
 how much a promise of Drew's was worth, he knew that 
 Drew could now help him to nothing which he could not 
 do better, alone, he knew that Drew was his choicest 
 piece of game, the man from whom most money could be 
 wrung in the present situation, and he prized as do few 
 men, fortunately, the fine opportunity of gratifying re- 
 venge. He therefore turned a deaf ear to all the mourn- 
 ful entreaties, told Drew he was " the last man that ought 
 to whine over any position he placed himself in with 
 regard to Erie," and finally got so impatient of the 
 continued appeals that he informed him he could listen to 
 him no longer. After hours of Belf-humiliation and 
 abject cringing, the wily veteran of two-and-seventy years 
 suddenly composed his countenance as a child dries its 
 tears on finding they are useless, and, acting upon Fisk's 
 polite request to leave, heaping coals of fire on his 
 enemy's head with an urbanity that Chesterfield might 
 have envied, though it must have fallen much like a pun 
 at a funeral, he mildly said " I'll bid you good evening" 
 and bowed himself out. 
 
 The situation now called for immediate action on the 
 part of Fisk and Gould and not a moment was to be lost. 
 As soon as Drew had retired Fisk summoned a council of 
 his confederates to listen to the information he had gained 
 and decide upon the course to pursue. The tactics 
 speedily adopted stamped them as men of no common 
 mould and as possessed of no common power. It was 
 decided to forestall the coming Belmont suit by commenc-
 
 BARNARD CONVERTED. 143 
 
 ing a suit first. Affidavits were at once made alleging 
 that certain parties were conspiring to injure the Erie 
 Bail-way by interfering -with the directors, that there was 
 danger of injunctions that would be of great injury to the 
 interests of the road, the stockholders and the public, etc., 
 etc., and therefore the appointment of a receiver to take 
 charge of the road was prayed for. And now to whom 
 should they go to get this legal farce and bare-faced fraud 
 carried out ? What judge, in the light of this nineteenth 
 century and in this land of boasted liberty and law, would 
 disgrace the bench by performing such a monstrous 
 parody on the very name of law ? Who would dream of 
 their going to the very judge whom they had declared 
 corrupt in a former affidavit, who had chased them out of 
 the State only eight months before, taken the lead in de- 
 nouncing them as villains, and pronounced the bill they 
 had bribed through the Legislature to be "a bill legaliz- 
 ing counterfeit money?" Yet this was what they did. 
 George G. Barnard was the judge selected to authorize 
 this fraud. Nor did they wait for him to appear in his 
 Court. They surprised him on Monday morning before 
 his toilet was completed, and such was the strange trans- 
 formation that had come over the mental, moral and 
 legal nature of this man since the spring months that he 
 extended a cordial greeting to these men he then so 
 vehemently anathematized, and soon the outrage was legal- 
 ized by the same signature that was attached to the writs 
 which had driven the suitors into exile on the llth of the
 
 144 COTJRT SESSION EXTRAOfcDINABY. 
 
 preceding March. This infamous step taken, the details 
 were in perfect keeping. The request for a receiver 
 having been granted, who was a proper person for such a 
 responsible trust? The man whom this upright judge 
 deemed it most appropriate to appoint was none other than 
 Jay Gould ! And as the receiver of such a responsible 
 trust must give heavy and most undoubted bonds, who 
 would x be his bondsman ? The one bondsman in every 
 way satisfactory to the distinguished Court was James 
 Fisk, Jr. ! With this monstrous proceeding thus sanc- 
 tioned by the Supreme Court, the surprise party withdrew 
 and left Judge Barnard to complete his toilet at leisure. 
 
 When the Courts opened at ten o'clock, Mr. Belmont's 
 lawyers appeared before Judge Sutherland and com- 
 menced proceedings in the regular way, obtaining an 
 injunction and getting Mr. Davies, an ex-judge of the 
 Court of Appeals, appointed receiver. When they had 
 been through with all their trouble and felt themselves 
 now secure, the Drew-Belmont party were somewhat sur- 
 prised to learn that " the regular way " was altogether too 
 slow a coach to travel by if they would head off Messrs. 
 Fisk and Gould and were astonished not a little to find 
 that a receiver had already been appointed in the interest 
 of Messrs. Fisk and Gould while Judge Sutherland was 
 still enjoying his last slumbers in the morning, and that 
 that receiver was Jay Gould, with James Fisk, Jr., for 
 bondsman. Under the influence of this news in Wall
 
 MORE OP BARNARD'S EQUITY. 145 
 
 Street that day, Erie fluctuated wildly from 50 up to 61 
 and then back to 48. It seemed as though the utmost 
 length of iniquity to which a judge would dare go had 
 been reached by Judge Barnard in this day's proceedings, 
 but on Wednesday morning he followed it up by an order 
 which made the one of Monday, black as it was, seem 
 " pure as the driven snow." Fisk and Gould wanted to 
 use the funds of the Erie treasury in manipulating their 
 " corner," but there is a statute expressly forbidding any 
 railroad to speculate in its own stock and they felt it 
 worth while to clothe their steps with some small show 
 of legality. To compass their purpose, affidavits were 
 made stating that some doubts existed as to the legality 
 of a recent issue of two or three hundred thousand shares 
 of stock, wherefore Mr. Receiver Gould petitioned the 
 Court for instruction and authority to use the funds of the 
 Erie treasury to buy back this stock of doubtful legality 
 at any price less than par, that it might be cancelled. In 
 other words, Jay Gould, as president of the Erie Railway, 
 had issued two or three hundred thousand shares of stock, 
 in direct violation of a statute forbidding an increase of 
 capital stock, and disposed of it at about 40 to depress the 
 market and help on the "lock up," and after this course 
 had sent the stock to 35, Jay Gould, as receiver, alleging 
 the illegality of his act as president, now asked for author- 
 ity in direct conflict with another statute forbidding any 
 railroad to speculate in its own stock, to use the funds of
 
 146 DEEW GIRDS UP HIS LOINS. 
 
 the treasury to buy back at par this very stock recently 
 sold by him at about 40. And this authority Judge 
 Barnard promptly granted ! 
 
 Drew had no time to ejaculate over the enormity of this 
 order. Whatever its nature, he knew it meant "busi- 
 ness " for him. He saw that there was now no possible 
 escape for him and that he must face the music and buy 
 Erie on the best terms he could to cover his shorts before 
 a corner could be closed on him. Fisk and Gould, with 
 the whole Erie treasury at their disposal by order of 
 Judge Barnard, now also set to buying with all their 
 might, determined to corner their early instructor. Drew 
 was 70,000 shares short and the fight was a desperate 
 one. He knew it meant a heavy loss tq^ him, but a cor- 
 ner meant a still heavier one, and he fought against it 
 accordingly. The battle raged all day long on Wednesday 
 and at night Erie sto'od at 57. Still the contest was not 
 decided. Drew had not secured enough to cover his 
 contracts, Fisk and Gould had not secured enough to 
 perfect the corner. The next morning the battle was 
 renewed, both parties knowing that the decisive hour 
 would be past and victory decided before that day 
 closed. The books of the company show pretty accurately 
 where all the stock is how much in Europe and how 
 much in Wall Street, so Fisk and Gould could tell very 
 nearly how much they had to control to secure their 
 corner. On Thursday the battle raged with a fierceness 
 and violence that quite eclipsed, that on the 10th of March.
 
 AJT KXCIXING DAT IN WALL SXBEXT. 147 
 
 Collisions and blows were net infrequent in the excite- 
 ment. As it approached two o'clock Erie stood at 62 and 
 the scales seemed turning against Drew. So desperate 
 was the struggle that there was a difference of 10 per cent, 
 between stock delivered immediately and that to be de- 
 livered at a quarter to three. As the strife was only for 
 the corner, which must culminate that day, and it was 
 certain the stock would fall again when the crisis was 
 over, and especially after the steamer arrived on Monday 
 bringing back from Europe a large amount of the stock, 
 there was a difference of 16 per cent, between stock to be 
 delivered that day and that to be delivered in three days. 
 It is two o'clock and in fifteen minutes more the battle 
 will be over. Fisk and Gould are now confident and 
 Drew's heart is sinking as he feels himself falling into 
 their pitiless clutches. The noise of conflict has extended 
 much further than usual from Wall Street, and an un- 
 wonted number of lookers-on have gathered around. 
 Every man holding a share of the stock that has been so 
 fickle deems this his most favorable time to sell and every 
 available share is now thrown upon the market. Sud- 
 denly large quantities of stock supposed to be in Europe 
 make their appearance. This makes matters seem very 
 dangerous for the side that has almost won. A hasty 
 investigation shows that some hundred thousand shares 
 issued in certificates of ten shares each, intended for circu- 
 lation in Europe only, had been laid away by small 
 purchasers in New York and were now being brought out.
 
 148 DREW'S IAST BATTLB. 
 
 This is a damaging blow to Fisk and Gould and a heavy 
 reinforcement of their opponent at the very turning point 
 of the battle. However, there must be no wavering or 
 the day is lost. The stock must be absorbed at all 
 hazards and as but ten minutes more remain they throw 
 themselves into the breech with all the vehemence and 
 nerve for which Fisk is noted, undaunted by the un- 
 toward event. They are gathering in the unexpected 
 stock by the hundred shares per minute, when their 
 bank becomes suddenly alarmed at the amount of checks 
 that flow in for certification to meet this last grand charge 
 and refuse to certify their checks for any further sums, 
 and dealers refuse to accept their checks unless certified. 
 The blow is vexatious, but Fisk is still undaunted and 
 rallies to the new emergency with the energy of a man 
 borne on by the most determined will and desperation 
 combined. Arrangements are instantly made to have 
 their checks certified at another bank and they return for 
 the last desperate charge that is to win the day. But five 
 minutes have been lost in making the new arrangement 
 for having their checks certified and they are the five last, 
 decisive moments of the struggle. Drew improved them 
 while his enemies were crippled. His shorts were covered 
 and the corner was defeated. Erie dropped at once to 42. 
 It had been a battle of giants in which both parties had 
 suffered severely, each inflicting heavy and damaging 
 blows upon the other and neither* gaining a triumph. 
 Drew had escaped the ruinous grip of a corner, but had
 
 DBEW EETIMSS. 149 
 
 been forced to cover at about 58 his contracts for 70,000 
 shares of which he went short at about 38, and the day 
 had cost him about a million and a half dollars. Fisk 
 and Gould had gratified revenge upon Drew, but as they 
 had bought enormous quantities of stock at the high 
 prices and had failed to get their corner on Drew to re- 
 lieve them of their burdens and the stock had now fallen 
 on their hands, the revenge had cost them, or the Erie 
 Railway, heavily, and the day had probably more than 
 cancelled all their profits from the preceding "lock up " 
 and bear campaign. 
 
 With this day's battle Daniel Drew retired from aH 
 active part in Wall Street affairs. A long career of con- 
 stant strifes and battles closed with a severe and bitter 
 blow, but it left him still possessed of millions. He saw 
 the spirit of young America was getting far too strong for 
 hia aged nerves and retired to his native town to devote 
 himself entirely to building and endowing Methodist 
 churches, Methodist seminaries and attending Methodist 
 prayer-meetings. He is seen "on the street" no more 
 except at rare intervals, when he comes down to look on 
 with an expression of mute, child-like wonder on his 
 countenance and his arms folded behind him as he watches 
 how deftly his young pupils now stack the cards and throw 
 the dice ; but to all invitations to take a hand in the game 
 once more he mournfully shakes his head. 
 
 Through the week following the culmination of the 
 struggle between Drew and Fisk the utmost confusion
 
 150 RUMORS OF ABSCONDING. 
 
 prevailed in regard to Erie matters, several new suits 
 being instituted on the one side and the other, opposing 
 receivers contending for possession, and the wildest reports 
 circulated as to the designs of Messrs. Fisk and Gould. For 
 a day or two it was fully believed that they intended to 
 abscond to Canada or Europe, taking with them all the 
 funds of the Erie treasury. They barricaded themselves 
 in the Erie offices and it was found impossible to get to 
 them to serve upon them any papers in the suits that had 
 been instituted. Officers were stationed around the build- 
 ing and at all the ferries and depots to catch them in case 
 they attempted to escape. After this situation had lasted 
 for a week, late on Sunday night several of the party 
 emerged from the office and started for the ferry. Fisk 
 was immediately approached and served with some legal 
 papers, whereupon he returned to the office to ascertain 
 their nature. Knowing now that he was closely watched 
 and that he might be served with numberless other legal 
 documents and even be arrested if he made another open 
 attempt to cross the ferry, he prepared himself as if for a 
 masquerade. In this guise, with his identity concealed, 
 he once more emerged from the office and approaching a 
 carriage that stood in waiting, instructed the driver, in a 
 loud disguised voice, to drive to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and 
 then entered the carriage. The driver drove rapidly up 
 the street a few blocks and then in obedience to previous 
 secret instructions disobeyed the loud direction given out 
 as a blind, drove to the Courtlandt Street ferry, and by
 
 A SPECIAL TEAIK AT MIDNIGHT. 151 
 
 this circuitous passage landed his precious freight safely 
 in New Jersey. Some officers, suspecting such a move, 
 had crossed over the ferry to the Erie depot in Jersey 
 City. Here they found a director's car and an engine 
 ready for a start, though they were informed no train was 
 going out. Waiting to watch developments, they soon 
 ' heard an unusual whistle up the road towards the Bergen 
 tunnel. At sound of this the track-master feigned much 
 excitement at the position of the director's car, told the 
 engineer he had no business on that track and ordered 
 him to start up and back down upon another track. The 
 engineer started up but, instead of backing down as di- 
 rected, kept increasing his speed and passed off up the 
 road, leaving the officers standing alone. These circum- 
 stances were put together and it was now considered as a 
 certainty that Fisk and Gould had run away and carried 
 all the money of the Erie Railway with them, and an- 
 nouncements to that effect were made in all the papers 
 next morning. When Fisk got the morning papers from 
 New York and read the news, he telegraphed back an 
 indignant denial and his card was published in the same 
 papers next morning. He declared he had only gone to 
 Binghampton on matters connected with the business of 
 the road, and such proved to be the fact. Mr. Fisk re- 
 garded the articles published about him as gross libels and 
 on returning to the city he immediately commenced suits 
 for libel against all the leading papers, laying the damages 
 in each case at $100,000. He, however, subsequently so
 
 152 LAW StTITS OK A GIGANTIC 8CALB. 
 
 far controlled his indignation as to think it not worth his 
 while to bring any of these suits to trial. Everybody now 
 seeming to feel satisfied that it was useless to attempt to do 
 anything to bring the managing spirits to justice or rescue 
 the property of the Erie stockholders from these men, and 
 that there was no way but to let them run their course, a 
 calm succeeded in Erie affairs, and all attacks and efforts 
 ceased. This seemed to give Mr. Fisk the impression that 
 he held the world in a sling and he now commenced legal 
 proceedings against nearly everybody on a most magnifi- 
 cent scale. December 10th he commenced a suit against 
 Vanderbilt for $3,500,000, alleging that the settlement of 
 July was illegal, and seeking to recover the money paid 
 Vanderbilt on that occasion. A suit was commenced 
 against Work and Schell on the same transaction in the 
 sum of $429,250. August Belmont was sued for injuring 
 the Erie Railway by commencing a suit against its direc- 
 tors and the damages were placed at a million of dollars. 
 An examination of the records of the Erie office showed 
 that some years before when Drew was director he had 
 bought certain steamboats of the company, used them in 
 the company's business on Lake Erie, charged the com- 
 pany for said service and finally resold the steamers to 
 the company. This proceeding was alleged to be fraudu- 
 lent from beginning to end, and a suit therefor was 
 commenced against Drew for the sum of a million of 
 dollars. It is impossible to predict how far similar pro- 
 ceedings might have been kept up had not some other
 
 JISK AND VANDEEBILT LOO KOLLIK8. 153 
 
 business of a diverting nature required a little attention 
 from Mr. Fisk and afforded him a new amusement. 
 
 The Legislature was soon to meet at Albany and Messrs. 
 Fisk and Q-ould naturally apprehended that trouble might 
 come to them from that quarter and that investigating 
 committees might be showered down upon them to in- 
 quire into their conduct and the condition of the Erie 
 Railway. Hostile legislation was expected in the matter 
 of their enormous icsue of new stock. But Vanderbilt 
 had declared a stock dividend of 80 per cent, on the cap- 
 ital of the N. Y. Central Dec. 19th, and this was an in- 
 crease of capital or a watering of the stock about the 
 legality of which there was some doubt also as well as 
 about the Erie issue. Here was an excellent opportunity 
 for log rolling. A bill legalizing Vanderbilt' s stock divi- 
 dend was passed through the Legislature without any dif- 
 ficulty and the affairs of Erie were permitted to rest in 
 peace. But now Vanderbilt wanted to get through a bill 
 to consolidate the Hudson Eiver and Central roads. Fisk 
 and Gould, apprehending that their election from year to 
 year would be a matter involving them in a severe contest 
 and many unpleasant circumstances, wanted to avoid the 
 necessity of an annual battle to prevent the stockholders 
 from turning them out of office. They therefore had a 
 bill prepared providing that after the next annual elec- 
 tion the Erie directors should be classified so that only 
 one fifth of them should be elected annually. They were 
 to be divided into classes, the first to hold office for six
 
 154 THE EBIE CLASSIFICATION BILL. 
 
 years, the second for five and so on, the last class holding 
 for one year only, but all future elections to be for six 
 years. Either this bill or Vanderbilt's consolidation bill 
 would, alone, meet with a bitter opposition and require 
 vast sums of money to put them in a favorable light be- 
 fore the legislators. The Legislature was Republican, 
 though the Governor was Democratic (a circumstance 
 explained by the ingenious system of "repeating" in 
 New York city), and the man engineering the Erie classi- 
 fication bill was Wm. M. Tweed, "boss" of the Demo- 
 crats and also himself an Erie director. The wishes of 
 Vanderbilt and the Erie ring not being antagonistic, and 
 knowing how much harm they could do each other by 
 opposition, the two parties now joined in another little 
 "pool," this time to operate not in stocks but in the votes 
 of the worthy law-makers and guardians of the public 
 weal in the great Empire State. They knew how many 
 votes must be bought and what was their price under 
 various circumstances. They could unite and carry both 
 bills through for a much less sum than each would cost 
 if the other opposed. Hence a truce was made to their 
 enmities, the two bills went speedily through without 
 difficulty and the same day the suit of Belmont (in which 
 Vanderbilt was supposed to be influential) against the Erie 
 Railway was discontinued. This classification bill, though 
 its avowed purpose and immediate consequence were well 
 known, and though there was no doubt but that it was 
 bribed through the Legislature, received the signature of
 
 DRAWING LOTS. 155 
 
 Governor John T. Hoffman. At the next annual election 
 Fisk and Gould carried everything their own way by arts 
 similar to those practised the previous year, and then pro- 
 ceeded to " draw lots " to determine who should have the 
 long terms and who the short ones under the classification 
 bill. - Of course Fisk and Gould both drew the longest 
 term, and thus by the act of a bribed Legislature and tho 
 signature of John T. Hoffman the Erie Railway was 
 placed in the absolute control of James Fisk, Jr., and Jay 
 Gould for six years beyond the reach of the wishes and 
 voice of the stockholders. Of the directors chosen at this 
 election, five were salaried clerks in the employ of Fisk 
 and Gould and were of course their obedient tools, mere 
 holders of places like so many wooden men, with no voice 
 whatever in the management, thus giving these two men 
 absolute control of a majority of the board of directors. 
 Some six or seven of the other directors were men of much 
 higher character, but they were merely put in as respect- 
 able figure-heads, and had all signed a pledge to support 
 Gould's policy or resign. And, in fact, even the formality 
 of calling an occasional meeting of the board of directors 
 was long ago dispensed with and everything is managed 
 by the executive committee, Fisk, Gould, Lane and Tweed, 
 without ever thinking of taking a vote of the others. 
 Indeed Messrs. Fisk and Gould have probably forgotten 
 that there is such a thing as a board of directors of the 
 Erie Eailway, and practically there is none. In this 
 manner have things gone on now for three years with
 
 156 TTNOPPOSED HASTEE OP EEIE. 
 
 hardly an effort from any quarter to oppose them. One 
 public-spirited citizen purchased some of the stock and 
 commenced legal proceedings with a design of bringing 
 Fisk and Gould to account. The result was that his suit 
 was taken out of the district in which he brought it, 
 dragged before Judge Barnard in New. York city, who 
 issued an injunction forbidding him from taking any fur- 
 ther proceedings, fined him $5,000 for contempt of court 
 in violating this injunction by making preparations for the 
 trial, then he was forced to trial without any preparation 
 and before this same judge, and, when he objected to 
 going to trial before Barnard, judgment was entered 
 against him by default. This experiment was not en- 
 couraging for any one else to attempt to interfere with 
 Messrs. Fisk and Gould in their management. A bill 
 was introduced into the last Legislature to repeal the Erie 
 classification bill, but after slumbering in the hands of the 
 committee for several weeks, a majority reported against 
 the repeal, having been convinced of its propriety. Pro- 
 bably the committee on railroads for many years to come 
 will need to have their minds convinced annually on this 
 subject by the arguments Messrs. Gould and Fisk are 
 adepts at applying, and after considering the matter care- 
 fully, a la Mattoon, will report against the repeal. 
 
 The issue of new stock and the tricks of the manage- 
 ment in the fall of 1868 became so outrageous that the 
 Stock Board at length resolved to shield itself from such 
 frauds. On the 27th of October a committee of the
 
 A EESOLUTION FOE EKIE's BENEFIT. 157 
 
 board waited upon Jay Gould to make inquiries as to the 
 amount of new stock that had been issued and the 
 probabilities as to more new issues. The president of 
 Erie was very bland and affable to the committee, his 
 neryous black eye twinkling with an unwonted sparkle 
 as he talked at much length upon every question asked 
 him. The committee were quite dazzled by the grandeur 
 of his notions and ideas, and with their eyes thus loaded 
 with dust they returned to report progress. When the 
 knowledge they had gathered was submitted to the cru- 
 cible of the board and stripped of Jay Gould's verbiage, 
 it was found that new stock had been issued to the 
 extent of ten millions of dollars and there was no telling 
 how long the process would be kept up. This much- 
 enduring body, unable to restrain their indignation and 
 impatience any longer, passed a resolution : 
 
 " That on and after January 31st, 1869, this board will 
 not call or deal in any active speculative stock of any 
 company a registry of whose stock is not kept in some 
 responsible bank or trust company or other satisfactory 
 agency, and which shall not give public notice at the time 
 of establishing such registry of the number of shares so 
 entrusted to be registered and shall not give at least thirty 
 days' notice through the newspapers and in writing to the 
 president of this board of any intended increase of the 
 number of shares, either direct or through an issue of 
 convertible bonds, and which shall not at the same time 
 give notice of the object for which such issue of stock or 
 bonds is about to be made."
 
 158 EBIB THEOW1T OTTT OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 This was a most reasonable and appropriate regula- 
 tion and one to which no honest board of directors 
 could make the least objection ; but when the ap- 
 pointed 31st of January, 1869, arrived Erie had not 
 registered in compliance with this resolution and it was 
 consequently stricken from the list of stocks called 
 at the Stock Board. Fisk and Gould, with an utter 
 indifference and even contempt for this disgrace of their 
 road and stock, stepped just across Broad Street from the 
 Stock Exchange, engaged a suitable room, organized a 
 new board of their own, called the National Board, 
 wherein Erie and all the other stocks were called and 
 dealt in as though nothing had happened. It was not 
 till a year and a half later that Erie was finally registered 
 and resumed its place on the list at the Stock Board. 
 
 Between the time that these men came into power and 
 September 30th, 1869, the capital stock of the road was 
 increased $53,425,700. The amount expended in equip- 
 ping and improving the road during the same time was 
 $6,297,067, leaving $49,128,633 wholly unaccounted for. 
 No dividend was declared on any of the stock after the 
 advent of Fisk and Gould ; the debts of the corporation 
 were largely increased, so that all the profits earned by 
 the road, as well as the many millions received for new 
 stock, remains! unaccounted for. No one but Fisk and 
 Gould knew anything about it, and what they knew they 
 were sagely inclined to keep to themselves. The same 
 policy and style of management was kept up to the end,
 
 BEAT *'H7CTUATIONS IN THIS STOCK. 159 
 
 the deeds constantly deepening in darkness of hue, as a 
 course of crime ever does the stock fluctuating between 
 twenty and thirty per cent of its par value.
 
 
 OHAPTEE Tin. 
 
 REVENGE A LETTRE DE CACHET AN EDITOR WHIPPED INTO 
 
 JAIL AT MIDNIGHT TAIN SEARCHES FOR FISK AND MAGIS- 
 TRATES MR. FISK GLORIES OVER THE EVENT IN PRINT. 
 
 Mr. Fisk closed the first year of his prominence in New 
 Tork by an act betraying the worst and most dangerous 
 trait of his character a trait much more dangerous to 
 himself than to its victims a delight in spiteful, wanton, 
 bootless revenge. On the morning of December 23d the 
 citizens of New York were startled by an item of news in 
 the morning papers that sounded more like an echo of 
 the days of lettres de cachet and the French Bastile than 
 the nineteenth century and the land that boasts of being 
 in the van of liberty and personal security. A distin- 
 guished and .highly respected gentleman had been 
 suddenly seized the previous night and whipped into 
 prison without being informed of the cause, handled in 
 the roughest manner, and all friends were refused 
 admittance to see him till morning. 
 
 About nine o'clock on the night of December 22d, 
 while the New England Society in New York were
 
 WHIPPED INTO JAIL AT MIDNIGHT. 161 
 
 around the "festive board" commemorating the landing 
 of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, and the Sachems of 
 Tammany Hall were in like manner celebrating the 
 election of A. Oakey Hall as Mayor, Samuel Bowles, Esq., 
 the well-known editor of the Springfield Itepublican, was 
 standing in the main hall of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
 talking with some friends, when two men came in, 
 one of whom passed behind him then turned suddenly, 
 seized him by the arms, and rushed him along towards 
 the street while the other held a crumpled paper in his 
 face saying it was an order for his arrest and helping 
 push him out of tho house. When they reached the 
 sidewalk a carriage was in waiting into which Mr. Bowles 
 was hurriedly forced and then driven rapidly away to 
 Ludlow Street jail. The movement was so sudden, and 
 the spectators were taken so completely by surprise, that 
 no interference could be made on his behalf. When se- 
 curely behind the bars of the jail, Mr. Bowles was 
 permitted to read the legal document in virtue of which 
 he had thus been seized and incarcerated. The founda- 
 tion of the proceeding proved to bo as follows : 
 
 SUPERIOR COURT, CITY OF NEW YORK. 
 
 JAMES FISK, Jn., 
 
 vt, 
 
 SAMUEL BOWLES and others, composing 
 the firm of Samuel Bowles & Co. 
 
 CITY AND COUXTY op Nrrw YORK, ts. : 
 
 James Fisk, Jr., being duly sworn, deposes and says
 
 162 THB CAUSE. 
 
 that he is the plaintiff in the above entitled action ; that 
 on the 28th day of November, 1868, the defendant, 
 Samuel Bowles, being the principal editor or editor in 
 chief of certain newspapers published by the said Samuel 
 Bowles & Co., in the City of Springfield and State of 
 Massachusetts, known and described as "The Daily 
 Springfield llepublican" and "The Semi- Weekly Spring- 
 field Republican," did compose and publish of and con- 
 cerning this deponent, plaintiff aforesaid, the following 
 false, malicious scandalous and defamatory matter, to wit: 
 "But Fisk has probably destroyed the credit of the 
 railroad (meaning the Erie Eailway Co.), while piling up 
 a fortune for himself. The multiplication of its stock has 
 been fearful. From thirty millions of nominal capital a 
 year ago it has been raised to sixty or seventy millions 
 and what there is to show for the difference beyond some 
 worthless securities of the Hartford & Erie Railroad and 
 a million or two of real estate it is now impossible to say. 
 The issue of new shares seems to have been wanton, and 
 to no purpose in great part but to gamble in Wall Street 
 with. Nothing so audacious, nothing more gigantic in 
 the way of swindling has ever been perpetrated in this 
 country, and yet it may bo that Mr. Fisk and his asso- 
 ciates have done nothing that they cannot legally justify, 
 at least in the New York Courts, several of which they 
 (meaning deponent Fisk and others) seem wholly to own. 
 Fisk's operations are said to be under the legal guidance 
 of both David Dudley Field and Charles O'Connor, and 
 now both Judge Barnard of the State and Judge Blatch- 
 ford of the United States Court, back up* and help on his 
 
 proceedings Many even of his friends predict for 
 
 him the state prison or the lunatic asylum."
 
 THE CAU8K. 168 
 
 Deponent further says that the same matte* as last 
 above rccitod as having been published in the said 
 "Daily and Serni- Weekly Springfield Republican" was. 
 republishcd in "The Weekly Springfield Republican? 
 also published by the above named defendants, on tlio 
 5th day of December, A. D. 1868. Deponent further 
 says that an action was commenced in this Court by 
 this deponent on the 21st day of December, 1868, for 
 libel for the above recited false, malicious, scandalous 
 and defamatory matter, as above stated, published by 
 the defendants against the above named plaintiff claim- 
 ing damages in the sum of $50,000. 
 
 Deponent further says that the said newspapers, pub- 
 lished by the defendants, have a wide and extensive circu- 
 lation in the City and County of New York and elsewhere, 
 and that by reason of said publication this deponent has 
 been damaged and injured in his character and reputation 
 and his usefulness and efficiency as a director and man- 
 ager of the vast interests intrusted to his care as manag- 
 ing director of the Erie Railway Company seriously and 
 wantonly injured and damaged this as well for the 
 stockholders in said company at large as for this depo- 
 nent. 
 
 JAMES Fisx, JK. 
 
 To accommodate Mr. Fisk, Judge McCunn held a 
 special evening session of his Court, so urgent wore the 
 needs of justice in this case deemed, and upon the above 
 affidavit granted an order for the arrest of Mr. Bowles. 
 Sheriff James O'Brien being then on very intimate terms 
 with Fisk and often detailing deputies to serve him, was 
 also easily found on this occasion and deemed the matter
 
 164 COT7BT AND SHEKIFF OBLIGING MR. FISK. 
 
 so important that he went to give his personal superin- 
 tendence (a rare favor) to the arrest of Mr. Bowles. But 
 the moment the arrest was effected, none of the faithful 
 guardians and depositaries of the law could bo found any 
 where. Every one with power to accept bail and release 
 Mr. Bowles had disappeared for the night and ho was 
 consigned to the jail till morning. Several of Mr. Bowles's 
 friends called to see him soon after his incarceration, but 
 the jailor seemed to be a friend of Fisk's also, for they 
 were refused permission to see the prisoner. Mr. Dud- 
 ley Field was greatly scandalized at this act of his 
 distinguished client, and as Mr. Bowles was then an 
 intimate friend of the Field family, he rode about 
 town till the early morning hours in search of Mr. 
 Fisk to obtain the release of the friend of his family, but 
 in vain. All attempts tt> find a magistrate to accept bail 
 being of no avail and the efforts of his friends to obtain 
 his release before morning proving fruitless, Mr. Bowles 
 prepared to spend the night in Ludlow Street jail. It 
 was not a fate that disturbed his nerves in the least and 
 he would have cared nothing about it except for his wife. 
 She was in very feeble health, and he feared the news of 
 the outrage coming so suddenly upon her might affect 
 her quite injuriously. He did manage to obtain from the 
 jailor the great favor of sending her a letter, humorously 
 describing his prospective lodgings for the night and then 
 passed the night without any of the agony or mortification 
 which Mr. Fisk would doubtless have felt in the same
 
 GBEEK ETHICS. 165 
 
 situation, and therefore supposed another would feel. 
 Ethics was not included in the small curriculum of Mr. 
 Fisk's education and he was never a frequenter of Sab- 
 bath schools in his youth, so ho has never attained to such 
 a high moral perception as to understand that it is not the 
 fact of being in jail, but the cause of being there, that con- 
 stitutes the disgrace, if disgrace there be. To him the 
 mere circumstance of being behind grates and iron doors 
 is disgrace and mortification, and so long as that cannot 
 be said of a man he is honorable no matter what his acts, 
 but with the jailor's key once turned on him he must bow 
 his head in shame forever. He seems to be imbued with 
 the Greek morals and philosophy, which placed the dis- 
 grace not in stealing the fox but in getting caught. 
 
 The next morning of course Mr. Bowles was immedi- 
 ately bailed and released, the bail being put at the 
 moderate sum of $50,000. He rather enjoyed the 
 episode than otherwise, and nothing else that Mr, Fisk 
 could possibly have done would have been such a benefit 
 to Mr. Bowles. Every honest man in the country saw 
 the principle of his own liberty rudely struck at in 
 the person of the Springfield editor and felt that if such 
 imperial outrages as this were possible under the machi- 
 nations of the greatest scapegraces outside of Sing Sing, 
 and with the connivance of courts and sheriffs, personal 
 freedom and safety were at an end and the time for a 
 vigilance committee had arrived. The whole press of the 
 country teemed with denunciations of the outrage and
 
 166 
 
 ME. BOWLES LIONIZED 
 
 indignation and sympathy for the victim. Letters flowed 
 in upon Mr. Bowles by tho bushel and tho most dis- 
 tinguished citizens of Boston offered him tho compli- 
 ment of n public reception and dinner, which was mod- 
 estly declined. Tho act which Mr. Fisk intended should 
 disgrace and mortify Mr. Bowles raised him instantly 
 to an honored fame and prominence which he would 
 probably otherwise never havo achieved. But Mr. Fisk 
 evidently felt he had done a very "smart" thing and 
 gloried so much in tho eclat of this climax to his first 
 year of conspicuous position before the public that he 
 went into print on tho subject as follows : 
 
 AT HoiiE, BOSTON, MASS., 
 
 Christmas Day. 
 
 On tho 28th of November last " Samuel Bowles, Esq. r 
 of Springfield, Mass M " published an editorial headed 
 "Tto New Hero of Wall Street." It was devoted to a 
 bitter, abusive, untruthful and unprovoked attack on my 
 origin, vocation, habits, personal appearance, and family 
 afflictions. For example, with a reckless disregard of 
 truth and railroad possibilities, " Samuel Bowles, Esq., of 
 Springfield, Mass.," said : " But Fisk has probably 
 destroyed tho credit of tho railroad whilo piling up a 
 fortune for himself. Tho multiplication of its stock haa 
 been fearful. From thirty millions of nominal capital 
 a year ago it has been raised to sixty or seventy millions,, 
 and what there is to show for the difference beyond some* 
 worthless securities of the Hartford & Erie Railroad 
 and a million or two of real estate it is now impossible to 
 gay." Were it not inconsistent with my well-knoira
 
 MB. VISK QtOKIES Iff PBINT. 167 
 
 good nature and forgiving disposition, I should unhes- 
 itatingly pronounce "Samuel Bowles, Esq., of Spring- 
 field, Mass.," an abandoned falsifier and a fool on that 
 single statement. Further on, the Springfield Republican 
 has asserted its capacity for wholesale slander by the 
 following astounding calumny on the Bench and Bar of 
 New York : " Nothing so audacious, nothing more 
 gigantic in the way of swindling has ever been perpe- 
 trated in this country and yet it may be that Mr. Fisk 
 and his associates have dono nothing that they cannot 
 legally justify, at least in the New York Courts, several 
 of which they seem wholly to own. Fisk's operations are 
 said to be under the legal guidance of both David 
 Dudley Field and Charles O'Connor, and now both Judge 
 Barnard of the State and Judge Blatchford of the United 
 States Court back up and help on his proceedings." 
 
 The alleged indifference of the New York city authori- 
 ties to the incarceration of " Samuel Bowles, Esq., of 
 Springfield, Mass. ," was not, you will see, entirely unjust- 
 ifiable. Culpable as I am in selling "silks, poplins and 
 velvets by the j'ard," the generous nature of " Samuel 
 Bowles, Esq., of Springfield, Mass.," is not finally and 
 utterly turned against me until ho has ascertained that I 
 am guilty of having a father who is unhappily an inmate 
 of a lunatic asylum. This sours all the milk of human 
 kindness in the breast of the Springfield journalist, and 
 ho prophetically consigns me to a " mad house or state 
 prison." Under the circumstances, Messrs. Editors, don't 
 you think I had cause to feel vexed with "Samuel 
 Bowles, Esq., of Springfield, Mass. " ? In order to protect 
 my rights I appealed- to the law, which is the highest 
 expression of human wisdom for the good government of
 
 lOo SMALL-BEER EDITOR*. 
 
 nmnkind. If any error has been committed, those who 
 made the law committed it. I regret that the wife of 
 "Samuel Bowles, Esq., of Springfield, Mass." was dis- 
 turbed or even annoyed by her husband's temporary ab- 
 sence. As for the sympathy of the sycophantic horde of 
 office seekers and small-beer editors, who clamored around, 
 the jail gates for their comrade's release, their abuse Z 
 expected and am, indifferent to. Mr. Bowles proposed the- 
 game himself and I bowled him over the first innings. L 
 think it will be generally conceded that I have as much 
 right to defend my personal character as any newspaper' 
 has to attack it- At all events I shall do so with the most 
 unflinching determination until it is proven to the con- 
 trary. Mr. Bowles need not fear but that I will bring: 
 him to trial before a judicial tribunal, and then "let 
 justice be done though the heavens fall," and these are a, 
 few of the reasons, Messrs. Editors, why I arrested and 
 locked up "Samuel Bowles, Esq., of Springfield, Mass." 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JAMES FISK, JB. 
 
 This letter needs no comment. The peculiar notions; 
 which the writer entertains as to the duty of " New York 
 city officials," his interpretation aad application of " law,'* 
 as well as some of the things which give him pleasure and 
 which he thinks very "smart," are perfectly apparent. 
 The letter is a faithful photograph of the man. It is- 
 evident from his own words that he was stung, not by 
 what he quotes in his affidavits and makes the ground of 
 his complaint, and that he cared not a straw for its effect 
 upon his railroad, but that the personalities inflicted the
 
 REPUBLICAN SCTTBBILITT. 169 
 
 wound and that Mr. Fisk sought not "justice** at the 
 hands of "the law," but revenge. When he had kept 
 Mr. Bowles in jail over night he was quite satisfied, felt 
 bis "personal character " amply defended, and despite the 
 braggart conclusion of his letter nothing more ever came 
 of the suit. He had previously commenced a suit for libel 
 against Mr. Bowles in the Massachusetts Courts, putting 
 the damage at $50,000. The sudden discontinuance of 
 this suit and the instantaneous bringing another ia New 
 York and spiriting Mr. Bowles into jail makes his real 
 purpose manifest and shows how little he <sared to " let 
 justice be done." 
 
 The article in the Republiccm was written in the cheap 
 sensational style which has largely characterized the 
 columns of that paper, and, in parts at least, was utterly 
 reckless of the truth and of private feelings and disgust- 
 ingly coarse and vulgar. The paragraph which undoubt- 
 edly did most to excite Mr. Fisk's desire for revenge, and 
 justly, was that running : 
 
 " The appellation of ' fat, fair and forty,' so often ap- 
 plied to well preserved women, belongs peculiarly to him. 
 He is almost as broad as he is high, and so round that he 
 rolls rather than walks. But his nervous energy is 
 stimulated rather than deadened by his fat which gives 
 indeed a momentum to his mental movement and his 
 personal influence." 
 
 This is grossly and scurrilously false, in the first place, 
 and in the second, were it true, it would be none the less 
 unjustifiable, mean, coarse and unworthy a place in any
 
 170 COSTBADICTIOTTS. 
 
 paper making the slightest claim to decency. Again it 
 proceeds : " Yankee of course, and Vermonter at that, and 
 a peddler to boot, do we not tell the whole secret of his 
 life ?" A sneer at th people probably constituting nine- 
 teen-twentieths of the Republican's patrons, a special fling 
 at Yermonters as of eminence in the contemptible, the 
 climax capped with the sneer " a peddler to boot," and 
 yet Mr. Bowles says, " there is nothing in it that ridiculed 
 Mr. disk's previous occupation." But Mr. Bowles has 
 shown the worth of his opinion on tho subject by giving 
 two of an almost exactly opposite character. 
 
 In one place he has said " there is a rolicking impu- 
 dence in the style of the article; but how could the 
 subject be treated sympathetically in any other way ? 
 You might as well paint a red rose with white coloring as 
 to portray Mr. Fisk's character in any other than tho 
 style used." In another place he has said it Was " a 
 friendly warning ... to husband tho resources of his 
 health . . . and to dedicate his energies to better and 
 more legitimate purposes." 
 
 The journalist that prostitutes his position and panders 
 to the morbid taste for sensation in order to secure a 
 large circulation for his paper, deserves to be ranked with 
 the publisher of obscene literature. He is oven meaner, 
 for he does more to corrupt public taste and makes a 
 pretence to decency while engaged in the filthiest work 
 for gain. Tho extent to which private rights and feelings 
 are outraged in this country, in onler that papers, claim-
 
 BETEJfGB SATED. 171 
 
 ing, like the Republican, to l>e decent, may make their 
 columns " racy," has grown to bo almost insufferable, and 
 had Mr. Fisk pushed his suit for libel in a proper way 
 and succeeded in mulcting Mr. Bowles in a heavy sum, as 
 ho richly deserved, nearly every ono would have rejoiced 
 and thanked him for doing a good service to the public. 
 But proceeding by an outrage upon the law, abandoning 
 all punishment and seeming satisfied after securing the 
 offender in jail a few hours by means of a conspiracy, was 
 too sudden a passage from the sublime to the ridiculous 
 and for the moment stamped as a hero and martyr a man 
 whose legal incarceration would have been well deserved.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 " t ""Yrr-.'V! ,--' - p"i. *:j-:>mdri-;;->i[ -..x 
 
 THE IttPEESSABIO THEATRICALS A MARBLB PALACE PRINCE 
 
 ERIE. 
 
 -^ 
 
 Having achieved all the notorieiy possible in railroad 
 management by the close of 1868, Mr. Fisk suddenly 
 blossomed into an entirely new role before the New York 
 public with the opening of 1869, becoming all at once the 
 Maecenas of the stage. It has been a favorite pastime of 
 royalty in all ages to dally with the children of Melpom- 
 ene, Thalia or Terpsichore, according to taste and temper- 
 ament. Mr. Fisk's financial resources being now quite 
 royal, he became a patron of histrionic art as a means of 
 using a portion of his revenue in a good cause at the same 
 time that it yielded him much amusement and. recreation. 
 And this he did on a scale quite worthy the most illustri- 
 ous of his royal prototypes and in a style of grandeur that 
 many a prince might envy. First he purchased Pike's 
 Opera House, a grand new marble palace at the corner of 
 23d Street and 8th Avenue, the name being at once 
 changed to "The Grand Opera House" on his coming 
 into possession. lie next almost entirely rebuilt what is
 
 FRENCH OPERA AND SHAKSPEAEB. 173 
 
 now the Fifth Avenue Theatre, in 23d Street, making it 
 one of the most elegant little theatres in the world. In 
 May he leased the Academy of Music, in 14th Street, and 
 \vas thus operating all at one time, the three finest places 
 of amusement in New York. He prepared entertain- 
 ments at each of the three establishments without tho 
 slightest regard to expense, determined on having every 
 detail and appointment perfect. Thirty thousand dollars 
 and more was said to have been expended in preparing 
 one piece alone for the stage. But he soon became con- 
 scious of the quicksands upon which all impressarioa 
 seem. fated to stand in this country. The public did not 
 sustain him in his unsparing outlay for their entertain- 
 ment and he soon found himself losiifg heavily at each of 
 his three theatres. When he came into possession of 
 Pike's Opera House, Trench Comic Opera was on the 
 boards there, and had been a very unprofitable venture 
 for his predecessor. This he continued for a time, but 
 finding it could not be made to pay, he closed the estab- 
 lishment for some changes and to prepare for the presen- 
 tation of Shakspeare's grand play of "The Tempest." 
 Elaborate preparations were made for the revival of this 
 piece which had been long absent from the New York 
 boards, and when the curtain again rose upon an audience 
 in tho Grand Opera House they were dazzled with the 
 new hplendors and beautiful decorations and frescoes 
 which had completely transformed tho appearance of the 
 place A.nd the change behind the scenes had been no
 
 174 THB ACADEMY OP JHTSIO AHD " LUBLINE." 
 
 less complete, every appointment being now of the most 
 perfect style. But this play, too, failed to meet the reward 
 which the efforts expended in its presentation merited and 
 was withdrawn after a brief unprosperous season. 
 
 The little " Boudoir Theatre " in 24th Street, had been 
 built for Mr. John Brougham, the well-known actor and 
 playwright and was called after him " Brougham's The- 
 atre." But ho had not been installed in his elegant house 
 long ere Mr. Fist's hearty and generous admiration for 
 him. waned and then changed into an irreconcilable un- 
 pleasantness. Mr. xJrougham's management failed of the 
 anticipated success, and after two unsuccessful months he 
 was turned out of his beautiful possession rather uncere- 
 moniously, and its iHime was changed to the " Fifth Ave- 
 nue Theatre." The French Opera which had been with- 
 drawn from the Grand Opera House was given another 
 trial here, but with a success equally lacking in encourage- 
 ment for its long continuance. 
 
 At the Academy of Music the celebrated Opera of 
 "Lurline" was presented after the most expensive prepa- 
 rations, being rendered in English and Italian on alter- 
 nate nights. But the result was so discouraging that 
 after a run of two weeks it had to be withdrawn and the 
 doors closed, about $20,000 having been lost in the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 His first season of theatrical experience had been one 
 of expensive schooling and amusement to him. But 
 disastrous as each venture had been pecuniarily, he was
 
 THE TWELVE TEMFEATIOSS. 175 
 
 not discouraged or crippled. Though Any other manager 
 would most likely have been ruined financially by the 
 losses incurred at either of the places, Mr. Fisk stood up 
 under them all without a nerve shaken and whiffed his 
 cigar as calmly as though all had gone prosperously. He, 
 however, did not care to go over the same ground again 
 the following season. The lease of the Academy of Music 
 was not renewed, and the Fifth Avenue Theatre was 
 leased and passed out of Mr. Fisk's personal supervision. 
 But he still retained control of the Grand Opera House, 
 and concentrated all his attention in the theatrical lice to 
 this one place. It is very doubtful if his fortune does not 
 still continue to grow worse rather than better from this 
 enterprise. One piece alone has had any lasting success 
 and long run with him. " The Twelve Temptations " was 
 brought out the second winter of his management and 
 had a long run to crowded houses and must have been a 
 fine pecuniary success. It was a piece in the spectacular, 
 " Black Crook " style, depending largely upon the ballet 
 and the exhibition of the charms of the female form for 
 its attraction. New attractions were added from time to 
 time, and to keep up the interest at the close a corps of 
 beautiful blondes alternated with one of ravishing 
 brunettes from night to night. 
 
 But Mr. Fisk has shown his strongest admiration for 
 theatrical amusement to be in Opera Bouffe. This seems 
 to be his ideal of fun and fine music combined and he has 
 manifested the most unflinching determination to bring
 
 176 OPERA BOITFFE. 
 
 the public to Ms taste and way of thinking. It has 
 formed the continuous programme at his Grand Opera 
 House the past season and has been given, as is every- 
 thing that he presents, with all the attractions that an 
 unstinted expenditure of money could produce. He sent 
 Max Maretzek, the most experienced opera manager in 
 the country, to Europe as his special agent to import a 
 first-class company for his theatre, and left nothing undone 
 to present French Opera to the citizens of New York in 
 its most attractive guise. To lend variety and increase 
 the charms, three different leading artists were introduced 
 to sustain a single part, each carrying it through one act. 
 Almost without regard lo pecuniary results, he has mani- 
 fested the most persistent determination to give Opera 
 Bouffe a firm hold upon New Yorkers as it had upon 
 Parisians. The effort has not been so far successful that 
 any other manager could present it in New York without 
 speedily becoming bankrupt. 
 
 Mr. Fisk started in his theatrical career by securing 
 the ablest and most experienced managers in the country 
 to direct his establishments, and this would seem to be 
 the course of wisdom and prudence ; but somehow his 
 relations soon proved unpleasant and incompatible with 
 all of them. Brougham, Bergfeldt, Tayleure, and 
 Maretzek, all eminently first class men in their lines, 
 came and passed in quick succession in the management 
 of his various enterprises on the stage. It is almost an 
 axiom that two first class men can never work advan-
 
 INCOMPATIBILITIES. 177 
 
 tageously together in the head management of any 
 enterprise, a truth that has been well illustrated here. 
 All these men employed by Mr. Fisk were men of marked 
 ability, excellent judgment and taste and high culture in 
 their calling, and of. a mental cast and self-respect that 
 could yield no servile or sycophantic deference to the 
 notions of Mr. Fisk in matters pertaining to their pro- 
 fession, while he is a man whose individuality is so 
 marked and positive as to make harmony impossible un- 
 less he is yielded to, hence irreconcilable differences soon 
 arose, and, under the law that obtains in this age and 
 country, the taste, judgment and preference of the man 
 holding the purse strings prevailed over the men of cul- 
 ture and education and the latter retired leaving Mr. Fisk 
 to carry out his own peculiar notions. The treatment of 
 Mr. Brougham was such as might well have provoked a 
 personal encounter had that gentlemen been as impulsive 
 and as indifferent to a " scene " as Mr. Fisk, but being a 
 man with the passions trained into a better control and 
 knowing the quietest way was the best in such circum- 
 stances, their connection ended without blows. But the 
 more irascible Maretzek was destined to a bellicose close 
 of relations with his impulsive and blunt patron. The 
 Opera Bouffe company that had been imported from 
 Europe for the Grand Opera House were in rehearsal for 
 their first appearance at the same time that Nilsson ar- 
 rived. The company was in charge of Maretzek at the 
 rehearsals, and as he had been sent abroad to select it,
 
 178 1LA.RF.TZEI, 
 
 the tacit understanding was that he would be the con- 
 ductor at the Grand Opera House for the season ; but Mr. 
 Fisk had failed to enter into any written agreement ia 
 the matter and held Maretzek entirely at the mercy of his 
 pleasure and caprice an insecurity which the veteran 
 impressario did not at all relish. Feeling that nothing 
 was secure as to hia position with Mr. Fisk, ho was 
 naturally disinclined to neglect any other opportunity 
 that ho might have and therefore accepted a proposition 
 to act as conductor at the first Nilsson concert Now, Mr. 
 Fisk looked upon the Nilsson company as an "opposition 
 show " to his and was for that reason somewhat jealous of 
 it, and hearing that his man Max was to conduct on the 
 occasion of the first appearance of the Swedish songstress 
 he wrote a note ordering him not to do so. Mr. Fisk was 
 . present on the opening night of the "opposition show" 
 and his temper was somewhat ruffled when the grand 
 eiitree revealed to his sight his man Max coming forward 
 in full dress, baton in hand and making his bow as con- 
 ductor in defiance of the imperial note of warning. De- 
 spite the purifying influence of the sublime emotions 
 awakened by the echo of another world that sounded in 
 the unearthly strains of the wonderful songstress and the 
 elevation far above all things earthly to which she lifted 
 her auditors, the displeasure of Mr. Fisk excited by the 
 act of disobedience was softened only for the moment, if 
 at all. On reaching the Grand Opera House the next 
 morning he gave orders that if Maretzek came to conduct
 
 PUTTIKG ON THE QLOTB8. 179 
 
 the rehearsal that day, word should bo brought him 
 immediately. Maretzek camo and his arrival was an- 
 nounced as directed. Mr. Fisk hastened down into the 
 theatre and approached the conductor's stand with an 
 expression that meant "bxisiness" on his countenance. 
 He proceeded at once to call Max to account for disobey- 
 ing the note and conducting an " opposition show." Max 
 attempted to explain, but Mr. Fisk know the whole story, 
 refused to bo appeased and instead of waiting to hear the 
 explanation, proceeded to pronounce Maretzek a "swind- 
 ler," " thief," " liar," and other kindred epithets. This 
 was more than Max could endure and he immediately 
 descended from his stand and levelled a powerful blow at 
 Mr. Fisk's nose. The latter parried and dodged in such a 
 way that the blow did no serious damage, and then the 
 two closed in a fierce struggle and soon went down, Fisk 
 coming on top. The shrieks and fright of the assembled 
 corps de ballet and prime donne would have won them 
 great credit at an evening performance, and in fact it is 
 doubtful if the whole scene would not have excelled in 
 interest anything that has ever been put upon the Grand 
 Opera House boards, could it have taken place before an 
 audience in the evening. When some of the bystander* 
 recovered sufficient presence of mind to separate the com- 
 batants it was found that no great damage had been done 
 beyond a serious soiling of Mr. Fisk's tidy toilet and at- 
 tire and the making of a slightly black eye for Maretzek. 
 Beyond affording a racy topic for the newspapws for two
 
 180 TEOUBLE WITH fEIME DONNB. 
 
 or three days, and a suit commenced or threatened by 
 each of the parties, but of which nothing ever came, the 
 matter died away like its many predecessors and Mr. 
 Fisk's connection with the last of his distinguished mana- 
 gers ended. 
 
 With his Opera Bouffe prime donne, too, Mr. Fisk 
 seems not to get on at all well. At the beginning of the 
 season M'lles. Montaland and Silly, the two leading char- 
 acters whom Maretzek had brought out, seemed to please 
 Mr. Fisk not a little, and they in turn seemed dazzled by 
 the grandeur of the great impressario, and ail went 
 " merry as a marriage bell " for a time. Ere long, how- 
 ever, disagreements and unpleasant relations grew up, 
 Montaland and Silly disappeared from the Grand Opera 
 House boards and Aim6o was summoned from London by 
 telegram. She at once became a great favorite with the 
 frequenters of Opera Boufie and everything went smoothly 
 till the close of the season at the Grand Opera House. 
 When the company started on a summer tour, however, 
 Aimee became indignant at some treatment of her in the 
 matter of her salary, and the difficulty grew so great that 
 she suddenly refused to sing any more in the performances 
 going on in Boston and left the company in disgust. 
 
 -Perhaps Mr. Fisk would have been obliged to close 
 his last theatre and withdraw from theatrical business 
 altogether were it not that the Grand Opera House has 
 been otherwise turned to such good account that he is not 
 entailed with much if any expense for the rent of the
 
 HIS PKESKSCE CHAMBEK. 181 
 
 theatre. He paid $820,000 for the edifice. In the sum- 
 mer of 1869 the second floor was most sumptuously fitted 
 up and became the offices of the Erie Bail-way. It is 
 unequalled in elegance by any building in the world used 
 for a similar purpose. The doors are of massive, ele- 
 gantly carved black walnut, all the offices are fitted up 
 and furnished in black walnut and the most expensive 
 glass, and over the door of each office is a silver plate 
 sign indicating the department. On the opposite side 
 from the main entrance door is an ante-room where stand 
 several ushers preventing further admission without first 
 sending in your card or stating your business in advance 
 and getting permission. Behind the door opening from 
 the ante-room into the presence-chamber stands a large 
 screen, so that when the door opens nothing but a red 
 curtain can be seen. Should your card or business be 
 looked upon favorably and obtain you permission to 
 enter, the usher will bow you through the door, past the 
 screen, and there, behind a richly carved black walnut 
 desk of mammoth size, in a luxurious chair, eita James 
 Fisk, Jr., on his throne. About him are numerous 
 clerks, messengers and lackeys doing his bidding and 
 laughing at his humor, which ho keeps constantly flowing 
 in the inidst of all his business. Within his reach are 
 springs sending bignals to all parts of the building, so that 
 every employe in the establishment can be summoned to 
 him instantly in case of necessity. All the ceilings are 
 richly frescoed, that in the main room being an elegant
 
 182 
 
 symbolic design having at the four sides the words Netr 
 York, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis. On tho floor 
 above is a grand banqueting room fitted up in tho samo 
 stylo of splendor, where sumptuous entertainments are 
 occasionally given. Tho Erie Railway pays $75,000 rent 
 for tho apartments occupied for its offices, and in addition 
 to this is tho rent of tho stores on tho ground floor and 
 some other property included in the purchase the whole 
 making tho investment a very profitable ono aside from 
 tho theatre and the apartments appropriated to the 
 owner's private uso, Mr. Fisk's residence is in the 
 immediate vicinity on 23d Street, which makes all his 
 arrangements very complete. Here, surrounded by all 
 tho luxury which his tasto and wealth can devise 
 ho leads a much more lordly and imperial life than many 
 a modern Princo, and in bis sumptuous halls may well be 
 called" Prince Erie."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A. LIOX AGAIX METAMORPHOSIS AT THE BOSTON PEACE JUBI- 
 LEE A FLOATING PALACE STTNDAT IMPS XTP THE HUDSO1T 
 
 THE ADMITIAL. 
 
 
 
 Through all the varied phases of his life since leaving 
 his peddling business at Brattleboro Mr Fisk had never 
 held any position which compelled people to look at him 
 daily in all his splendors with anything like the attention 
 ho attracted in that first stage of his career. But he had 
 now achieved a notoriety so great that the gay throng of 
 tho city would gaze at him as the country people once had 
 done, were opportunity offered. Tho summer of 1869 gave 
 the opportunity and he enjoyed all tho gratification in this 
 respect that could be desired. Tho Narraganset Steam- 
 ship Company was formed this season. Mr. Fisk became 
 its president and thereby came into control of tho finest 
 lino of steamers running on Long Island Sound. The two 
 boats, Providence and Bristol, were thoroughly over- 
 hauled, renovated, fitted up in tho most luxuriant style, 
 refurnished with elegant carpets, upholstering, bronzes 
 and general fixtures. The dining rooms were conducted 
 on the *4 la carte, or European, phin and supplied all the
 
 184 A. LION ONCE MOKE, 
 
 accommodations and luxuries of a first-class hotel. To add 
 to the pleasure of the lovely ride up the Sound, a fine 
 band of music accompanies each steamer and delights 
 the passengers with sweet strains of choice music through 
 the first four hours of the trip. This novel feature adds 
 much to the enjoyment of the journey and is highly ap- 
 preciated by the public. 'It is to be regretted that the 
 famous North River line has not followed the innovation. 
 Everything objectionable under the former management 
 disappeared and this became one of the most delightful 
 and wholly enjoyable trips to be had anywhere %i the 
 world. 
 
 It was in these steamers that Mr. Fisk seemed to take 
 his special pride that summer, as he justly might. Each 
 afternoon, a half hour or so before it was time for the 
 steamer to start, he came upon the pier, in a " nobby " 
 citizen's suit, disappeared in some of the company's offices 
 and soon emerged again in a full Admiral's uniform of the 
 finest make. In this attire, which was quite becoming to 
 him, he took his place at the gangway, where he must be 
 seen by all who entered. His appearance the first few 
 evenings created a grand sensation. The gay company 
 that were promenading the decks and saloons, admiring 
 the rich gilding, furniture, bronzes and mirrors, and listen- 
 ing to the music, suddenly turned all their attention upon 
 the man who had achieved so much notoriety, who had 
 furnished the pleasures they were then enjoying and who 
 dictated orders to the noble steamer and the crew. All
 
 OF EABLT DELIGHTS. 185 
 
 crowded around to get a view of the man they had heard 
 so much about of late. Young ladies whispered to each 
 other and turned to gaze at him after they passed in ; 
 fathers pointed him out to their wives and children, and 
 no one wished to miss a sight of him. There, in his ele- 
 gant uniform, with the huge diamond sparkling in his 
 shirt bosom, stood the man who had trapped both Van- 
 derbilt and Drew, who had been the shield and sword of 
 the Erie exiles in "Fort Taylor," who had made all Wall 
 Street howl under his manipulations, who had purchased 
 the Grand Opera House, built the Fifth Avenue Theatre 
 and leased the Academy of Music all within one short 
 year. He was now the cynosure of all eyes and created 
 the same sensation among the gaily dressed denizens of the 
 city as he had formerly done among rustic villagers. The 
 situation was one which he evidently enjoyed to the full, 
 though he seemed sublimely unconscious of the curiosity 
 directed to him, and issued his orders and directions as 
 rapidly and imperatively as though lie were wholly ab- 
 sorbed in his duties. Precisely on the moment announced 
 for starting, he gave the command and the elegant 
 steamer put out into the stream with her heavy load of 
 passengers crowding her decks, music playing, flags 
 flying, all her crew in uniform, each man having a badge 
 on his cap showing his office and duty. It was a moment 
 that was a full renewal of the feeling of pride which the 
 young peddler felt on the morning when he first mounted 
 his brilliant new cart and dashed out of Brattleboro witk
 
 100 i SKA VYHPH. 
 
 his four-in-hand and followers. The Admiral remained 
 on board till the steamer was well out in the bay or 
 hauled round into the East Eiver. Here ho was met by 
 a small tug boat that came out to bear him back to the 
 city. As he parted from the steamer that was now his 
 pride, the company crowded around for another glimpse 
 of him and the officers gave their commander a parting 
 salute. 
 
 The sensation and dramatic effect of Mr. Fisk's arrival 
 upon the pier and casting off from the steamer upon the 
 tug, was greatly intensified the first few evenings by his 
 being accompanied by his female favorite of tho hour, 
 attired like himself in naval style a jacket of navy blue 
 with gilt buttons and epaulettes, a hat in the sailor style, 
 and decked out in all matters of detail in a manner evi- 
 dently indicating a careful consultation of tho Admiral's 
 taste. 
 
 The custom of going out into the stream with the 
 departing steamer was not continued long. It necessi- 
 tated a stop and some inconvenience, and was therefore 
 discontinued as soon as the novelty and glory of the cer- 
 emony had worn away. Thereafter Mr. Fisk contented 
 himself with giving and receiving tho parting salute as 
 tho steamer put out from the pier. This formality over, 
 he again disappeared in tho offices of tho company and 
 soon came out metamorphosed in a surprisingly short 
 time from a full-blown Admiral into a private citizen 
 dressed in the extreme of fashion.
 
 JIM." 187 
 
 It iras in June of this year that the great Peace Ju- 
 
 bilee took placo in Boston. President Grant went on to 
 attend and when ho arrived in New York the best 
 accommodations of Mr. Fist's steamers wore placed at his 
 disposal and accepted. The Admiral improved this oppor- 
 tunity to have a little familiar conversation -with tho 
 President. Jay Gould and several others of this genus 
 were also passengers that night and sought to make 
 themselves as intimate as might be with tho chief magis- 
 trate of the nation. Tho Admiral, in full uniform, oven 
 accompanied the President to tho Coliseum, tho placo in 
 which tho jubilee was held, and for simplo sensation his 
 presence on that occasion quite surpassed that of General 
 Grant. It was this episode that won for him the title of 
 "Jim Jubilee." 
 
 This lino of steamers was his plaything for the season 
 of 1869, but of course it grow stale, lacking in novelty and 
 excitement, by tho end of tho summer, and something now 
 must bo had. "When tho season of 1870 opened ho com- 
 pletely eclipsed all his previous achievements in the 
 steamboat lino by adding tho " Plymouth Rock " to his 
 flotilla. This new steamer is 345 feet long and of up- 
 wards of 5,000 tuns burden. She had been almost com- 
 pletely rebuilt to his order during the 'winter. She con- 
 tains th'rty-two suites of apartments that rival New 
 York's finest hotel for elegance and comfort. Tho res- 
 taurant dining-room is equally marvellous for tho charac- 
 ter of its supplies and cuisine. The bar-room is of *
 
 188 A FLOATING PALACE. 
 
 size and elegance rarely equalled in any establishment on 
 terra firma, being extensively finished in white marble, 
 with large mirrors and all the usual appurtenances in the 
 most improved style. Nothing so gorgeous and extensive 
 was ever before attempted in the way of a steamer. The 
 furniture throughout is of the richest and most elegant 
 style, the gilding, embellishments, bronzes, etc., surpass- 
 ing in profusion and luxuriance anything to be met with 
 by a traveller anywhere else in the world. While walk- 
 ing through its saloons and cabins it is almost impossible 
 to avoid the delusion that you are in some grand hotel 
 furnished with oriental splendor. In fact the steamer 
 was intended for a sort of floating hotel. She was spe- 
 cially designed to accommodate the summer travel to 
 Long Branch of late the most famous of our seaside 
 watering .places. She runs from New York to Sandy 
 Hook, and was designed to afford first-class accommoda- 
 tions for those who might wish to go on board in the 
 afternoon, use a suite of apartments for dressing, take 
 dinner on board, drive to the hotels to any ball or enter- 
 tainment in the evening, return to their apartments on the 
 steamer to sleep, and wake up in New York next 
 morning. 
 
 v This grand floating palace was Mr. Fisk's new sensa- 
 tion for the season of 1870. On Sundays he often used 
 her for a pleasure excursion up the Hudson. On these 
 occasions she was crowded by people seeking a day of 
 leisure enjoyment, and it is difficult to imagine a greater
 
 SUNDAY TRIPS UP 1HE HUDSON. 189 
 
 combination of delightful influences and pleasures than 
 that afforded by this palatial steamer gliding up the 
 lovely Hudson on a beautiful summer's morning, amid 
 scenery unsurpassed in grandeur by any in the world, 
 replete with the historic interest that clings around Wash- 
 ington, Benedict Arnold, and Andr6, the Palisades and 
 Highlands echoing the strains of sweet music from the 
 band on board. The trip was to Poughkeepsie, 75 miles, 
 and back. On these excursions Mr. Fisk was present in 
 his Admiral's uniform, smiling blandly upon everybody 
 and playing the host with the proverbial good nature and 
 affability of the man who " knows how to keep a hotel." 
 
 In the summer of 1869, when the Erie offices were 
 moved to the Grand Opera House, Mr. Fisk also estab- 
 lished a new ferry from the Erie depot in Jersy City to 
 23d Street, and a free lino of omnibuses from the ferry, 
 past the Grand Opera House, to the Fifth Avenue Hotel. 
 The two boats placed upon this ferry of course surpassed 
 in elegance everything used on any of the other ferries. 
 They are named "James Fisk, Jr.," and "Jay Gould" 
 and are in entire keeping with the rest of Admiral Fisk's 
 flotilla.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 A.LBAXT & SCSQUEHAKNA KAILUOAD WAB MB. FISX COM- 
 MENCES HIS TWENTY-SIXTH" BAID AND GETS HUSTLED DOWN 
 
 STAIBS orrosrxo BECEIVEUS AND OPPOSING JUDGES THE 
 
 TWO TAETIES IN COLLISION A EIOT THE MILITIA CALLED 
 
 OUT THE GOVEENOE INTEBFEBES FLIGHT TO KEW YOBK 
 
 EEIE CEAIEX. 
 
 After seventeen years of desperate stru^le for exist- 
 ence, through, repeated discouragements and many sus- 
 pensions of work upon its construction, the Albany & 
 Susquehanna Eailroad was finally completed in January, 
 18G9. The one man who had stood by it and worked 
 unceasingly for it from the beginning, whoso faith and 
 courage had not faltered under the seventeen years o 
 trial nor slackened in tho least whilo all the rest of its 
 original friends and many new relays had fallen by the 
 way and abandoned the project, tho man who had pushed 
 it through all its discouragements to final completion, was 
 Joseph II. Ramsey. It is not too much to say that but 
 for his energy, determination and perseverance, the road 
 would not be in existence to-day. He was now its
 
 STRUGGLING FOE EXISTENCE. 191 
 
 
 
 president. The road runs diagonally across the State of 
 New York from Albany on the Hudson to Binghamton 
 on the Susquehanna, in Broome County. Hero it meets 
 the Erie. The road had been projected and built as a 
 purely local enterprise to benefit the towns through which 
 it ran, and for this reason it had received some aid from 
 tho State and the towns along the lino had subscribed for 
 somo of the stock. In its later stages tho Governor had 
 vetoed all bills for giving it further assistance. Many of 
 those who had originally subscribed for the stock, after 
 paying in a certain per cent, of their subscription, had 
 failed to pay tho remainder and in consequence of this 
 failure their stock was declared forfeited to the company. 
 Tho subscribers consented to this forfeiture and seemed 
 glad to got rid of tho stock in that way. It was by using 
 this forfeited stock as collateral security for a loan that 
 Mr. Ramsey had obtained funds to complete tho last 
 section of tho road. It was against tho law to issue stock 
 at less than par, but this being stock that had been 
 already issued and forfeited, it was deemed legal to 
 re-issuo it for less than par. 
 
 But as soon as all the difficulties wore surmounted and 
 tho road was finished, it was found to be of great value 
 for more than local use. If run in connection with the 
 Erie road it formed the necessary connecting link to 
 render that road a rival of tho New York Central for the 
 through business between New England and the West ; 
 but it was of still greater value in affording the great
 
 192 DIVIDED COUNCILS. 
 
 
 
 anthracite coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania a 
 more direct communication with New England and the 
 country north from Albany, and as such was destined to 
 destroy a very profitable part of the business of the 
 branch of the Erie road running to Nowburgh. 
 
 As is always the case when an energetic, determined, 
 persevering man pushes a great enterprise through to 
 success, Mr. Ramsey had made some opponents, not to 
 say enemies, during the seventeen years of determined 
 perseverance, and now, during tho first year of its through 
 operation, he found nearly one half of the board of 
 directors sullenly opposed to him. Ho is not a man of 
 half-way measures, or entangling compromises # and has 
 no taste for a house divided against itself ; it was therefore 
 distinctly understood that at the next election either ho or 
 his opponents must go out and an entirely harmonious 
 board be elected. Mr. Ramsey's opponents well knew 
 what the result of such a contest would be if they did not 
 secure the assistance of some outside power much stronger 
 than themselves, and therefore invited tho Erie road, or 
 Messrs. Fisk and Gould, to undertake tho battle for them. 
 As these gentlemen were already coveting this road as 
 a great prize to possess in connection with Eric, they 
 eagerly accepted the invitation, and Mr. Ramsey suddenly 
 found himself confronted by tho men who had beaten 
 Vanderbilt and Drew, had had everything their own way 
 in the Courts and Legislature for a year, and who now had 
 all the resources of Erie and Tammany Hall behind them.
 
 BUYING UP THE STOCK. 193 
 
 The control of the election necessitated a control of a 
 majority of stock, and herein Mr. Ramsey felt reasonably 
 secure, despite all the resources and power of his new an- 
 tagonists. He knew he could command a majority of 
 the floating stock and he felt quite as secure about the 
 stock held by the towns along the road. This stock the 
 towns were not permitted to soil for less than par, cash 
 down. As the nominal value of the stock was only 20 
 cents on the dollar, there seemed no likelihood of the 
 towns getting par for their stock and there was no doubt 
 that if they held the stock they would vote on it for Mr. 
 Ramsey against the men whose principles had been made 
 manifest in connection with Erie the past year. Under 
 the purchases made by the Erie party to get control, the 
 small amount of floating stock rose quickly from 20 to 40, 
 50 and 65. Still Mr. Ramsey felt secure of a majority till 
 he heard that agents of his opponents were out among the 
 towns on the road offering par in cash for the stock held 
 by the towns. In one or two instances the extraordinary 
 offer proved too tempting and was accepted. Under the 
 competition thus excited the stock held by towns suddenly 
 rose to a premium. But Messrs. Fisk and Gould did not 
 care to spend so much money as would be required to 
 obtain a majority of the stock at prices above par when 
 they knew it must fall back to 20 or near it immediately 
 after election, and consequently bethought themselves of 
 means to compass their purpose without the use of capital. 
 The officers of some of the towns owning the stock were
 
 194 HEADS I WIN, TAILS YOU LOSE. 
 
 invited down to New York and entertained most hos- 
 pitably and an arrangement very nice for Messrs. Fisk and 
 Gould was made on the heads-I-win-tails-you-lose plan. 
 An agreement was made that the stock should be taken 
 of the towns at par after the election, provided that at the 
 election the officers would vote as Mr. Fisk wished. For 
 the fulfilment of this agreement the town officers had the 
 private bond of Messrs. Fisk and Gould. The latter gen- 
 tlemen probably were well aware that, as the town officers 
 had no power to sell except for cash down, this agreement 
 was wholly illegal and could not be enforced against them 
 after they had secured the votes in their favor. 
 
 On the 3d of August considerable of the stock held by 
 the towns was presented for transfer. The treasurer at 
 once transferred all stock which he thought had been 
 actually purchased and paid for, whether by the Erie or 
 Ramsey party ; but he refused to transfer such stock as 
 he suspected had been bought only by bargain, under the 
 convenient arrangement patched up in Now York. The 
 next day a war of injunctions commenced. The Erie 
 party got an injunction from Judge Barnard in New York 
 forbidding any vote to be cast on the forfeited stock that 
 had been re-issued and was held as collateral security for 
 a loan to the company. On the same day Mr. Ramsey 
 got an injunction from Judge Parker at Owego for- 
 bidding the transfer of stock held by the towns of 
 Oneonta and Worcester. The next day, August 5th, Mr. 
 Shearman, the lawyer of the Erie party, went to Owego
 
 INJUNCTIONS. 196 
 
 and got the injunction obtained by Mr. Ramsey removed 
 and then elsewhere obtained an order commanding the 
 transfer that had been forbidden the day before. En- 
 couraged by so much success, a bolder step was taken. 
 An order was obtained restraining Mr. Ramsey from 
 acting as an officer of the road. With Mr. Ramsey in 
 the board, it was equally divided ; his removal therefore 
 placed his opponents in the majority and as the vice- 
 president was in the interest of the Erie party this move 
 gave them a great advantage, putting them in possession 
 of the transfer books and enabling them to make the 
 transfers to their own liking. But Mr. Ramsey did not 
 surrender quietly. An angry assertion of conflicting 
 rights prevailed all day at the offices of the company in 
 Albany, and became so serious that the police had to be 
 called in to preserve order and prevent the two parties 
 from coming to a trial of muscular strength to determine 
 which should hold possession. Night put an end to this 
 angry growl, but Mr. Ramsey knew the opponents he had 
 to deal with and that immediate, decisive measures were 
 necessary to foil them. Therefore he improved the even- 
 ing. It was felt on both sides that possession of the 
 transfer books greatly increased the chances of success for 
 the party holding them, as they were to be closed on the 
 7th and it was now the evening of the 5th. Accordingly 
 Mr. Ramsey had the books removed from the office that 
 night and when his enemies came in next morning the 
 prize they most coveted in getting possession was not to
 
 196 STOCK LEDGEBS SPIBITED AWAT. 
 
 be found. Many were the wild goose chases made to 
 regain possession of these books. They were heard of, 
 now in Pittsfield, out of the State, now in Troy only six 
 miles away, then in Schenectedy ; but on the arrival of 
 officers at the place where rumor had last placed them, 
 they were found to be quite as far off in some other di- 
 rection and the pursuit was like seeking the gold at the 
 end of the rainbow. A great point was attempted to be 
 made against Mr. Kamsey for the abstraction of the books 
 in this manner, his opponents crying out against the dis- 
 honesty, violation of power and rights, and dread of 
 justice, implied in the act. And another step served 
 them still better to the same effect. The night the books 
 were removed, Mr. Ramsey got several of his friends to 
 subscribe for considerable sums of the stock of the com- 
 pany which had not yet been taken up, he promising to 
 provide for the 10 per cent, of the price which was to be 
 paid in immediately in order to enable them to have the 
 stock entered in their names. This of course was not a 
 bona fide subscription, but was resorted to as a means of 
 controling the election. As such it made Mr. Eamsey 
 obnoxious to the charge of unfair and lawless acts, and he 
 made his position in this respect still weaker by the means 
 taken to secure the necessary 10 per cent, of the sub- 
 scription money. He took the equipment bonds of the 
 company and pledged them as collateral security for a 
 loan. This was exceeding any power that he ever could 
 have had, and his enemies were not slow to seize the
 
 THE ROAD LEFT WITHOTTT A HEAD. 197 
 
 handle thus afforded them. So immeasurably superior to 
 his opponents was the strength of Mr. Ramsey's position 
 in the matter of personal character, business and social 
 standing, that charges from them against his integrity fell 
 like peas pelted at the Rocky Mountains; but in the 
 excitement of the hour they tended somewhat to damage 
 and weaken his position. 
 
 But the Erie party were not left to exercise their 
 power long, though the books, the most valuable part of 
 the corporation for their immediate purpose, had been 
 removed beyond their reach. The next morning, the 
 6th, just as they were getting ready to exercise their 
 newly acquired functions, an injunction was obtained 
 and served upon them by the Ramsey party, restraining 
 them from acting as officers of the corporation. The 
 road was thus left without a head or management. 
 This new move was immediately telegraphed to the 
 Grand Opera House in New York. Mr. Shearman waa 
 there at Mr. Fisk's side and immediately saw the legal 
 aspect of the situation. The corporation being left 
 without officers, an order must be obtained appointing a 
 receiver to take charge of the road. Mr. Shearman 
 immediately set about preparing the papers necessary to 
 obtain the desired order. A judge must be had to grant 
 the order. There were three judges of the First District 
 in the city, while the fourth was absent in Poughkeepsie, 
 at the bedside of his dying mother. There were judges 
 of the Second District to be found in Brooklyn in case of
 
 198 FISK APPOINTED RECEIVES, 
 
 need. But there seemed some magic virtue in the orders 
 of the one absent judge, consequently he was summoned 
 from his dying mother by telegraph and came down to> 
 New York. This was Judge George G. Barnard. The- 
 papers were not ready till ten o'clock at night At that 
 hour the judge who had come down from Poughkeepsie for 
 the purpose was so near at hand and was so quick to per- 
 ceive the merits of the case that fifteen minutes or there- 
 abouts sufficed for the whole process of taking the papers to 
 him, obtaining a hearing and securing his signature to the- 
 document. The receivers appointed for this important 
 trust were James Fisk, Jr. ! and Mr. Courier. 
 
 Equipped with Judge Barnard's order, Mr. Fisk and 
 party left for Albany by the eleven o'clock p. M. train to- 
 assume the delicate responsibility; but on arriving there- 
 in the morning they found the Eamsey party had been 
 as quick as themselves to understand the situation and 
 had had the Hon. E. H. Pruyn appointed receiver a few 
 minutes earlier than Mr. Fisk received his authority. 
 When Judge Barnard's receivers went to the offices to- 
 take possession they found them already held by the- 
 opposing receiver's representatives, with Mr. Van Vaulk- 
 enburg in command. Mr. Fisk introduced himself to. 
 Mr. Van Vaulkenburg and announced his mission. The 
 gentleman in possession intimated that he did not propose? 
 to surrender the trust of which he had been put ia 
 charge. Thereupon Mr. Fisk turned to the choice band 
 of supporters he had brought up from New. York with.
 
 MB. FISK HUSTLED DOWN STAIB8. 199 
 
 him and said, "Come on, boys!" Then, addressing 
 himself to Mr. Van Vaulkenburg, he continued, " this is 
 my twenty-sixth raid and I'm going to take you fellows 
 if it costs a million dollars." With these words he and 
 his " boys " proceeded to take possession and oust the 
 occupants by force; but this attempt took a very unex- 
 pected turn and Mr. Fisk and his " boys " got hustled 
 down stairs with a haste that paid no regard to ceremony, 
 Mr. Van Vaulkenburg proving to be a man of such 
 muscular activity that Mr. Fisk instead of " taking you 
 fellows," suddenly brought up on the sidewalk with his 
 spruce attire and toilet in a rather disordered condition. 
 He had hardly had time to adjust his hat properly, when 
 a fussy little man stepped up and marched him off to the 
 Ration house for creating a disturbance. On reaching 
 police headquarters Mr. Fisk was released and found that 
 the little man who had marched him off so promptly was 
 not a policeman at all, but an employs of the railroad 
 and a supporter of Mr. Ramsey. 
 
 Such an ignominious and ludicrous result of the first 
 move in his twenty-sixth raid might well have afflicted 
 Mr. Fisk with a li ttle chagrin and disturbed his temper ; 
 but he seemed to appreciate the comic element of the pro- 
 ceeding quite as fully as any one, so lively is his sense of 
 the ridiculous and humorous, and on being set free at the 
 station house he .immediately returned to the offices from 
 which he had been so summarily ejected and actually led 
 his opponents in venting humor at his own expense over
 
 200 ADMIBA.TION FOB A KAN OF MUSCLE. 
 
 the episode in which he came out at the little end of the 
 horn. To Mr. Van Vaulkenburg who had so kindly 
 assisted in his hasty exit he was especially pleasant and 
 facetious and saluted him in the poetic spirit, 
 
 " Perhaps it was right to dissemble your love, 
 But why did yon. kick me down stairs ?" 
 
 He seated himself upon a table, swinging his feet be- 
 neath after the manner of the evening gathering in a 
 country variety store, and in that situation he manifested 
 his high admiration for manly strength of character and 
 muscle by complimenting Mr. Van Vaulkenburg, saying; 
 he had never before met a man who dared face him and 
 do his duty in that way .and that he wanted just such a 
 man in his employ. He further proposed that, instead of 
 any more fuss of this kind, himself and Mr. Ramsey 
 should play a game of " seven up w to determine which 
 should have possession of the road. 
 
 When Mr. Fisk got back to the scene of his rout he 
 found that Mr. Pruyn had arrived and was now in pos- 
 session in propria persona, so the two opposing receivers 
 met face to face and each claimed to be in possession. The 
 news of the affair of the morning was immediately tele- 
 graphed to New York and upon the strength of the 
 telegram Mr. Shearman made a new affidavit and obtained 
 from Judge Barnard a new injunction forbidding every- 
 body from interfering with receivers Fisk and Courier and 
 also granting an absolute "writ of assistance" empower- 
 ing the sheriff to impress the whole posse comitatus into
 
 BA.ENABD'S iffjtwcTioNs BY TELEGBAPH. 201 
 
 his service to execute this last injunction. This new in- 
 junction and writ were telegraphed to Albany and about 
 three o'clock p. it. the sheriff actually attempted to pro- 
 ceed upon authority purporting to have been obtained 
 from New York, based upon acts that had occurred in 
 Albany only five hours previous. The authority was oon- 
 temptously disregarded. A counterblast was fired in the 
 shape of an order for the arrest of Mr. Fisk for contempt 
 of Court in interfering with its officer, Receiver Pruyn. 
 This closed the active hostilities of the day and it being 
 now evident that no crisis or decision could be reached, 
 a truce till nine o'clock Monday morning was agreed upon 
 and the two opposing chiefs withdrew, each leaving depu- 
 ties behind to maintain the situation in stafy, quo till the 
 hour appointed. 
 
 Mr. Fisk left immediately for New York to receive 
 instructions from his legal guides and get the original 
 copy of Judge Barnard's last injunction and the writ of 
 assistance. With these and a retinue of a dozen or fifteen 
 "boys" he departed for the front again Sunday evening, 
 determined on a brilliant coup de grace in his first charge 
 on the morrow. He presented himself at the scene of 
 action Monday morning but was completely surprised by 
 his adversary's crying "check!" before he had made a 
 single move. Daring his sojourn at the Grand Opera 
 House, the Ramsey party had obtained a new injunction re- 
 straining everybody from interfering with Receiver Pruyn 
 and expressly enjoining sheriffs from proceeding to any
 
 202 FI8K AND BABNAKD FLANKED. 
 
 measures on the authority of the writ of assistance. A 
 train with forty or fifty Ramsey men and Mr. Smith as 
 legal adviser, was early started from Albany, serving this 
 injunction on sheriffs and installing deputies of Receiver 
 Pruyn as they went. Mr. Fisk thus found himself effect- 
 ually foiled and the situation looked very unfavorable for 
 his prospects. But a consultation was held with his 
 lawyers and advisers, and a brilliant device was hit upon 
 for bringing matters to a dead lock and the road to a 
 stand still. As his enemies were now in possession of the 
 Albany end of the road beyond the power of removal 
 except by actual force, he determined to get possession of 
 as much of the other end as possible, so that while his 
 opponents governed the head he might hang on by the 
 tail. There was but one way of accomplishing this now 
 most desirable object. The power of his opponent was 
 extending toward Binghamton as fast as steam could take 
 it and nothing but electricity could get there ahead of it. 
 Accordingly, he telegraphed his orders, injunctions and 
 writs of assistance to Binghamton, where Erie is much 
 more of a power than at Albany, and there he met with 
 better success than where he was personally present. 
 Men were found ready and eager to do his bidding and 
 under his telegraphed orders and documents the Bing- 
 hamton end of the road was immediately taken possession 
 of. in his name as receiver. An Erie superintendent was 
 placed in charge. A train standing at the station ready 
 to start was not permitted to proceed till an Erie engine
 
 THE BINOHAMTON END SEIZED BT TKI.EGBAPH. 203 
 
 had been substituted, an Erie conductor placed in charge, 
 and an Erie sheriff was on board to distribute Erie in- 
 junctions and writs of assistance and replace all employes 
 by Erie sympathizers, wherever the train stopped. There 
 were four Albany and Susquehanna engines at Bingham- 
 ton. The sheriff of Erie got possession of three of them 
 and was riding down the track on one of those he had 
 captured to secure the fourth, when the engineer of the 
 latter suddenly moved a switch in such a way as to send 
 the sheriff and the engine bearing him off the track, then 
 jumped quickly upon his own, let on the steam and made 
 good time towards Albany. 
 
 The doings of the Erie men at Binghamton had been 
 telegraphed to Albany and Mr. Van Vaulkenburg was at 
 length fully roused and determined on the most decisive 
 measures. Mr. Fisk had not been permitted to enter the 
 Albany & Susquehanna offices at all that day, but his 
 deputy and brother receiver, Mr. Courter, had remained 
 since Saturday to assert possession for the Fisk party. 
 When news of the proceedings at Binghamton arrived 
 and fired Mr. Van Vaulkenburg's will, he immediately 
 notified Mr. Courter that the farce of his pretended pos- 
 session had gone far enough and that he must leave the 
 premises at once. The experience of Saturday morning 
 being fresh in Mr. Courier's memory, he deemed it best 
 to go without assistance and retired, though under 
 protest. Mr. Van Vaulkenburg then telegraphed along 
 the road ordering his trains to stop where they were.
 
 DETERMINED STEPS OF MR. VAK 
 
 The train that left Albany in the morning had reached 
 Harpersville, twenty-five miles from Binghamton, when, 
 hearing of the situation at the latter place, they decided 
 not to proceed and fell back to Bainbridge, thirty-six 
 miles from Binghamton and there waited further develop- 
 ments. . a :i;. 
 
 The afternoon train from Binghamton, thoroughly 
 transformed into an Erie establishment, proceeded on its 
 way, sheriff aboard, and put the road into Erie hands as 
 it went When they reached Afton, thirty miles from 
 Binghamton, they were met by a telegram from Mr. 
 Van Vaulkenburg warning them that any further 
 advance would be at their peril. They therefore halted 
 and telegraphed for farther instructions from Mr. Fisk 
 at Albany. They received a peremptory order to proceed 
 and accordingly started again. It was now late in the 
 night and they advanced with much caution, feeling their 
 way as they went, to see that no bridge had been 
 destroyed or rails torn up by their adversaries. The 
 Eamsey party had with them a patent " frog," designed 
 to get displaced cars on to the track, but it now occurred 
 to some one that it was equally well adapted to throwing 
 them off. This they fixed to a rail and then took up a 
 position on a side track to await the enemy's approach. 
 The Erie party came in sight of the Baiubridge station 
 and, all dangerous places being passed, they moved on 
 more boldly and unsuspiciously when, just before reach- 
 ing the station, they suddenly became conscious of
 
 A.N ERIE PARTY MADE PRISONERS. 205 
 
 something irregular and found themselves off the track. 
 The Ramsey train now immediately moved up on to the 
 main track behind them and they were prisoners. The 
 Ramsey party gallantly helped them out of their car, 
 and finding themselves captured they quietly surren- 
 dered. 
 
 Emboldened by success, the Ramsey party now re- 
 solved to advance and started once more towards Bing- 
 hamton early Tuesday morning. They removed the 
 Erie men placed in charge the previous day and restored 
 the former employes. All went smoothly till they 
 reached a spot known as "the Tunnel," about fifteen 
 miles from Binghamton. The tunnel is some two hun- 
 dred feet long, on the brow of a hill, and is approached 
 from either side by a steep up grade and over a sharply 
 curving track. On reaching this point at about 10 A. M. 
 they received news of a new Erie train that had come up 
 from Binghamton with several hundred men to give 
 them battle. At this intelligence they halted and the two 
 hostile bands stood on the opposite sides of the tunnel all 
 day reconnoitering and preparing, neither party appar- 
 ently daring to attack. The Fisk party was composed of 
 employes of the Erie road and work-shops and was in- 
 creased during the day by the arrival of new trains bring" 
 ing up men and provisions, till their forces numbered 
 about eight hundred. But their very numbers told against 
 them. Without discipline, organization or conscious 
 purpose, with no acknowledged commanders, they were a
 
 206 OPPOSED FOECES MEET A.T THE TUNNEL. 
 
 mere unwieldy mob, to whom fifty men with an ac- 
 knowledged leader would have been infinitely superior. 
 The Ramsey company was also reinforced during the day 
 by the arrival of another train from Albany and by the 
 gathering of sympathizers from the vicinity and now 
 numbered about four hundred, or one half the party on 
 the other side of the tunnel. Besides being fewer in 
 number, which in this case was doubtless an advantage, 
 the men directing their movements were gentlemen of 
 such personal force and character as to establish some- 
 thing like organization among them, and, still more, they 
 were all inspired by a definite principle and strong feel- 
 ing, a unifying and strengthening element in which their 
 opponents were entirely lacking. At last, after such 
 feeble preparation as was possible under the circum- 
 stances, and under imperative orders by telegraph from 
 commander Fisk at Albany to commence offensive opera- 
 tions, the Erie party decided to advance and took the 
 initiative about seven o'clock in the evening. Their chief 
 reliance seems to have been upon the amount of momen- 
 tum they could get up, and this was undoubtedly the one 
 point in which they were strongest ; but since Csezar's day 
 mere momentum as a determining element in warfare has 
 dwindled in importance as against scientific manceuvreing 
 much more than these improvised warriors seem to have 
 been conscious of. However, as this was their best if not 
 their only weapon, it was probably the part of wisdom to 
 adopt it since they were under peremptory commands to
 
 EB115 OFFERS BATTLE. 207 
 
 advance. Their philosophy seems to have been to load a 
 train as heavily as possible and set it going, trusting to 
 luck for all the rest. They put together the heaviest train 
 they could make up, filled it with men (though for what 
 purpose does not appear, unless for their weight and to 
 dispose of them somehow) and started it through the 
 long tunnel. With hearts trembling in trepidation, more 
 from the darkness and the utter indefiniteness of purpose 
 than from any apprehended harm, these crusaders moved 
 cautiously through the tunnel, emerged upon the Albany 
 side and halted to take breath. They found a single rail 
 removed by their opponents. This was replaced and once 
 more they moved forward, having now a down grade. 
 The Ramsey men had been warned of the approach and 
 were not afraid even to try momentum as the first move, 
 probably conscious that this could determine nothing and 
 only serve as a .signal for further operations depending 
 much more upon skill, organization, and commanders, in 
 which they felt superior. Accordingly when the rail was 
 replaced and the attacking train was advancing again, the 
 Ramsey train started, too, puffing up the hfll most de- 
 terminedly, bent on mischief. The Erie train moving 
 slowly down the hill, turned a sharp corner and suddenly 
 became aware of the approach of their enemy under full 
 headway with the manifest intention of a collision. Per- 
 haps the Erie men had " sogered " under McClellan, for 
 they had evidently expected to go through this war with- 
 out hurting anybody. The sudden prospect of danger
 
 208 COLLISION AND BOUT. 
 
 therefore took them wholly by surprise and threw them 
 into the greatest consternation. The conductor swung 
 his hat and gesticulated frantically to induce the Ramsey 
 train to stop. The engineer instantly whistled "down 
 brakes ! " then whistled the signal of danger and reversed 
 his engine. The Ramsey engineer merely whistled " get 
 out of the way ! " steamed ahead with his full strength, 
 and smash ! went the two engines into each other. The 
 shock and panic to Erie was complete. The men leaped 
 from the train and without stopping to see what had 
 happened " skedaddled " for the Binghamton side of the 
 tunnel with their utmost speed, some running through the 
 tunnel, others over the hill above it, each going like an 
 Olympian runner, as if life depended upon reaching the 
 other end, affording one of the most unique and amusing 
 foot races ever witnessed. Their engine and train partici- 
 pated in the hasty retreat, and backed up to the home side 
 of the tunnel. The Ramsey men, having intended the col- 
 lision, were not in the least disturbed or demoralized, but 
 were perfectly self-possessed and set upon the Erie men 
 with shouts, and sticks and stones as they jumped from 
 their cars in a panic, and pursued them a short distance 
 in their flight. 
 
 As the Erie train was moving slowly, reversed the 
 engine and put on the brakes the moment danger was 
 foreseen, and as the grade was too heavy for the Ramsey 
 train to get up much speed, the collision did little damage 
 beyond smashing the cow-catcher and headlights and
 
 PtTBSTTTT OF ERIE FUGITIVES. 209 
 
 throwing the Ramsey engine partially off the track. 
 The 'power of locomotion was not destroyed in either. 
 The Ramsey men set immediately to work to replace 
 their engine npon the track and then, resolving to follow 
 up their success, pushed on through the tunnel. But on 
 emerging they found the time spent in getting their 
 engine upon the track had sufficed to arrest the course of 
 the fugitives, allay their panic, and gather them into a 
 more disorganized mob than ever. They stood crowded 
 together ready in turn to dispute any further advance. 
 The Ramsey train therefore halted and the two parties 
 stood facing each other at a safe distance apart. The 
 scene was now much like that often presented by the 
 boys of two cities on opposite sides of a river meeting on 
 the ice for a championship fight. Each party stood, as 
 it were, with a chip on its shoulder and bravely dared 
 the other to come and knock it off. The war was 
 hardly more than one of words, but in this respect it 
 perhaps stands unequalled. Many of the Erie men had 
 indulged quite freely in " fire water " to get up some 
 " Dutch courage " and the vollies of profanity and coarse 
 denunciation poured in upon their adversaries was 
 revolting in the extreme. As in the boy fights, some of 
 the more bold and venturesome characters on either side 
 stepped out a few paces in front of the rest and indulged 
 in a little skirmishing. Sticks and stones were thrown, 
 a few hand to hand fights occurred, and a few random 
 pistol shots were fired. The Ramsey party were much
 
 210 THK MILITIA CALLED OUT. 
 
 the most exasperated and in earnest, so the Erie men 
 sustained nearly all the injuries and rested all their 
 laurels on the capture of one prisoner. One of the 
 Ramsey men advanced so boldly that he suddenly found 
 himself separated from his comrades and his retreat cut 
 off. He ran behind a freight car for refuge and was 
 there surrounded by a large party who now heroically 
 captured him, kicked and cuffed him, and proposed to 
 kill him. At length he was recognized as an acquaint- 
 ance by one of the captors, who proposed to make him 
 a prisoner instead of killing him and the suggestion was 
 adopted. He was placed under a strong^ guard but -the 
 watch over him gradually grew careless and at half past 
 eleven he succeeded in making his escape from durance 
 vile, but only to wander about all night in a vain effort 
 to rejoin his comrades. 
 
 Matters had assumed such a serious aspect in the 
 afternoon that the civil authorities of Broome County had 
 despaired of being able to maintain order and called 
 upon the military for assistance. In obedience to this 
 request the 44th regiment was called out and reached 
 the scene of disorder about eight o'clock, when the 
 shouting and oaths had grown hideous in the night and 
 the riot was growing quite serious. At the sound of its 
 drums the Kamsey men retreated through the tunnel 
 with their train, left a freight car off the track inside the 
 tunnel, tore up a few rails, and then fell back to Harpers- 
 ville for the night, firing a few bridges as they went.
 
 PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS. 211 
 
 Only two of the Erie men had been hit by pistol shots 
 and only a few more had been hurt at all seriously, 
 while the report of the Ramsey party was, " nobody 
 hurt." Thus ended a riot combining so many of the 
 worst elements of a mob as to make it a great wonder that 
 it proved so harmless. 
 
 Excitement over the riot and the whole situation had 
 now spread throughout the State, was all absorbing 
 along the line of the road, and culminated at Albany, 
 the headquarters of both parties. The Governor had 
 been summoned from a pleasure sojourn at the Catskills 
 to take action upon the situation, a feeling of insecurity 
 existed everywhere between Albany and Binghamton, 
 and marked public demonstrations were everywhere made. 
 When the engine that dodged the sheriff at Binghamton 
 and the train that was captured at Bainbridge, arrived 
 in Albany they were received with the most enthusiastic 
 demonstrations by a large crowd of citizens ; wherever 
 Erie men or sympathizers appeared in the neighborhood 
 of the riot they were treated to a shower of opprobrious 
 epithets by the women and children and requested to 
 " clear out ; " and everywhere the feeling seemed unani- 
 mous in favor of Mr. Ramsey and decidedly bitter against 
 Erie. To all this Mr. Fisk manifested characteristic in- 
 difference and on Tuesday afternoon there appeared in 
 the papers a letter from him in which he said : 
 
 "Quick sharp work and so much to be done on a 
 stamping ground new to me, left me only to feel that the
 
 212 A KIP VAN WINKLE SLEEP. 
 
 great majority of the good people of Albany were 
 running away with, a wrong idea of our side of the 
 question and overlooked the great benefits and advan- 
 tages we were bringing to their doors. . . I should 
 suppose the people of this good city would welcome us 
 with open arms. Look at the past. Has not everything 
 been done by the Central line to make you a mere local 
 station, to ruin your shipping and wipe out your instru- 
 ments of business and leave you with nothing on hand 
 but pleasure all the time, which is very tiresome or 
 rather to leave you a Rip Van Winkle sleep ? . . . Mr. 
 Ramsey and myself have long been friends ana nothing 
 but the welfare of the great interests involved would 
 have brought me in collision with him. I have the 
 highest regard for him, barring my opinion of him as a 
 railroad manager. I am sorry that he stands to-day 
 between the interests of the people and our corporation. 
 There can be but one result, and that will be free 
 admission to us in Albany. For all we ask we give you 
 four-fold in return. The star of the Albany & Susque- 
 hanna road, as a mere local road, has set. It must now 
 be part of the great thoroughfare from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. . . It is evident the hostility to our interests 
 is stimulated by those in the interest of the Central. . . 
 The interest of the Erie is to run it ; the interest of the 
 Central is to discontinue it. . . It is not a question of 
 to-day but of the future, and I think my holding out 
 powers will last with those who are opposed to me. I 
 ask no advantage to which my case does not entitle me. 
 Give Mr. Ramsey the advantages of every doubt and 
 what is left will waft us on to victory." 
 
 The evening after this letter appeared in print a large
 
 MS. FI8K MAKES A KBW DEMAND. 213 
 
 public meeting was held in Albany at which speeches 
 were made by Mr. Ramsey and several .other eminent 
 citizens, and nowhere (save in one suite of rooms at the 
 Delavan House) was there anything but the strongest 
 feeling in favor of the Ramsey side. 
 
 During the day which culminated in the riot at Tunnel 
 Station, the usual programme had been repeated at 
 Albany. The morning brought a new injunction and a 
 new writ of assistance from Judge Barnard, designed to 
 disarm the proceedings of Judge Peckham of the day 
 before. Matters had now, however, got to such a pass 
 that these documents were of little consequence except as 
 a sort of feminine contest to see which should have the 
 last word. Nevertheless, being devoid of any other amuse- 
 ment, Messrs. Fisk and Cojirter approached the Albany 
 & Susquehanna offices in a carriage that afternoon, and 
 demanded possession. Of course Mr. Van Vaulkenburg 
 regarded the demand as a very good joke and answered 
 it simply with a smile that showed an appreciation of the 
 comic element in Mr. Fisk's character. The Barnard 
 receivers had so little confidence of the success of their 
 mission that they did not deem it worth while to get out of 
 their carriage. Mr. Fisk merely pointed to a bundle of pa- 
 pers sticking out of his pocket as he lay back in his barouche 
 and looking up to the windows with a cigar in his mouth 
 said, " Here's an order and writ of assistance from 
 friend Barnard, fresh up from New York, and it tells me 
 to take possession." Mr. Van Vaulkenburg merely
 
 214 EOMEO IX THE BALCONY SCENB. 
 
 looked down from the window and smiled at the humorous 
 man. There was no more of the "I'm going to take you 
 fellows if it costs a million dollars " style or tone in this 
 last demand. All that was gone and Mr. Fisk seemed to 
 have come direct from " kissing the blarney stone." Ho 
 lay there at ease in his carriage and looked up at Mr. 
 Van Vaulkenburg as Romeo looks up at Juliet in the 
 balcony scene, and in tones as soft as a lover's assured 
 Mr. Van Vaulkenburg that if he would only yield obeis- 
 ence to " them documents " from Judge Barnard he 
 should be splendidly fixed for life and have a high seat 
 beside the divinities that preside over the Grand Opera 
 House, the Erie treasury, the Narraganset Steamship 
 Company or Tammany Hall. While the kind-hearted 
 man was thus cooing in the, suaviter in modo style and 
 harmlessly amusing " you fellows " with a most humorous 
 scene, he was suddenly set upon by the police, who 
 arrested him on a warrant from Judge Clute for a con- 
 spiracy against the public peace and order in attempting 
 to take possession of the Albany & Susquehanna rail- 
 road offices by force. He turned his eyes from Mr. Van 
 Vaulkenburg to the police with a most comical expression 
 on his countenance, looked at them a moment in a puz- 
 zled way, then said, " All right ! Git in here !" took the 
 policemen who had arrested him into his carriage and 
 said, " Proceed, driver ! Good-bye, Van Vaulkenburg. 
 Come and see me if you git a chance and bring along 
 something good to eat." Thus the afternoon's drive and
 
 MB. ttSK IS TUB HA.ITD8 OF THE POLICE. 2W 
 
 entertainment of his rivals with a little amusement ended 
 in being ignominously marched off under arrest and taken 
 into the presence of Judge Clute as a culprit. He imme- 
 diately gave bail, however, and was released from custody 
 and returned to the Delavan House to tell the outrages 
 and indignities that had been perpetrated upon him and 
 make himself a great hero by giving his minions and re- 
 tainers a graphic description of a most dastardly attempt 
 to assassinate him. This last story was founded upon a 
 rumor that as he approached the Albany & Susquehanna 
 offices in the afternoon, so great had grown the exaspera- 
 tion against him that two men stood on a balcony armed 
 with pistols determined to shoot him and were only pre- 
 vented from doing so by the dissuasion of one of their 
 friends. With these recitals Mr. Fisk still maintained the" 
 air of a hero despite the decidedly unfavorable current 
 of the day's events for his cause. 
 
 Immediately upon acquainting himself with the con- 
 dition of affairs on Tuesday, the Governor notified all 
 sheriffs and other officers to take no further proceedings 
 in favor of either side, but to maintain matters just as 
 they now stood, treating the party in actual possession as 
 being there of right, till the Courts should decide between 
 the contestants. Each party being now in actual posses- 
 sion of one end of the road, of course this order must 
 bring its business to a stand still. But the next morning 
 brought the details of the riot at the tunnel and the 
 Governor now determined on more decisive measures.
 
 216 THE GOVEBNOB. TAKES CONTROL OJ THE BOAD. 
 
 He at once gave the opposing receivers notice that their 
 proceedings must cease and they must come to some 
 agreement in the matter, or else he should declare the 
 district though which the road ran to be in a state of 
 insurrection to the State and take possession of the road 
 as a military measure and run it as a military road till 
 the dispute was settled. The parties held a consultation 
 but could come to no agreement and therefore the oppos- 
 ing receivers united in a written request to the Governor 
 to take possession of the road and run it in the name of 
 the State till the legal complications were decided. This 
 he consented to do. General James McQuade and Col. 
 Robert Lenox Banks were detailed from his staff to take 
 possession and conduct the affairs of the road. They 
 entered at once upon their new duties and in a day or 
 two had all the bridges and rails replaced and the road in 
 regular operation again. 
 
 Wednesday morning was Judge Peckham's turn again 
 to issue a new order setting aside Barnard's of the day 
 before. The Albanians had now come to expect a fresh 
 injunction from one or other of the parties every morning 
 as being as much a matter of course as their breakfast. 
 In this they were not disappointed by the judge upon 
 whom they had conferred so many and varied honors. 
 He opened the morning in the usual way, staying pro- 
 ceedings under the orders from New York the previous 
 day and attempting to tie up Mr. Fisk's hands in various 
 ways. These matters and the arrangement with the
 
 A. BLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP. 217 
 
 Governor occupied Mr. Disk's attention till some new pa- 
 pers could be obtained from New York. These appeared 
 and were ready for use in the afternoon. They were 
 non-bailable writs for the arrest of Messrs Pruyn, Ram- 
 sey and Van Vaulkenburg for contempt of Judge Bar- 
 nard's Court. These gentlemen were all arrested while in 
 the Executive Chamber at the Capitol that afternoon and 
 the design was to spirit them away to New York and give 
 them an inside view of Ludlow Street jail before their 
 friends could rally to their rescue. The first part of the 
 programme was successfully accomplished, but the parties 
 were a little too far from New York city for such an easy 
 execution of the second step. A private steamer, the 
 "Erastus Corning, Jr.," was chartered for the especial 
 purpose or carrying the prisoners to New York, where 
 Mr. Fisk would undoubtedly be on much better vantage 
 ground for treating them entirely to his pleasure than he 
 was in Albany. But before they could be got aboard the 
 steamer provided for their accommodation at an expense 
 of $500, Judge Clute came to the rescue with a writ of 
 habeas corpus. On this they were carried before him 
 and he decided to take till the next morning to consider 
 the case, but meanwhile they were set free from the 
 sheriff in whose hands Judge Barnard's order had placed 
 them. This new attempt to spirit distinguished citizens 
 into jail therefore proved abortive and the trick now 
 returned to plague the author. For while Mr. Fisk 
 was eating his dinner at the Delavau House that evening,
 
 218 ME. FISK FLKE8 BY SPECIAL STEAMER. 
 
 still vividly portraying the narrow escapes his life had 
 passed through in the last two days, a rumor was 
 brought in to him that an order similar to Judge Bar- 
 nard's had been issued for his own arrest, and that 
 the officers were already on their way to secure him. 
 On hearing this he jumped up from the table, leaving a 
 most tempting piece of steak unfinished, hurried down 
 stairs, jumped into a hack and was driven to the bridge, 
 whence he boarded the " Erastus Corning, Jr.," and had 
 her put under headway for New York at once, thus being 
 forced to make good his escape in the vessel hired as a 
 sort of prison ship for his enemies and being obliged to 
 take the romantic trip down the Hudson as a fugitive 
 instead of as triumphant guard over his fallen foe. Qn 
 reaching New York he immediately betook himself 
 to the recesses of the Grand Opera House, where his 
 "holding out powers" could be exhibited under much 
 more favorable circumstances than at Albany, and kept 
 very close quarters for a day or two, his ushers being 
 instructed to be doubly precautions about admitting any 
 one to his presence without special permission. Thus 
 ended the first campaign of Mr. Fisk's twenty-sixth raid. 
 
 The fire from the Barnard guns was still kept up for a 
 time, however. He was at first very much enraged that 
 Judge Clute, having a jurisdiction inferior to his own, 
 should presume to interfere with the execution of one of 
 his orders and threatened to arrest Judge Clute himself. 
 His ire on this point calmed gradually, as it is wont to
 
 THE gBCOKD CAMPAIGN. 219 
 
 do, and Judge Clute was not disturbed in the exercise of 
 his judicial functions. But the men whom ho had 
 rescued by the offensive habeas corpus felt their position 
 BO insecure that they betook themselves out of the State 
 for safety. Now, however, set in one of those periods 
 of peace and good will which is wont to follow when a 
 sufficient number of injunctions has been issued to 
 appease the love for thb *.$ercise and make it impossible 
 for the judge himself to keep track of them or bring any 
 of them to an issue. By some of the influences know- 
 ledge whereof constitutes an occult science, Judge Bar- 
 nard became suddenly mollified, declared there was no 
 malice in his heart, and the Albany fugitives returned to 
 their homes and were permitted to enjoy them in peace. 
 Only one further order of consequence was granted by the 
 judge. This was an order appointing Wm. J. A. Fuller 
 receiver of the stock which was alleged to have been 
 illegally re-issued by Mr. Ramsey and others. Under this 
 order, supplemented by the resurrected. writ of assistance, 
 Mr. Fuller obtained possession of some three thousand 
 shares of the said illegal stock. 
 
 In this situation the opposing forces now rested on 
 their arms to await the annual election of stockholders, 
 which was to occur on September 7th, each being confi- 
 dent of victory on that day. The requisites for this elec- 
 tion, as established by the by-laws of the corporation, 
 were : that the polls should be open One hour, from 1 2 to 
 lj on the day of election ; no stock to be transferred dur-
 
 220 LEGAL LEDGERDEMAIH. 
 
 ing the 30 days preceding the election; the inspectors of 
 the election should be chosen annually by the stock- 
 holders and must themselves be owners of stock ; and the 
 stock books of the company must be present for the use of 
 the inspectors on the day of election. The abstraction of 
 the books had left the Erie party very much in the dark 
 as to their relative strength in the amount of stock actu- 
 ally held, and feeling far from confident of success by fair 
 means a most artful coup de main was planned, which is 
 probably without a parallel for a daring outrage in a free, 
 civilized country. 
 
 It was discovered that the inspectors who had been 
 chosen for this year were not stockholders, as required by 
 the by-laws, and so were incompetent to act. An order 
 restraining them from acting was therefore perfectly* 
 proper, and was obtained from Judge Clerke. The 
 chosen inspectors being removed, all the plans were laid 
 for selecting to act in their places inspectors wholly favor- 
 able to the Erie party. To further this purpose as well as 
 others, it was desirable to have Mr. Eamsey and all his 
 leading supporters out of the way. To compass this end 
 a suit was instituted against Messrs. Ramsey, Van- Vaulk- 
 enburg, Phelps and Smith (their counsel) for abstracting 
 the books of the company, and orders for their arrest, 
 with bail fixed at a large sum, were asked for. This 
 request being on the face of it of a most monstrous char- 
 acter, the petitioners took it before Judge Barnard, who 
 of course granted it without hesitation. These orders
 
 EXECUTORS OF BABNAM)'s LAW. 221 
 
 were obtained on ex parte representations, without notice 
 to the parties against whom they applied, and were kept a 
 dead secret till the moment for which they were specially 
 designed, the whole success of the plot depending upon 
 its being sprung as a surprise at the proper moment. 
 Not satisfied 'with these legal documents, Mr. Fisk, retain- 
 ing a -vivid memory of Mr. Van Vaulkenburg's muscular 
 powers, thought it prudent to take up to the election what 
 he, after all, deemed much more potent than the law, and 
 what might be much needed to make Barnard's orders 
 respected so far from home and at the same time guard 
 him from another ungraceful hustling down stairs and 
 hasty flight to New York by special private conveyance. 
 Accordingly some fifty New York roughs of the worst 
 type, chosen for their especial fitness for the occasion, 
 were secured to go to Albany to stand behind Judge 
 Barnard's law and Mr. Fisk's digaity and protect the 
 sanctity of the Albany & Susquehanna ballot-box. 
 
 Thus armed and equipped with legal documents and 
 " tools to do it with," Mr. Fisk with a small army of 
 legal advisers, clerks, boon companions, and lackeys, de- 
 parted for " the front " once more the day before the 
 election, that he might be on the " stamping ground " in 
 time to arrange carefully all the details for the last grand 
 charge in his " twenty-sixth raid." In his suite of rooms 
 at the Delavan House on the night of the 6th and the 
 morning of the 7th of September, the whole plan was 
 arranged with such precision of detail as to " work like
 
 222 NEW TOBK BOUGHS APPliAB AS STOCK 11 OLDEES. 
 
 a clock," and was carefully kept from all knowledge of 
 the enemy. The hardy men of muscle, carefully se- 
 lected from the eminent social element that rules 
 New York city, supplies forces for the State establish- 
 ment at Sing Sing and elects the like of Barnard to the 
 bench of the Supreme Court, were left to follow by a 
 later train and reached Albany on the morning of the 7th, 
 the day of the election. The personnel of this unique 
 company of New York's masters on appearing in Albany 
 has been graphically pictured by Mr. Charles Francis 
 Adams, Jr. : 
 
 " A breakfast was negotiated for them at the saloon in 
 the station, and there they stood and fed, as rough a set 
 of patriots as ever stuffed a ballot-box or hit from the 
 shoulder. Some of them had coats and some had not ; 
 their clothes were in various stages of dilapidation, as also 
 were their countenances ; open shirts displayed muscular 
 breasts and rolled up trousers stockingless feet ; one man 
 saved himself the trouble of rolling up both legs of his 
 trousers by having only one . . a class subsequently 
 described as men with scarred faces and noses and black 
 eyes. Under the circumstances it was little to be won- 
 dered at that while they indulged a ' square meal ' tho 
 keeper of the saloon gave directions to have his silver 
 counted." 
 
 After being fed, these choice spirits were each supplied 
 with a few proxies of Albany & Susquehanna stock, which 
 entitled them to enter the offices of the company as stock- 
 holders. Of course Mr. Fisk could have voted himself 
 just as well on his own stock, but it was deemed especially
 
 YEA, VERILY. 223 
 
 desirable that these delegates from the slums of New 
 York should be present out of respect to Mr v Van Vaul- 
 kenburg's much-admired ^muscular powers, and this was 
 the best and only sure means of securing their peaceable 
 admission to the room. 
 
 As the hour of noon approached it was time to set the 
 ball in motion. All the actors were required to set their 
 watches exactly together and each was instructed as to 
 the precise second at which he should speak his piece and 
 play his part. Mr. Thomas G. Shearman, of the eminent 
 law firm of Field & Shearman, acted as master of cere- 
 monies on the occasion.. The improvised stockholders 
 were marched from the depot to the poll in due season 
 and, proxies in hand, were admitted to the room by the 
 police on guard. The inspectors were waylaid on their 
 way to the offices a few moments only before the time for 
 them to enter upon the discharge of their duties and were 
 served with the order forbidding them to act. This was 
 a complete surprise, as it was planned to be, and of course 
 threw the Ramsey men into a little confusion. At a quar- 
 ter before twelve, master of ceremonies Shearman gave 
 the nod which was the signal for actor No. 1 to move the 
 organization of a meeting of stockholders to elect inspec- 
 tors in the place of those removed. The move was 
 seconded and carried, the fifty roughs with whom the 
 room was packed giving a lusty " aye " when they 
 caught the signal "this is the place to laugh." The 
 meeting organized, the vote proceed in like manner and
 
 224 A STRAW HAT BALLOT BOX. 
 
 resulted in the election of inspectors in every respect 
 satisfactory to Mr. Fisk. . The preliminaries thns all 
 successfully carried in their favor, at a few seconds 
 past twelve, the hour prescribed by the by-laws, the 
 newly chosen inspectors entered upon their duty, the bal- 
 lot box (which consisted of a straw hat) was placed in 
 position and the voting commenced. But with every- 
 thing thus nicely started entirely in his favor, Mr. 
 Shearman, like all masters of ceremonies upon important 
 occasions, was still a 'little anxious lest something should 
 happen to mar the smooth flow before the entertainment 
 was over. Messrs. Ramsey, Yan Vaulkenburg, Phelps 
 and Smith were in the adjoining room and were looked 
 upon as a possible disturbing element. The polls would 
 be closed in an hour, and if these gents could only be 
 tied up and prevented from action for that little length of 
 time, all would be over and well. And a little string, 
 especially designed for this very emergency, had been 
 brought along and was now produced to do the de- 
 sired tieing up. The order granted by Judge Barnard 
 for the arrest of these gentlemen for the abstraction 
 of the books and which had been carefully held back 
 from all publicity, was now produced and at about 
 the same moment that the newly-organized polls were 
 opened the sheriff arrested them. This was the 
 final blow and if successful if an hour could be oc- 
 cupied in marching the arrested gentlemen before 
 A magistrate and getting bondsmen to give the outra-
 
 THE TRAP FAILS. 225 
 
 geously large bail ($25,090) demanded entire success of 
 the coup (Je main, and complete triumph for Mr. -Fisk 
 seemed beyond a porad venture. But, alas for human 
 devices ! this move did not work so successfully as was 
 hoped. Either Mr. Shearman and the sheriff differed as 
 to the proper manner for the latter to proceed in the 
 discharge of his duty or else the sheriff's courage failed 
 him at the vital moment through a consciousness of the 
 outrageous character of the proceeding. The sheriff did 
 not deem it indispensable that his prisoners should be 
 taken from tko building and carried before a magistrate. 
 He obligingly consented to have the formalities of giving 
 the required bail gone through with thero in the room 
 where they wero and was guilty of the (in Erie eyes) 
 unpardonable breach of duty and sin of having blank 
 bail bonds in his pockets and furnishing tliem for the 
 occasion instead of requiring time to be spent in sending 
 to a stationer's. With these kindnesses Mr. Ramsey 
 immediately set about furnishing satisfactory bondsmen, 
 not in the least disconcerted by the surprise sprung upon 
 him doubly outrageous in its nature and the manner 
 of its execution. Any number of most unquestionable 
 men stood ready to give the bail demanded, and, interpose 
 every captious, technical, petti fogging, frivolous objection 
 that ho could in "span-ing for wind " arid the passage of 
 the hour, Mr. Shearman was unable to consume more 
 than a few minutes of time in the ceremony of bail 
 giving. Before this ceremony was over, however, and 
 B
 
 226 TWO KIVAT, POLLS OPEN. 
 
 the move thus blocked, Mr. Smith, by direction of Mr. 
 Ramsey, had gone into the entry of the building, there 
 organized another meeting, chosen another set of inspec- 
 tors, opened another poll and proceeded to hold their 
 own election. A few inimites after twelve therefore, 
 there were two polls open and two elections going on. 
 
 But Mr. Uamsey, despite the traps sprung upon him 
 and the numerous troublesome irons he had in the fire, 
 still found time to cope with his enemies in wielding the 
 now much enfeebled weapon of injunctions. Just as the 
 Fisk poll was about to open, its inspectors were served 
 with an injunction forbidding them to hold an election 
 unless they allowed votes to be cast upon the twenty-four 
 hundred shares of stock which had been placed in the 
 hands of a receiver on the ground that it was illegal and 
 could not be voted on. Of course it was intended by this 
 order to give the men from, whom this stock had been 
 taken the privilege of voting upon it, they clearly being 
 the only persons that could by any possibility have any 
 right to vote upon it. But Mr. Shearman, eminent 
 lawyer as he was, managed to make this order serve 
 exactly the opposite purpose from that for which he 
 knew it was designed. Mr. Fuller, the receiver, being 
 present was directed to vote upon the stock, and he 
 proceeded to do so and voted directly against the wishes 
 of the men who owned the stock and to whom tho order 
 was expressly intended to give the right of voting thereon. 
 Thus twenty-four hundred votes were given to Fisk on
 
 227 
 
 stock owned by his most active opponents. Some fifteen 
 minutes later a second injunction was served on the Fisk 
 inspectors enjoining them absolutely from holding an 
 election ; but the delegation from the Five Points, partly 
 perhaps from their eagerness to exercise the dignity of 
 .their novel and very ephemeral character as stockholders, 
 and partly from Mr. Shearman's desire to work as rapidly 
 as possible for fear of interference, had voted early, as 
 they wore accustomed to do when "repeating" in New 
 York, and nearly all the votes of the Fisk party had been 
 safely deposited in the straw hat before the last injunc- 
 tion came, so it was necessary to violate it only a little 
 to receive tho few that remained to bo cast. 
 
 So well was the programme matured and rehearsed 
 beforehand and such was the presence of inind displayed 
 by tho accomplished master of ceremonies that only a 
 single desired detail in the performance had been omitted, 
 but this little oversight was an important one. In their 
 haste to organize and get their poll open first, tho now 
 Fisk inspectors had omitted to take tho oath prescribed 
 by tho by-laws before entering upon the discharge of 
 their duties. The books, which the by-laws required 
 should be present for inspection on election day, had 
 been secretly replaced by Mr. Eamsey the night before, 
 and so tho proceedings of his inspectors had been every 
 way regular, and in accordance with the by-laws, and 
 Mr. Shearman's sole claim to have his poll treated as the 
 legal one rested Upon the circumstance of its having been
 
 TWO BETB OP DIEECTOBS EL1CTED. 
 
 organized a few minutes before the rival poll. Neither 
 party voted at the other's poll, so of course each elected 
 its own ticket without ono opposing vote. At the Fisk 
 poll 13,400 votes were ca^t and tho inspectors declared 
 their ticket elected. At tho Ramsey poll 10,742 votes 
 wei'O cast and tbc inspectors declared their ticket elected. 
 
 Thus tho election was over and matters stood just as 
 before with two opposing sets of officers claiming the 
 road. Tho Fisk party had sought to win a little moral sup- 
 port, add an air of respectability to their ticket and gain 
 an advantage, by electing General McQuado and Colonel 
 Banks among their directors. Those gentlemen being 
 already in possession of tho road and running it in the 
 name of tho State, by their election on tho Fisk ticket the 
 road was already in tho possession of tho Erie party 
 nine points gained. But these gentlemen resigned imme- 
 diately on hearing of their election, which had been with- 
 out their consent cr knowledge, and thus Mr. Fibk was 
 left no better off than on tho morning when Mr. Van 
 Vaulkenburg hustled him down stairs a month boforo. 
 Ho was obliged to return to Now York with his " boys," 
 more empty handed than ho came, while tho Governor 
 still retained possession of tho road and directed tho 
 Court to decide which election was valid and which set of 
 directors was entitled to have possession. 
 
 It was nearly three months before tho issuo came on for 
 trial and ovon then Mr. Fisk's lawyers made a strenuous 
 effort to obtain further delay, but in vain. The question
 
 THE COURTS DECIDE IN FAVOK CF RAMSEY. 229 
 
 \vas tried before Judge E. Darwin Smith at Rochester. 
 After a most thorough trial and a careful consideration of 
 the points raised the substance of Judge Smith's decision 
 was that the proceeding of the Fisk party, purporting to 
 be an election, was a fraud, conspiracy and outrage from 
 beginning to end, a great disgrace to every one concerned 
 in it, a scandal to the State, and utterly null and void. 
 Tho Ramsey directors were declared legally elected and 
 entitled* to possession of the road. When the news of 
 this decision reached New York, Mr. Fisk's lawyers ob- 
 tained an order to prevent the judgment being entered, 
 but that formality had been already gone through with 
 when this New York order reached Rochester, so this 
 was a waste of powder. Foiled in this move they imme- 
 diately got another order staying all proceedings under the 
 judgment and served it upon Messrs. McQuado and Banks 
 to prevent possession being given to the Ramsey directors. 
 Judge Peckham again came to the rescue, set aside this 
 last order and directed possession to be given to the di- 
 rectors that had been declared legally elected. This order 
 of Judge Peckham' s was acted upon and the possession 
 transferred as directed before any new order from New 
 York could come to check it, and thus Mr. Ramsey at' last 
 again came into possession of his road. He was not long 
 in transferring it beyond the reach of any further inter- 
 ference from Mr. Fisk or Judge Barnard. The Erio 
 party finding themselves utterly discomfited in their effort 
 to get the road by a raid, now made overtures for leasing
 
 280 
 
 it and offered very advantageous terms ; but Mr. Ramsey 
 soon found that the bond of Messrs. Fisk and Gould was 
 all the guarantee they proposed to give for the fulfilment 
 of the contract and thereupon immediately discontinued 
 negotiations with them and leased the road to the Dela- 
 ware & Hudson Canal Co, for a long term of years upon 
 very favorable conditions. 
 
 Judge Smith allowed extra costs to the Ramsey party 
 for all the annoyance and expense to which they had been 
 subjected, and Hon. Samuel L. Selden, an ex -judge of the 
 Court of Appeals, was appointed to determine the amount 
 of extra costs that would be just and ho decided that 
 ninety-two thousand dollars was no more than a proper 
 sum for the Erie party to pay to indemnify Mr. Ramsey 
 and the road. Of course Judge Smith's opinion was 
 appealed from; but the General Term sustained his 
 judgment as to the total illegality of the election of the 
 Fjsk board and the entire legality of that of the Ramsey 
 board, though overruling (not on its merits but upon 
 technical grounds) the allowance of extra costs. And 
 thus was a final quietus put upon Mr. Fisk' 3 twenty-sixth 
 raid. 

 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 BLACK FKIDAY THE GREAT GOLD CONSPIRACY WALL STREET 
 
 AND THE FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL GATHEBIXG OP THB 
 
 WHIRLWIND A BATTLE OP GIANTS BURYING THE DEAD- 
 HUE PLOT " UOXE WHERE THE WOODBINE TWINETH." 
 
 Towards the close of summer, 1869, a feeling seemed 
 to prevail that speculating in gold, which had been so 
 extensively engaged in and been the making and break- 
 ing of many fine fortunes since the outbreak of the war 
 in 1861, was drawing rapidly to a close, and that the 
 country would soon return to specie payments. August 
 21st gold was selling for about 131, and so general was 
 the feeling that it was destined to make steady progress 
 towards par that many large operators sold heavily short 
 to profit by the anticipated fall. 
 
 In the spring gold fell to 131, at which price Jay Gould 
 bought several millions and then, inducing various news- 
 papers to magnify the probabilities of difficulties from the 
 Alabama claims, a European war, the Cuban insurrec- 
 tion, and various other matters that really had 'about as 
 much influence upon gold as upon the moon, he pushed
 
 232 THE GEEA.T GOLD CONSPIRACY OT 1869. 
 
 the price up to 145 and gathered a rich harrest. It was 
 under reaction from this " bull " movement that the price 
 had again dropped to 181 and created a feeling that it 
 would quietly touch 120. Contrary to all expectation, 
 however, it suddenly turned again at 181 and was 
 pushed gradually back to 187, at which price it sold 
 during the forenoon of "Wednesday, September 22d. The 
 bears and those who had sold short had been fighting 
 this rise vigorously and confidently believed it would now 
 fall again, when in the early afternoon it went strongly 
 tip 2 per cent, more, and later in th afternoon touched 
 141 a firm advance of 4 per cent, in one day, in the 
 face of all opposition and against all natural causes. 
 The movement puzzled everybody and ruined all the 
 small "bbars." The Gold Room again witnessed scenes 
 of excitement to which it had been a stranger since the 
 critical war days. Stocks always sympathize with a 
 marked change in gold, moving in the opposite direction, 
 and on this day the excitement and fluctuations in the 
 stock market were even more surprising than the advance 
 in gold. New York Central fell 22 per cent, ia about 
 as many minutes, and then fluctuated wildly over a 
 range of 8 or 10 per cent, through the remainder of 
 the day. Hudson River fell 13 per cent, and other 
 stocks sympathized hi the heavy fall. These move- 
 ments placed dealers in great straits. Brokers called 
 on' their customers to increase their margins, which 
 the day had wiped out. Money became very tight and
 
 DAY OF THE BATTLE. 233 
 
 brokers had to pay high rates to get their balances 
 earned over to the next day. The vicinity of the Stock 
 Exchange and Gold Room was crowded till a much later 
 hour than usual, and a throng gathered at the Fifth 
 Avenue Hotel in the evening to discuss the events of the 
 day, compare views, and to buy and sell on their belief as 
 to what the morning would develop. The day had re- 
 
 4 _J7. *..,'-, ,."_..-!' Cl~* - - - f .;.'"* v^i. . _ .*. '..OO 
 
 vealed the existence of a clique, small in numbers but 
 very powerful and unscrupulous, in conspiracy for a 
 " corner" in gold. Inquiry had shown the "short" 
 contracts to be many times as large as all the obtainable 
 gold in New York, and those who thus found themselves 
 caught well knew the character of their opponents. 
 Appeals had been made to the Secretary of the Trea_s- 
 ury to relieve the situation by ordering a sale of Govern- 
 ment gold ; but he regarded it as a struggle between 
 gamblers and refused to interfere. But the shorts be- 
 lieved a corner in gold too gigantic a move to bo success- 
 ful and still held out. "When the dealings of Thursday 
 morning opened it was at once made evident that the 
 clique was in the ascendant, for gold still continued to 
 advance. The margins that had been increased with the 
 greatest difficulty the night before were again swept 
 away and there was a new call for their increase. This 
 was beyond the power of all but the very strongest 
 dealers. All the small and medium operators were either 
 stranded or settled their obligations on the best terms 
 they conld, foil out of tho rnr>1\s and became observers
 
 '2j .:U-;TAC SB: aa T*.t KH.* 
 
 234 FIST APPEARS IN THE GOLD BOOK, 
 
 merely. In this way the clique gathered rich profits this 
 day. They laid aside their masks entirely now and ap- 
 peared boldly in the most intimidating attitude. The 
 Gold Room was crowded, not as usual, mostly with clerks 
 and mere boys, but the principals themselves of all the 
 great firms appeared in the arena as they had rarely done 
 before. To cap the climax of the unusual, James Fisk, 
 Jr., personally appeared in the Gold Room and struck 
 terror into the bears and encouraged the bulls to push 
 forward by offering to bet any part of $50,000 that gold 
 would go to 200, and 'finding no one to take the offer. 
 Everywhere that day the clique bulled gold in the same 
 braggadocio way, insinuating that the Government officials 
 Were interested with them and would sell no Government 
 gold (the only hope of the "bears") and informing the 
 " shorts " that they had better settle up or higher rates 
 would be demanded. The wealthy firms only still defied 
 the clique. This was a day of excitement and running, 
 of alternating hope and fear, such as had rarely if ever 
 been witnessed, oven in the times of the war, and yet 
 night closed upon the scene with the agony wholly unre- 
 lieved, with gold standing at 144, leaving the contending 
 parties to another midnight session at the Fifth Avenue 
 Hotel and a night of most anxious suspense. 
 
 Friday, September 24th, 1869, the sun rose bright 
 and beautiful over New York, and its rays seemed 
 to fill the air with a quietude and calm as if in mockery 
 of bustling, greedy men. But those whose treasure
 
 GATHtEIXG 07 THE WUIBLWI5D. 235 
 
 was concerned in the course of things in Wall Street that 
 day rose with no heart for the poetic but were wholly 
 absorbed with thoughts of what the day would bring 
 forth in the matter of their fortune and hurried to the 
 battle field to be ready for all opportunities. The region 
 of the Stock Exchange and Gold Boom was astir at a 
 much earlier hour than usual. The boards open at ten 
 o'clock, but long before that hour on this day all the 
 email dealers and commission brokers were on the scene, 
 ready and anxious to improve any opportunity that might 
 occur for outside operations. At a much earlier hour 
 than usual, too, came the young "bloods" who drive 
 down grandly in their dogcarts with liveried footmen, 
 and the dignified gents of more mature years in their 
 covpes. That the scene might not be lacking in any 
 of its proprieties, James Fisk, Jr., came driving down 
 and turned into Broad Street in company with two 
 richly attired actresses, one of them chiefly known to 
 fame through her charms as displayed in " Mazeppa " 
 and "The French Spy." Long Before the regular 
 business hour the greatest excitement prevailed, for the 
 clique had already displayed unbroken nerve and power 
 and turned on the screws another relentless stage, and 
 many men riding down in their carriages were mot far 
 up Broadway by their clerks who had run to tell th.em 
 the exciting news that gold was going at 152 ! But 
 all outside dealings and quotations are apocryphal and 
 brokers base all their demands for margins upon the
 
 236 THE FIRST GEATTD CHABGB. 
 
 quotations at the regular board ; so, wildly as the price 
 might fluctuate, no panic could come till tho board 
 opened at ten . o'clock. When this hour arrived, New 
 Street and every passage leading to the Gold Room 
 was completely blocked up by one dense mass of 
 humanity, all under the greatest state of excitement. 
 Inside on the floor were gathered all the great dealers, 
 or as many as could be packed within the limited 
 circle, and the gallery was equally crowded with men 
 all of whose worldly fortunes now hung tremblingly in 
 the balance. At length the hour of ten arrived, the 
 hammer fell and the board opened. The yell that im- 
 mediately went up in the contending bids rent tho air 
 till it seemed the very roof must be lifted, and in the 
 din, so far surpassing all that had over been heard 
 there before, even tho trained cars could hardly distin- 
 guish a word. In a moment, however, the presiding 
 officer caught and recorded tho price J 50 ! six per cent, 
 advance on the highest price of tho day before ! A 
 howl went up from the crowd insido as their eyes 
 caught upon the indicator and was promptly taken up 
 and echoed by the greater crowd outside. Such a man- 
 ifestation of strength and determination on tho part 
 of the clique surprised oven those who knew they were 
 powerful. A livid pallor spread to nearly every faco and 
 a large portion of tho crowd instantly bolted from tho 
 room, tho brokers to demand a renewal of margins, tho 
 operators to provide for the demand or so'ttlb on tho best
 
 THE GOVERNMENT IMPUGNED. 237 
 
 terms they could obtain, many of both classes knowing 
 tho quotation meant their entire ruin. 
 
 The clique and their agents stood ready to take ad- 
 vantage of tho panic. " Settle up !" they cried, " or a 
 higher rate will be demanded at once. The Govern- 
 ment is with us and wo have you wholly in our power." 
 It was now well kqpwn that tho short interest was 
 about $250,000,000 and that the clique themselves 
 held in gold and contracts for delivery something like 
 $120,000,000, while all tho current gold in New York 
 'dktfa bo scarcely more than $20,000,000. The situa- 
 tion, therefore, looked very much as though tho corner 
 was .perfected and a success. Tho Government alone 
 could break it by tho sale of gold held in tho sub- 
 treasury, but tho deaf ear which had been turned to 
 all appeals to Washington, if they did not confirm the 
 boast of tho clique that the Washington authorities were 
 interested with them, at least destroyed all hope of relief 
 from that quarter. Under these circumstances, many 
 who could do so without failing settled up, and many 
 more cither from choice or necessity failed to settle or 
 increase their margins and failed. Tho clique _ having 
 gathered all they could from their first assault, and many 
 still holding out and bidding them defiance, they gave the 
 screws another merciless turn, and at about 11 o'clock 
 gold made another bound upward, and tho indicator 
 marked 155 ! Another fierce yell went up inside the 
 Gold Boom, and ran through the surging mass of human*
 
 "TO SHE QOE3." 
 
 ity now packing the streets outside. Men ! Could these be 
 rational men ? Faces marked with an unearthly pallor 
 and expression, eyes glaring wildly, hands and arms 
 gesticulating frantically, voices screeching to the utmost 
 power of the lungs and hoarse from continued exertion, 
 it was a spectacle 4hat beggars all description and cannot 
 be even faintly imagined by those who have never wit- 
 nessed the doings of this class of men. No boys or mere 
 clerks wore there to-day. They had disappeared two 
 days before, their space being wanted by the older mejj 
 .and the heads of the great firms. Prominent in the firpjg 
 around the fountain, to-day, was Albert Speyers, a Ger- 
 man Jew, a large man now past the middle of life, with a 
 long record as a prominent and wealthy dealer in both 
 stocks and gold. Ho was now the leader of the bull 
 clique, bidding the price up to the highest point every 
 moment, and buying in untold quantities, and acting like 
 a mad man. William Heath, the head of an old, wealthy 
 and most respectable firm, was also there, acting with the 
 bulls and bidding in person. The- great house of Brown 
 Brothers was also represented by one of the firm in person, 
 and the room, was now filled, with only the members of 
 the wealthiest and most powerful firms. When the price 
 went to 155, " Settle up !" cried Fisk and the rest of the 
 clique. " Never ! do your worst !" was the defiant 
 response of the great firms who were still able to hold 
 out and did not believe a corner in gold possible. " Up 
 she goes, then !" threatened Fisk, and at half-past eleven
 
 THE LAST MEBCILESS CHA.BGX. 239 
 
 the indicator jumped to 160 ! It rested there but a 
 moment and then pushed up to 162, and for a moment 
 touched 164 ! Speyera was buying by the million at a 
 bid, al rays bidding the highest price, and William Heath 
 bid for a million nt 160. The men in the room and on 
 the street, had already reached the highest possible state 
 of excitement and confusion under the previous advances, 
 and this last upward movement served onlyvto keep them 
 up to that degree of nervous tension which cannot be 
 long maintained without new stimulant. All were now 
 rushing wildly about in apparent desperation, and the 
 braggart declaration of Fisk the day before that gold 
 would go to 200 seemed likely to be made good. Loud 
 imprecations against the clique were now rife upon the 
 street, and had any of them appeared they would not un- 
 likely have answered with their lives. But they were 
 conscious of their danger, carefully avoided the crowd and 
 were strongly guarded from any attack that might be 
 made upon them. 
 
 In the midst of the greatest excitement, when gold 
 was vibrating between 160 and 164, a messenger arrived 
 in the Gold Room with the news " tlte Government is 
 selling gold!" "How much?" was quickly inquired. 
 " Fifteen millions /" was the prompt reply, and instantly 
 the boars bounded as au army bounds when a mine is 
 exploded beneath it. A thrill spread as if by an electric 
 current and in less than one minute gold fell to 135! 
 Albert Speyers attempted to fill the breach and maintain 
 
 ... :r ft ,: -> *
 
 240 AN INFERNO. 
 
 an unbroken front by boldly bidding for a million at 160. 
 The offer was instantly snatched at by a hundred bears, 
 and the foolish effort was vain. Gold had gone down 
 like a plummet dropped in the ocean 30 per cent, in a 
 minute and could not be rallied. Speyers fell back in the 
 crowd in entire nervous exhaustion. The wand of the 
 clique was hopelessly broken, the most daring gold plot 
 the world has ever known was defeated, and the great 
 crisis was at an end. 
 
 But relief from the death grip of the clique and the 
 shock of active battle only gave the first opportunity to 
 survey the field and realize how wide-spread and disas- 
 trous the conflict had been. The agony and heart sick- 
 ness was increased rather than diminished by the cessation 
 of the excitement of the Gold Room, for it seemed that 
 disaster and ruin had gone everywhere, or at least no one 
 was sure how he should stand when the day'a score was 
 settled. Numerous failures were reported and it was 
 certain others would speedily follow. Everywhere around 
 Broad, Wall and New Streets, and Exchange Place, 
 crowds were gathered discussing incidents and reporting 
 news ; faces were ashy pale, eyes were wild with excite- 
 ment, countenances vividly portrayed the greatest anxiety, 
 and frequent resorts to Delmonico's was the only means 
 by which many sustained the severe draft upon their 
 nerves. The spectacle was one such as Dante might have 
 seen in Inferno and was more wretched than any ho has 
 described. Those whose dealings had been on the winning
 
 KTTTKED HOMES. 241 
 
 ride felt but little safer or more contented than those who 
 had lost, for those to whom they had sold gold might fail 
 and be unablo to take it and then it would entail loss 
 where there had seemed to be gain. In not a few cases 
 men who had bought gold at something above 140 
 sold at about 160 and, had the dealings been cleared 
 in the ordinary way, would have made a very hand- 
 some fortune; but the parties to whom they sold failed 
 and could not take the gold, so it came back upon their 
 hands when they could only get 183 for it._ So large had 
 been the dealings that the Gold Exchange had not yet 
 been able to foot up and settle Thursday's transactions, so 
 all was doubt and uncertainty and the shadow of disaster 
 brooded over all Wall Street and its ramifications.. 
 
 Affairs were in this unsettled and nerve-disturbing state 
 when the afternoon hour arrived and it was time to 
 think of home. That thought brought to many their first 
 full realization of the day's disaster. Home ! How many 
 could not bear think of home now ! How many now first 
 fully realized what they had staked upon the fortunes of 
 the day. Many who had left happy homes, and not a few 
 who had been lordly owners of the most elegant resi- 
 dences ou the Hudson or the Sound in the morning, must 
 now return at evening to meet wife and children, feeling 
 that those homes were no longer theirs, ruin and penury 
 staring them in the face. The disaster which the clique 
 had spread was now fully felt and so great was the indig- 
 nation against them that they secured safety only by con-
 
 242 BARRICADED AT THE OPERA HOUSE. 
 
 cealment. Early in the day Fisk had fled 1he 'scene and 
 was securely barricaded in the Grand Opera House. The 
 doors of Jay Gould's office were guarded by a ftrong 
 force of police and no one could gain admission. The day 
 closed upon such a scene as was never before witnessed 
 in Wall Street and probably may never be again. Its 
 habitues lingered in its haunts much later than usual, as 
 if unable to faco home, and in the evening gas-lights were 
 detected in many offices where they had never been seen 
 before, so eager were men to balance their accounts and, 
 if possible, gain some idea how they stood. The spectacle 
 of agonized hearts and countenances was continued in the 
 evening at the Fifth Avenue Hotel and surpassed anything 
 that had ever been witnessed there. Threats against Fisk 
 and his fellow conspirators were frequent, and a spectacle 
 of men suffering greater mental torment could not be. 
 
 When the Wall Street men gathered in their places 
 Saturday morning a calmer feeling prevailed, but the 
 utter wretchedness of the situation was still more clearly 
 depicted in their faces. It was like surveying the ruins 
 the next morning after a great fire has swept across a 
 whole region and left only charred remains and crumbled 
 walla where yesterday stood, stately buildings. The Gold 
 Exchange Bank had been unable to get the figures even 
 of Thursday's business arranged as yet, so no clearance 
 of the gold dealings could be hoped for and no one could 
 determine how his affairs stood. New failures were re- 
 ported and the gloom thickened. The Gold Board met
 
 THK GOLD KXCHA5QE BAKK. 243 
 
 but without doing any business adjourned till Monday to 
 give tho Gold Exchange time to arrange the accounts and 
 effect the clearances, and this produced a more contented 
 feeling. 
 
 The Gold Exchange Bank increased its force of clerks 
 and kept them all busily at work through the night and 
 as constantly as their physical powers would permit ; yet 
 Monday morning came and found the bank unprepared 
 to discharge its duties or give any relief to the situation, 
 not even Thursday's accounts having been straightened. 
 Men had gone to their homes on Saturday in tho full 
 confidence that when they returned again the bank would 
 be ready to effect the clearances and the situation would 
 then be fully known at least and men would be able to 
 know how they were coming put. The disappointment 
 was therefore very bitter and rumors began to prevail 
 that the bank itself Avas involved. The situation seemed 
 helpless under the circumstances and no one knew what 
 to do. Several meetings of the Gold Board were held, 
 and numerous propositions were made, but they finally 
 adjourned to give the bank one more opportunity of 
 clearing the obstruction, thus entailing one more night of 
 anxious suspense" upon those whose operations were 
 bound up by the delay in the clearing house. Tuesday 
 morning found things in no better condition at the Gold 
 Exchange Bank, and those whose action was fettered by 
 this b lockup were now almost desperate. The murmurs 
 against the bank and the imputations upon its solvency
 
 244 HOPE, DISAPPOINTMENTS, PANIC. 
 
 and good faith, were now loud and numerous. The 
 Gold Board met and it was now felt that something 
 must bo done, independent of Iho Gold Exchange to 
 settle the balances for Friday's dealings, as that institu- 
 tion had proved its inability to do so. Various plans 
 were suggested tut none of them seemed practicable or 
 satisfactory till it was announced that the Bank of Now 
 York would undertake to act as a clearing house for Fri- 
 day's transactions. This announcement was hailed with 
 joy and promised relief at last. The brokers immediately 
 made out their statements and handed them in to the 
 bank, and early in tho afternoon clerks began to gather 
 at the bank to get tho balances of their firms settled. 
 Tho line formed and grow rapidly till it extended out of 
 the building into tho street and then far up tho sidewalk 
 on Wall Street. Tho bank officers and clerks had been 
 busily at work but tho business was new to them and 
 when they realized tho vast volume of work to be done 
 they became discouraged at once and saw they had 
 undertaken a task they could not perform. Great as 
 was tho mortification and disastrous as they know the 
 consequence would bo upon tho Street, they therefore, 
 at half past two, announced their utter inability to effect 
 tho clearances and discontinued tho work. The instant 
 effect of this announcement was a new panic. Distrust 
 now spread everywhere. Now York Central dropped at 
 once to 145, completing a fall of 73 per cent, in a few 
 days. A -great, universal crash seemed imminent. A
 
 1HB COMMITTEE OF TWEflTt. 245 
 
 new meeting of the Gold Board was held and after many 
 propositions, a committee of twenty was appointed to 
 settle Friday's business. New hope caught upon this 
 move and it looked as though the end of the agony would 
 now soon be reached. The apartments of the banking 
 house of Jay Cooke & Co., corner of Wall and Nassau 
 Streets, were placed at the service of the committee, and 
 they went immediately to their work. Brokers handed 
 in their statements and went home confident that the 
 committee would straighten matters and afford relief by 
 morning. Alt night long the committee and their clerks 
 worked busily and made excellent progress in effecting 
 the balances. Only ono difficulty hampered them one or 
 two firms had failed to hand in their statements. In the 
 early part of the evening those firms had promised to have 
 their statements in by ton o'clock, but this they failed to 
 do, making a new promise that they should certainly be 
 in early in the morning. With this the committee were 
 contented and pushed forward with the other statements. 
 Morning came, but one of the statements still lingered. 
 The hour for the meeting of the Gold Board came and 
 one of tho committee went down to report progress. He 
 represented that they wore very much encouraged, had 
 nearly completed all tho accounts, and as soon as they had 
 one more statement, which they were promised soon, all 
 the details would bo arranged and the settlements could 
 go forward. This produced a favorable effect and the 
 members scattered, feeling that their difficulties would be
 
 246 CXAMOES FOR LYNCH LAW. 
 
 relieved before the day was over. At two o'clock the 
 Gold Board met again and the member of the committee 
 came in to make a further report. He was evidently very 
 deeply moved and he was listened to in impressive silence 
 as lie announced that the one dilatory statement had not 
 been handed in, that the committee were satisfied the 
 firm did not intend to hand it in, and that without it they 
 could not go on or effect any relief of the situation. He 
 announced the delinquent firm to bo Jay Gould's. The 
 members were almost frantic at this announcement of the 
 conduct of that firm, and shouted " Hang them ! Lynch 
 them ! " It was felt the firm were prolonging the troubles 
 perposely to profit by the situation. But nothing could 
 be done. The committee was discharged and the board 
 thrown back upon its wits to get out of the difficulty. 
 The Gold Exchange Bank had now been placed in tb 
 hands of a receiver and the situation had become sadly 
 complicated. 
 
 The gloom of this day was greatly deepened by the 
 announcement of the failure of the great firm of Lock- 
 wood & Co. It was a firm of thirty years' standing and 
 with many millions of capital. They were largely loaded 
 with western railroad stocks and the great sudden decline 
 had swamped them. 
 
 By a rule of the board, if a member fails, his gold, if 
 ;he has any with the bank, may be sold and applied to his 
 accounts, and if he is indebted, a purchase is made for 
 forms sake to meet Ids account, and the loss adjusted
 
 AT LAST. 247 
 
 among his creditors. Under this rule it was now proposed 
 to sell out the account of Jay Gould's firm and then settle 
 the other accounts. To block this more an injunction was 
 obtained by the firm forbidding any such sale, and the 
 board was once more at a stand still. It was now decided 
 that each dealer must settle his Friday's dealings by him- 
 self in the mercantile way, without any reference to a 
 clearing house or dealing by balances. Injunctions 
 against this mode of settlement were issued against all the 
 firms with which Jay Gould's firm had had any dealings j 
 and as the Stock Exchange had voted to deal in gold and 
 had a regulation similar to the Gold Board about selling 
 out the accounts of delinquents, an injunction was also 
 served upon the Stock Exchange forbidding their selling 
 out the accounts of delinquents. And in this manner 
 matters were now tied up. But the brokers went forward 
 settling their own accounts with each other. Soon Jay 
 Gould showed a willingness to fall in with the arrange- 
 ment, and thus, after about ten days, matters were 
 restored to their usual state, the injunctions were re- 
 moved, and business went on. 
 
 The great gold plot was ended and though it had made 
 skeletons thicker in Wall Street than any other event had 
 ever done yet it had been substantially a failure even for 
 its originators. The arch conspirator, the originator of 
 the plot, was Jay Gould. He commenced plotting the 
 scheme early in the summer, and at first boldly designed 
 and attempted to get the Government implicated with him,
 
 248 THB PLOT. 
 
 or at least committed to a non-interference with his plot. 
 Tho ovening Gen. Grant was a passenger on the Fisk line 
 of steamers on his way to the Boston Peace Jubilee, in 
 June, ho was surrounded by Gould, Fisk and several 
 of their friends .and the conversation was turned to the 
 financial policy of the Government. Gould, Fisk and 
 others earnestly maintained that the policy of the Govern- 
 ment ought to be to keep gold high during the fall, while 
 the crops were being moved, that the farmers and pro- 
 ducers might get a good price for their crops and the 
 business of the country generally bo kept in a flourishing 
 condition. And for this purpose, it was argued, the 
 Government should cease its monthly sales of gold, an- 
 nounce that it would appear no more as a seller of coin, 
 and pursue a policy looking to a rise. The specious rea- 
 soning was listened to carefully, but the President in no 
 wise committed himself. A letter advocating the same 
 views, written by Mr. James McHenry, was extensively 
 circulated and wont the rounds of the press under Mr. 
 Gould's manipulations. The first attempt to get some 
 reliable impression as to what the policy of the President 
 would be having entirely failed, it was resolved to ask 
 him the question directly. To perform this brazen office 
 of course Gould selected Mr. Fisk. A few weeks later 
 when the President was on his way to Long Branch on 
 one occasion, Mr. Fisk went down to the boat, approached 
 the President and boldly told him that he and Mr. Gould 
 would like a little private information as to the future
 
 TIIE PRESIDENT APPROACHED. 249 
 
 intention of the Government in the matter of gold. Gen. 
 Grant quietly asked Mr. Fisk if he thought it right that 
 they should be furnished with such private information. 
 Mr. -Fisk is very quick "to read men, and seeing from the 
 President's manner and the nature of his interrogative 
 answer that the desired information could not be had, he 
 madfe a virtue of necessity, admitting that it would not be 
 fair, and gracefully retired. 
 
 Foiled in these direct attempts upon the very fountain- 
 head of authority, Mr. Gould resolved to work indirectly 
 and get information at second hand any way to get the 
 President committed and secure the desired point. For 
 this purpose recourse was now had to Abel E. Corbin, 
 General Grant's brother-in-law. lie seems to have been 
 an exceedingly weak, superannuated man, and he fell in 
 with Mr. Gould's plans and wishes altogether too readily 
 for a hopeful subject. He was eager to join the gold plot, 
 was sure it could be carried out successfully, and repre- 
 sented that he was privy to all the plans of the President 
 and could find out all they wished to know, even if he 
 could not himself control the policy of the Government on 
 the gold~question through his great influence over General 
 Grant. Though a little suspicious of such ready eager- 
 ness and. such grand claims to influence, Gould made u>e 
 of this tool as the best to bo had under the circumstances. 
 In his frequent passages through New York, of course the 
 President was several times at the house of his brother-in- 
 law during the summer, and Corbin represented that he
 
 250 MiSEKTERS, 
 
 had got the President all right in the matter of favoring 
 the plan of keeping gold high while the crops were 
 moving and that Government would not interfere with 
 their plans or break their ring by selling gold. A new 
 Assistant Secretary of the Treasury had to be appointed 
 for New York, and the securing of this place for General 
 Butterfield seemed partially to confirm Corbin's repre- 
 sentations as to influence and assure Gould that his tool 
 was worthy of some reliance. Under these circumstances 
 Gould with W. S. Woodard and Arthur Kimber, who 
 were with him in the plot for a corner, made their first 
 heavy purchases of gold. The Government made the 
 usual monthly sales of gold in August and September. 
 This greatly weakened Gould's reliance upon Corbin, 
 still Gen. Butterfield, the new assistant treasurer, was 
 speculating in gold, looking to an advance, and the 
 chances were that the Government would not interfere 
 with the plot by ordering an extra sale to break a corner. 
 The purchases were pushed forward, and after falling 
 from 137 (near which the clique had made some heavy 
 purchases), to 131, it rallied and went up to 141, Wed- 
 nesday, Sept. 22d. At this point Woodard and Kimber, 
 having lost faith in the success of the more daring scheme 
 of a perfect corner, sold out their gold and retired from 
 the clique. Fisk had not thus far had much to do with 
 the matter, but Gould being now; alarmed by the deser- 
 tion of his confederates and having but little faith in 
 Corbin, was in desperate need of some man of tremen-
 
 insx TO THE RESCUE. 251 
 
 dous nerve and boldness to come to his rescue, and Fisk 
 came in to fill the breach and made his public appearance 
 in the Gold Room on Thursday. Fisk's own characteristic 
 and poetic description of his advent in the affair -was : 
 "When Gould found himself loaded down to the gun- 
 wales and likely to go under, the cussed fellow never said 
 a word. He's too proud for that. But I saw him tearing 
 up bits of paper, and when Gould snips off corners of 
 newspapers and tears 'em up in bits, I knew there was 
 trouble. Then I came in to help. He knows I'd go my 
 bottom dollar on him, and I said to him, Look here, old 
 fellow ! When I was a boy on a farm in Vermont, I'vo 
 seen the old man go out to yoke up Buck and Brindle ; 
 heM lift the heavy yoke on to Brindle's neck, key the bow 
 and then, holding up the other end, motion to old Buck 
 to come under, and old Buck would back off and off, and 
 sometimes before he could persuade him under, the yoke 
 would get too heavy for dad. And Gould, old fellow, 
 Wall Street won't be persuaded and the yoke is getting 
 heavy, and here I am to give you a lift." 
 
 It was determined to push boldly forward in the at- 
 tempt at a corner and at the same time guard this move 
 by resorting to another trick so that even if the Govern- 
 ment should sell gold to break the corner the clique could 
 yet save themselves. This supplementary trick was for 
 two or three dealers of little means but good credit to buy 
 heavily and keep forcing the price up, while other mem- 
 bers of the clique would sell heavily at the high prices
 
 252 BEK7DI1.TIXG CONTRACTS. 
 
 thus created ; then if the corner failed and a panic sent 
 the price down, those of the clique who had bought the 
 enormous sums would fail aud bo unable to keep their 
 contracts and so lose little or nothing, while those who 
 had sold to responsible men at the high rates would 
 make enormous sums, and the clique could then divide 
 the spoil among the members. This is the explanation 
 of Albert Speyers and Belden buying at 160 or above 
 when Gould was selling at about 150. Speyers failed 
 on contracts for $47,000,000 and Belden on contracts 
 for $50,000,000. 
 
 After the collapse Fisk repudiated large numbers of 
 purchases made on his account at the high prices, saying 
 they wero unauthorized, but insisted on the execution 
 of all sales made for him. Many suits for large sums 
 wero brought against him to enforce the contract of pur- 
 chases made by his brokers and the Grand Opera House 
 property was attached in the proceedings. The suits 
 have been worried through a year and a half of delay 
 
 and no decision or trial has yet been obtained by the 
 
 , . ,.. 
 plaintiffs. 
 
 *' ''III '" "'I.! 1 - ' L- 1 ' . ,' 
 
 For quite a time after the panic Mr. Fisk remained 
 closely barricaded in the Grand Opera House, at first 
 because of the threats against him, afterwards to avoid 
 being served with papers in the suits commenced against 
 him. During this time the whole region of the Opera 
 House was kept under complete espionage. If any one 
 
 was seen standing about near there with no apparent 
 
 '- - ' ' '
 
 "QOJTE WHERE THE WOODBINE TWHTETH." 253 
 
 business, or looking up at the Opera House -windows and 
 doors, ho was immediately approached by a small squad 
 of Mr. Fisk's minions and warned to take the next car up 
 or down town or quit the vicinity at once a warning 
 which tho recipient .invariably deemed it wise to heed. 
 In this way the service of legal documents was eluded 
 for a long time. 
 
 Soon after tho collapse and when his part in the 
 affair leaked out, Mr. Corbin was suddenly non est, and 
 was rumored to have gone to Kentucky. Some allusion 
 to his whereabouts being made in Mr. Fisk's presence, 
 he made the characteristic remark that enjoyed a nine 
 days' celebrity " He's gone where tho woodbine twin- 
 eth." 
 
 The most persistent and scandalous efforts were made 
 to implicate tho President in the gold speculation. All 
 tho haberdasher bills and private notes of Mrs. Grant 
 for tho months proceeding were pried into to give color- 
 ing to the insinuation, but all in vain. Congress 
 appointed a committee to investigate tho charge and it 
 was proven to be utterly baseless. Fisk, Gould and 
 Corbin were examined by the committee. Corbin said 
 that when ho went to the Opera House, after tho panic, 
 Fist said to him,' " 0, Gould has sunk right down under 
 it. You won't seo anything left of him but a pair of eyes 
 and a suit of clothes.''
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 TUB COLONEL THE GALLANT NINTH THE FIRST MOONLIGHT 
 r.VHADE - THE TWELVE TEMPTATIONS AND A BUTTEE BILL 
 - IN CAMP AT LONG BRANCH AT BUNKER HILL SENSA- 
 TION AMONG THE PURITANS. 
 
 In the latter part of March, 1870, rumors began to 
 circulate in New York that the many-sided Mr. Fisk 
 was about to create another new sensation and appear 
 in still another entirely new role- that of Colonel of the 
 Ninth Regiment National Guard State of Now York. 
 At first tho journalists treated the rumor as a jest and 
 ridiculed the idea as they ridiculed the idea of the Boston 
 Peace Jubilee a year before. And the members of the 
 National Guard especially scouted the story as too absurd 
 for anything but a laugh, deeming it impossible that a 
 
 regiment with such an excellent war record would be 
 
 .-.- 'j ; 'K.-; f> *-'O i 'i. -^ * T --'i 'o Li:Uj '.''' ' 
 
 guilty of such a breach of esprit de corps as to go outside 
 
 of its own organization and select a civilian, and one of 
 Mr". Fisk's character, for its commander. But confirma- 
 tion followed upon rumor so speedily that the news soon
 
 HIS ELECTION. 255 
 
 ceased to be regarded as a jest and on the 7th. of April all 
 doubts in the matter were put at rest by his election, .-.u 
 
 The regiment was not in a flourishing condition, either 
 in numbers or financially, and the rank and file were 
 very desirous of adopting some means of filling their 
 ranks and their treasury and securing for their organiza- 
 tion a prominent standing in the National Guard. The 
 readiest and easiest means of accomplishing this purpose 
 seemed to be to capture Admiral Fisk and transfer him 
 from the navy to the land forces as their Colonel. The 
 Admiral did not at all object to being thus captured, but 
 on the contrary seemed on what, at a Methodist prayer- 
 meeting, would be called the " anxious seat." 
 
 Lieut-Colonel Braine, a most excellent officer who had 
 served with the regiment through the war, was first 
 elected to fill the vacant Colonelcy. He was by every con- 
 sideration entitled to the place and in every way worthy 
 of it. The commissioned officers felt this and could not 
 disregard his claims, but his election seemed a great .dis- 
 appointment to the privates. They loved and honored him, 
 but they had set their hearts upon the Prince of Erie as 
 the one man who could speedily lift them over all their 
 difficulties into a flourishing condition and give them the 
 most good times. In deference to what was thus known 
 to be the desire of his men, Colonel Braine immediately 
 resigned his new office, was reflected Lieutenant-Colonel, 
 and Admiral 1'isk was elected Colonel. 
 
 Tha event created no little, surprise in military oirclei
 
 256 
 
 and was variously commented on by the press. Many 
 surmises were indulged as to the remote designs and con- 
 sequences of this ne\v move, some affecttng to see in it a 
 scheme of dark portent and a determination to have a 
 band of reliable men ready at command in the event of an- 
 other affair like the Albany & Susquehanna railroad war. 
 To be the subject of such absurd suspicion is the price Mr. 
 Fisk has to pay for the character he has achieved. In 
 seeking the Colonelcy of the Ninth he merely had the same 
 ambition that any other man would have and sought it 
 for the opportunity it gave him of gratifying the desire of 
 being conspicuous and making a sensation which he had 
 already manifested in so many other ways. 
 
 Though he had never had any experience in military 
 matters, not even to play soldier with broomstick and 
 paper chapeau when a boy, he assumed his new charge 
 with an unhesitating confidence, thinking there was not 
 much in its requirements beyond a uniform and a sword. 
 At his first meeting with his command ho freely ventilated 
 his ideas on tho military art and the needs of the regi- 
 ment and at once announced his intentions and will in an 
 imperious tone. The regiment mustered something loss 
 than two hundred and fifty men when they first assembled 
 to receive their new Colonel. Feeling that money was 
 tho great motive power here as elsewhere, ho immediately 
 offered a prizo of $500 for the company that would secure 
 tho greatest number of recruits by tho 1st of July. There 
 was one letter in the regiment wholly vacant A new
 
 TEE PIBST MOONLIGHT PARADE. 257 
 
 company was immediately organized to fill this vacant 
 letter and constituted the special Fisk Guard. Recruiting 
 went briskly forward and so many of the Colonel's re- 
 tainers in the various departments of Erie enrolled them- 
 selves under the banners of the Ninth that the lonesomo 
 appearance of its thin ranks quickly disappeared and the 
 lines lengthened rapidly. On the 1 4th of April the Ninth 
 marched out for its first moonlight parade under its new 
 commander. The event had been looked forward to with 
 the peculiar interest that now attaches to everything that 
 Mr. Fisk does. It was a lovely moonlight eveuing and 
 the Colonel led his regiment past the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
 Delmonico's and the numerous club houses on Fifth 
 Avenue. He was gazed at everywhere with the usual 
 curiosity and interest and the spectacle excited a signifi- 
 cant smile and many sallies of wit from the contemptuous 
 grandees who looked down from club-room windows. 
 During the whole of this march he acted (what he really 
 is to the regiment), only as a figure-head, all the orders 
 being given by the Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
 The next grand show of the Ninth was May 13th, when 
 they were taken to the Grand Opera House to witness 
 "The Twelve Temptations." Owing to the elaborate 
 toilet of the Colonel for the. occasion he was nearly an 
 hour behind time and the audience were kept waiting in 
 their seats till near nine o'clock before the curtain rose. 
 Then the Manager-Colonel came marching in with his 
 command and his ballet commenced dancing to amuse bis
 
 258 AN OFFENSIVE SUITER BILL. 
 
 soldier boys. As he stood at the grand entrance, drink- 
 ing deeply of the glory of the occasion, his warriors filing 
 past him to their choice seats, a constable stepped up and 
 served a summons and complaint upon him. He glanced 
 at the legal document and found a grocer had sued him 
 for a butter bill of $41.25. He became exceedingly irate 
 and indignant when he found out the nature of the docu- 
 ment, stamped it under his feet and stalked off to his 
 private box with a most lordly 36-inch stride, declaring it 
 a trick patched ,up by some one to insult him in the 
 presence of his men. The soldiers saw that something had 
 been done to offend their Colonel's dignity and deported 
 themselves in such a way that the constable serving the 
 papers found it advisable to get out of the Grand Opera 
 House as soon as possible. The soothing strains of the 
 orchestra, the lively and graceful pas of his favorite dan- 
 seuse, the bewildering mazes of the ravishing ballet, the 
 wonderful gyrations of Herr Von Ajax, the grand transfor- 
 mation scene at the close, all delighted his brave men won- 
 derfully, but their influence could not recall the Colonel 
 to his wonted spirits and make him forget that little 
 incident of the butter bill. After the performance he 
 entertained his officers and some of his chief danseuses at 
 a sumptuous entertainment in his elegant banqueting hall. 
 Recruiting progressed quite successfully and by the 
 first of July the regiment numbered about seven hundred 
 men and the subject of a summer encampment began to 
 be considered. Long Branch is now the gayest of our
 
 OK THE BEACH AT LONG BRANCH. 259 
 
 seaside watering places ; at Long Branch Mr. Fisk has 
 his summer residence ; to Long Branch runs Mr. Fisk's 
 floating palace, the " Plymouth Eock ;" and to Long 
 Branch it was decided to go for the summer encampment. 
 They were to go into camp for ten days for instruction, 
 the Colonel informed them, and not for fun. The strictest 
 military regulations of camp life were to be observed and 
 the men were notified beforehand not to ask for leaves of 
 absence during the time, as none would be granted. 
 Saturday, August 20th, was fixed upon for the day of 
 departure. The morning dawned bright and beautiful and 
 the boys of the gallant Ninth were seen gathering from 
 every direction for the grand event. The regiment was 
 ordered to be in line at eight o'clock, but the usual delays 
 incident to such occasions were experienced and it was 
 nine o'clock before the line was formed. The Colonel 
 appeared mounted upon a grand chestnut charger and 
 wore an elegant uniform said to have cost two thousand 
 dollars. As he took his place at the head of the column 
 he made a much better figure than had been generally 
 anticipated. He had now learned enough of the com- 
 mands to start and halt his regiment, so he was now able 
 to put them in motion without being prompted by Colonel 
 Braine. As they marched down Broadway the sidewalks 
 and windows were crowded on either side. The regiment 
 made a fine appearance and marched well, but the 
 Colonel was the chief object of interest and the centre of 
 all the curiosity. They were late in reaching the wharf
 
 260 PLATING "SOGEBS." 
 
 and the Plymouth. Eock had to wait half an hour or so 
 beyond her appointed time for starting. As she put out 
 into the stream some vessel in the bay fired a salute 
 which she returned and then steamed on her way and 
 made up her lost time before reaching Sandy Hook. 
 
 When the end of the journey was reached and the 
 Adjutant had formed his regiment in line preparatory to 
 marching to the camp ground, a most ludicrous scene 
 occurred. The Colonel wished to make a little prelim- 
 inary display and straighten out the muscles that had 
 been cramped during the ride ; but he knew not the 
 commands which it now devolved upon him to give, so his 
 Lieutenant-Colonel was placed close behind to prompt him 
 in an undertone. The Colonel quickly repeated the first 
 order to his men without making the proper pause 
 between the warning and order. This naturally caused 
 an awkward execution of the order by the men. As 
 soon as he had repeated the first order, Colonel Braine 
 prompted him on the next that he might have it ready 
 when the proper time came ; but without waiting at all 
 he repeated it to the men as soon as he caught it him- 
 self, without observing whether they were ready for it or 
 not, and in the same unmilitary-like way in which he 
 had given the first. The consequence was a still more 
 awkward exhibition on the part of the men and a laugh. 
 This slightly disconcerted the gallant Colonel and his 
 only thought now was to catch and repeat the commands. 
 He deemed it wholly the regiment's business and none of
 
 CAMP GOULD. 261 
 
 his how they were executed if he only got them out 
 With all his attention turned behind him to hear his 
 prompter, he forgot his men entirely. They had but 
 half finished " Shoulder arms !" when " Right shoulder 
 shift arms !" came upon them and they 'were thrown into 
 utter confusion. If the Colonel did not understand the 
 prompter exactly he blurted out something sounding as 
 nearly like it as possible, like the boy in the Sunday 
 school. The result was that every one set up a great 
 laugh at his Highness, which he turned in the best way 
 by joining in it himself, and turned over the regiment to 
 the orders of the Adjutant and rode off to the camp at its 
 head. The march of course lead it by all the large hotels 
 and here as in the city the regiment, or the Colonel, 
 created a great sensation. 
 
 The camp was very elegantly laid out and was 
 christened "Camp Gould" in compliment to the one 
 single man who shares every secret of Mr. Pisk's breast, 
 who has been his one trusted, inseparable companion and 
 confederate through all his noted career, and on whom he 
 says he would "go his bottom dollar." It was in the 
 midst of the almost unprecedented^ hot period of that 
 summer that they reached their camp. The first thing 
 the Colonel did on reaching his grand tent was to doff all 
 his fine feathers instantly and make himself as comforable 
 as possible. His elegant new uniform had absorbed an 
 immense quantity of perspiration from him that day and 
 he realized that "sogering" was not all fun. He felt
 
 262 STBIPPBD Of HIS QAtTDT PLTTXAffS. 
 
 with Sidney Smith that it would be very comfortable to 
 take off his flesh and sit in his bones for a time. Having 
 reduced himself to a condition of entire dishabille, he pro- 
 ceeded on a tour of inspection round the camp to acquaint 
 himself with the condition and wants of his men. They 
 were very much amused to see their commander so 
 greatly changed, the peacock stripped of ajl his gaudy 
 plumage, and this tour of inspection made the camp jolly 
 in the extreme. This, however, was only the beginning 
 of the humors of the day. As the Colonel approached his 
 marquee on completing the circuit of the camp, he was 
 met by almost all the band men, who were Germans, and 
 respectfully petitioned him that they be supplied with 
 lager for a beverage. But the Colonel was determined OB 
 military rigor while in camp and answered " Oh, no ! we 
 brought you down hear to play music, not to drink lager 
 beer. You can't play that on me!" But the Teutons 
 pleaded that their throats were parched from blowing sa 
 much on their instruments, and finally the kind-hearted 
 Colonel relaxed so far as to let them have some lager. 
 This delegation had hardly retired when another son 
 of the Fatherland appeared, saluted the Colonel, and 
 said, "I vants to go out." "You can't have a pass from 
 me," was the reply. "Den me goes midout it! I bet 
 you ten dollar me goes out ven I pleazhe !" ejaculated the 
 insubordinate Teuton, and the Colonel was looking "very 
 much puzzled what to do with such a troublesome cus- 
 tomer when the Adjutant came to his rescue by putting
 
 CHASING PKSERTEUS. 263 
 
 the man under arrest and marching liirn off towards the 
 guard-house. As soon as the Colonel divined the nature 
 of this act of discipline he shouted "Adjutant, put that 
 man in the guard-house." In his new and close quarters 
 the German was soon joined by two other men who had 
 been caught attempting to break bounds. After the party 
 had been kept in confinement for an hour or two they 
 became penitent and asked to be taken to the Colonel to 
 obtain his pardon. As they came up in front of the mar- 
 quee the Colonel fixing a determined eye on the obstrep- 
 erous Teuton said " Well, old boy ! don't you think you'd 
 've lost your ten dollars if you'd made that bet ? I guess 
 you would !" Then addressing himself to all the numer- 
 ous applicants around him for passes to go out and those 
 who had been caught attempting to run out, he continued, 
 "Now look a-here, no chap is going to leave without a 
 pass from me. This camp ought to be like a country 
 grave-yard no one who is outside should want to come 
 in and no one who is inside can get out." With this he 
 dismissed them to their tents. But as soon as the dark- 
 ness set in nearly half the men were trying to steal out of 
 camp to see what was going on among the gay world of 
 fashion. The Colonel had been suspicious of this and so 
 was on the look-out. He joined personally in pursuit of 
 deserters and chasing them afforded him great fun for a 
 time, but the noveUy of it soon wore off as in his other 
 pleasures. He was, however, determined to establish a 
 system of thorough discipline, and so spent the greater
 
 264 AT DRESS PABADB. 
 
 part of the night chasing deserters and bringing them 
 back to camp. "Why!" said he, "how the deuce could 
 I teach these men all I know about military science if 
 they are all the way from here to West End ?" 
 
 The men soon settled down quietly under their discip- 
 line, all worked smoothly and the ten days were made 
 what the Colonel announced they were io be a period of 
 instruction. And he applied himself to the schooling as 
 rigorously as he did the men. The ludicrous predicament 
 in which he had found himself on arriving had showa. 
 him that there were some further requisites for a Colonel- 
 besides a uniform and a sword, and he devoted himself 
 vigorously to mastering the manual of arms and the more 
 elementary evolutions. The first dress parade was rather- 
 awkward, like the previous display, but both men and 
 commander improved very perceptably each day, and at 
 the close of the ten days they presented the appearance of 
 a well drilled regiment. Their dress- parade was the fea- 
 ture of the day at Long Branch while they remained. All 
 the company at the hotels poured out to witness it ; car- 
 riages crowded around the encampment as far as any view 
 could be obtained, and the pageant was one such as is 
 rarely witnessed Mr. Fisk, as ever, still being the great 
 centre of all the curiosity and attraction. 
 
 Many rumors were afloat as to grand occasions that 
 were going to be during the stay of the Ninth at the 
 Branch. The Governor was going to spend several days 
 there out of special compliment to the regiment, and join
 
 BO* AT THE CONTIltEjrTAt. 265 
 
 hi Its festivities and be its guest, as it were. General 
 Grant, who has a cottage here, was to smile upon the en- 
 campment, and many distinguished men were going to be 
 present with their ladies. But all these rumors ended in 
 disappointment. Governor Hoffman did indeed make a 
 flying visit to the encampment, but declined even to review 
 the regiment, saying he preferred to see dress parade, and 
 returned to the city the same day. 
 
 These little silent, negative slights were felt rather 
 keenly, and it was then fully realized that great as was 
 the attention the regiment attracted it was chiefly from 
 causes not at all flattering. To compensate for some of 
 the disappointments a grand ball in honor of the Ninth 
 was gotten up at the Continental Hotel. The regiment 
 took Its meals at this hotel during its whole stay. It was 
 announced that various distinguished citizens and mili- 
 tary men were to be present at this ball. The appointed 
 night came on. The dining hall was speedily metamor- 
 phosed into a grand ball room very tastefully decorated. 
 The hour for the ball to open arrived, but with it came 
 none of the distinguished individuals whose presence on 
 the occasion had been foretold on rather apocryphal 
 authority. When the Colonel arrived and made his usual 
 inquiry "Well, how goes everything?" he found the 
 burden of the occasion still rested on him. Nothing 
 daunted, he proceeded to open the ball quite as contented 
 as though all the distinguished guests wished for had been 
 present. The ladies were lar^ftly in the minority on the
 
 occasion, so the soldier boys had to act as wall flowers. 
 The music was very fine, there being some fifty pieces in 
 the band. The affair passed off quite pleasantly and all 
 had. a good time, but it lacked what its promoters would 
 have been most glad to have the smiles of the elite. 
 
 The last dress parade was on Sunday. When the manual 
 had been gone through with, the order " Parade rest 1" 
 was given and with the men in this position the Colonel 
 addressed them as follows : 
 
 . " Officers and soldiers of the Ninth Regiment : By this 
 time to-morrow evening there will be nothing left of Camp 
 Gould but the ground on which our tents now stand. 
 To-morrow we shall be on the march and therefore I avail 
 myself of the present opportunity to address you. This is 
 our last night in camp and I cannot dismiss you without 
 expressing the pride and satisfaction I feel at 'your con- 
 duct. You have behaved well as soldiers and I am proud 
 of you. You have behaved well as citizens and I thank 
 you. During the ten days you have been encamped I 
 have not received a single complaint from any quarter 
 from the residents of Long Brunch or from the visitors ; 
 and considering that we left New York nearly seven hun- 
 dred strong and have had an average of about five hun- 
 dred men per day here, this is more than I expected. I 
 certainly anticipated a little trouble from outside, but I 
 rejoice to say that up to this moment I have not received 
 a single complaint. Gentlemen, this is something to be 
 proud of and I cannot find words to express my thanks to 
 you one and all. The few days I have spent here have 
 been more to me than so many months. I have learned 
 to know you better and have realized the responsibility of
 
 "HONE so POOH TO BO HER EEVEBENCE." 267 
 
 my position. Q-entlemen, I am. proud to command such a 
 regiment and it shall be my study to make the Ninth the 
 model regiment of the National Guard. Once again I 
 thank you for the attention you have paid to your duties 
 and in view of the progress made I am. sure none of you 
 will regret the time spent in Camp Gould." 
 
 As the day for breaking up of the encampment and 
 returning to the city approached, various rumors were 
 afloat as to the compliment of an escort being extended to 
 the Ninth by some one of the National Guard regiments 
 on its arrival in New York. Some even had it that the 
 arif-locratic Seventh was to show Colonel Fisk this court- 
 esj. In due time the Plymouth Rock reached her pier 
 bringing the boys of the Ninth for her freight. A dense 
 crowd packed all the available space in the vicinity of the 
 pier and it was nearly an hour before the police could 
 clear sufficient room for the regiment to land and form a 
 line. But in all the crowd there was no escort of honor. 
 The Ninth was alone. Among all the regiments of the 
 National Guard, "none so poor to do her reverence." Such 
 a graceful act would have been highly appreciated by both 
 Colonel and men, but as none cared to offer it they felt 
 quite able - to paddle their own canoe. The regiment 
 formed and started. Everywhere on their line of march, 
 up Chambers Street, Broadway down 23d Street to 
 the Grand Opera House the crowd was as dense as at 
 the pier. Sidewalks, windows and every point from which 
 a view of the Colonel could be had, were packed with
 
 268 BIDING trp BBOADWAY. 
 
 people anxious to get a sight, but every face wore a pecu- 
 liar kind of smile that no other regiment excites. The 
 Colonel sat his noble horse well and made a fine appear- 
 ance. He was as self-conscious as when he used to ride 
 a broomstick, to his mother's great amusement. As he 
 passed the large hotels on the line of march, the little ner- 
 vous care he took to have everything about his position, 
 carriage and appearance exactly to his liking, showed that 
 he understood the chief cause of all this curiosity and 
 whence that peculiar smile. At length the Grand Opera 
 House was reached and the march was ended. With a 
 few characteristic words from the Colonel, producing a 
 laugh as he rode along the lines, the regiment was soon 
 dismissed, evidently to the great relief of both Colonel and 
 men, for it had been scorchingly hot and they had all 
 suffered much from the heat on the homeward march. 
 
 The next public appearance of the Ninth was at a ball 
 at the Academy of Music in February. The "Charity 
 Ball" having become one of the great events of the 
 season at the Academy, and the Americus Club having 
 had a very grand affair in the way of a ball at the same 
 place, Colonel Fisk thought the Ninth should not be 
 behind the times in this respect and so shortly after the 
 two others had occurred the grand Ninth Regiment Ball 
 was announced as the next thing in order in that line. 
 But the Charity Ball and the Americus Club were not 
 shorn of their laurels. The Ninth had a nice time 
 pretty much to themselves the whole air of the occasion
 
 GOING TO BT7NKEE HILL. 269 
 
 being the same as characterized their ball at Long 
 Branch. 
 
 The Plymouth Rock having been brought into service 
 for the purposes of the regiment last year, and a change 
 being desirable for this, it occurred to the Colonel that it 
 would be a nice idea to take his regiment up to Boston by 
 his Sound steamers, and create a sensation at " the Hub " 
 by displaying his splendors at the celebration of Bunker 
 Hill on the 17th of June. With this view he indited the 
 following letter to the Mayor of Boston : 
 
 New York, April 5th, 1871. 
 Hon. William Gaston : 
 
 Dear Sir This will introduce to you Major J. B. Hitch- 
 cock, Captain A. G. Fuller and Lieutenant A. P. Bacon, 
 officers of my regiment and the committee appointed by 
 the board to visit your city and confer with you in regard 
 to a proposed trip on the 17th of June proximo. They 
 are empowered to make all arrangements in behalf of the 
 Ninth Eegiment, and I would respectfully ask that the 
 hospitality of the city be extended to the regiment 
 I am, with much respect, 
 
 JAMES FISK, JK., 
 
 Colonel commanding. 
 
 The Mayor laid the matter before the City Government, 
 when considerable discussion arose, in the course of which 
 Alderman Cowdin said he understood Colonel Fisk did 
 not intend it should cost the city a dollar, the compliment 
 only being desired. Alderman Plumer said he did not 
 know anything about the regiment but did know some- 
 thing of its Colonel, and he did not think it- would be
 
 270 A COLD SHOTJLDBK. 
 
 creditable for the city to do anything in relation to the 
 matter. The subject was then " laid on the table " by a 
 decisive vote and given no more consideration. How the 
 letter was regarded by the Bostonians may be accurately 
 inferred from the following comments of the Boston Daily 
 Advertiser : 
 
 " The action of the Colonel of the Ninth New York 
 Regiment, in asking for an official reception of his corps 
 by the City of Boston, marks a new era in the history of 
 effrontery. Such compliments are generally supposed to 
 be tendered by the host, rather than asked for by the 
 guest ; and when the would-be guest lets it be understood 
 that ' it shall not cost the city a dollar,' the transition from 
 the sublime to the ridiculous is at once reached. When 
 the City of Boston tenders her hospitalities she does it on 
 no mean scale, and will be slow to enter into any arrange- 
 ment which smacks of those silver-plate presentations 
 wherein the recipient pays for the present." 
 
 Notwithstanding this rebuff, the doughty Colonel was 
 not in the least moved from his purpose but went forward 
 with his preparations, utterly indifferent whether he was 
 welcome or not. Boston had got to see him in his elegant 
 uniform and mounted on his proud war charger. He 
 even manifested a greater contempt for the Boston " City 
 Fathers " than they had manifested for him, by addressing 
 the Mayor a second letter, as follows : 
 
 New York, April 27, 1871. 
 Hon. William Gaston, Mayor of Boston, Mass. : 
 
 Dear Sir : On the 5th inst. I addressed to you a letter, 
 asking an 'extension of hospitality to the Ninth Regiment,
 
 BOSTON'S CITY FATHERS SNUBBED. 271 
 
 New York State National Guard, which letter, I under- 
 stand, was delivered to you by a committee of the regi- 
 ment and referred by you to the Board of Aldermen. I 
 infer from the published proceedings that the letter, which 
 was simply designed to obtain your official permission for 
 the visit of my regiment, was misconstrued into an appli- 
 cation for special favors at the expense of your city, a per- 
 version for which there was no warrant and no excuse. 
 The reason of my application to you was that (as I was 
 informed) the law of your State did not allow the entry of 
 an armed force without the sanction of the Federal Gov- 
 ernment, or of the Chief Magistrate of the State or city to 
 be entered. Having waited a sufficient time for your de- 
 cision, and my regiment not having received from you the 
 courtesy of a reply, I have applied, in the name of the 
 regiment, to His Excellency the Governer of the Common- 
 wealth for permission to enter your city, and he has most 
 courteously and promptly granted the request. I beg, 
 therefore, that you will relieve the Common Council from 
 further consideration of the subject, as their action or in- 
 action is a matter of perfect indifference to the gentlemen 
 under my command. 
 
 * ., J have the honor to be your obedient servant, 
 
 JAMES FISK, JR., 
 
 Colonel commanding. 
 
 The reply upon which this little triumphant flourish 
 was based, expressed the Governor's surprise that such 
 permission should have been thought necessary, it being 
 the first instance, of such a request, and stated that, 
 though he regarded it as a wholly unnecessary formality, 
 he willingly granted the permission asked for. This
 
 272 A. COMIC PREDICAMENT. 
 
 crumb of comfort, small as it was, served the Colonel's 
 purpose of coming out from behind his indefinite phrase 
 with flying colors, snubbing his snubbers, and informing 
 the city fathers of Boston that they were a very stupid set. 
 Having thus mercilessly crushed and humiliated the 
 Puritan magistrates, pricked the bubble of their arro- 
 gance and pretension, and made them feel how very in- 
 significant they and their actions were to the great and 
 good like himself, the redoubtable Colonel proceeded 
 with his preparations for entering the citadel of "the 
 modern Athens" with his "armed force," determined 
 that Bunker Hill should not be robbed of its crowning 
 honor nor the intellectual citizens of " the Hub " be de- 
 prived of the rare privilege and pleasure of seeing the 
 great Prince Erie mounted on his splendid black war 
 horse, preceded by his unequalled band of one hundred 
 musicians and followed by his regiment of braves, no 
 matter how long-eared the proclivities of their civic rulers. 
 But when the preparations were all completed and the 
 day drew nigh for the departure of the gallant Ninth 
 upon its pilgrimage to the monument that commemorates 
 defeat, the Colonel suddenly found himself thrown up 
 against the contumacious Mayor and Aldermen again in 
 a most unexpected manner, and was forced to eat humble 
 pie in the shape of having to ask further favors of the 
 men to whom he had said, with sublime military hauteur, 
 "your action or inaction is a matter of perfect indiffer- 
 ence to the gentlemen under my command."
 
 "HOW IS THAT FOB HIGH?" 273 
 
 The regiment was to be in Boston on Sunday. The 
 Colonel was familiar with Boston sentiment as to the 
 proper manner of keeping the Sabbath, and manifested a 
 commendable regard for that sentiment by resolving that 
 while in Boston he and his would do as Bostonians do. 
 Accordingly he had put it down on his programme 
 marked out for the visit that on Sunday the regiment, 
 with the one hundred musicians and the black war horse, 
 would march from their hotel to the Common, there to 
 hold such religious services as to their chaplain should 
 seem good. But the Common is under the special ward 
 of the Mayor and Aldermen and right well do they 
 guard the sacred trust. Those two keys said to have 
 been received in direct line from St. Peter are not more 
 reverently held by Pius Ninth than is the open sesame of 
 this revered enclosure by its depositaries. At the eleventh 
 hour Colonel Fisk learned that he could not march his 
 regiment upon that Boston Common, even to say their 
 prayers, without permission from the very men whose 
 ears he had recently boxed so contemptuously. To most 
 men this situation would have been somewhat embarrass- 
 ing. To Colonel Fisk it was only comical. It is one of 
 his characteristics that what would be matter for embar- 
 rassment to most men in their false modesty, he regards 
 as only a good joke and laughs away with the classic in- 
 terrogation " How is that for high ?" With the magnan- 
 imity of true greatness, he bore the Mayor and Aldermen 
 no malice for the past, and the difference of the parties
 
 " BICHA.ED 8 HTM8BU AGAUC. 
 
 in worldly station, he thought, precluded all possibility of 
 there being on this occasion a feeling of anything like 
 embarrassment that infallible sign of low breeding. 
 Therefore when he learned the necessities of the case he 
 experienced none of the qualms of vulgar natures, but 
 immediately sat dpwn boiling over with humor, seized 
 his huge gold pen and indited the third epistle of James 
 to the Bostonians, to wit : 
 
 New York, June 2, 1871. 
 Hon. William Gtaston, Mayor of Boston : 
 
 Dear Sir : As I am informed that your city ordinances 
 prohibit the entry of any regiment upon Boston Common 
 without permission from the Mayor, I respectfully request 
 permission for the use of the Common by the Ninth Regi- 
 ment, N.GKS.N.Y., on the 17th instant for a dress parade, 
 and on the 18th for public religious services. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 JAMES FJSX, Jr., Colonel. 
 
 -"' ^ iii.-J <.' jrr.K :*.::; 'm^sb^i 
 
 The reception of this letter was the occasion of quite an 
 
 unwonted flutter in the City Hall. It was immediately 
 laid before the Aldermen and its effect upon that body 
 was magical. Their candle so ruthlessly blown out by 
 the previous letter, was suddenly blown into new life and 
 light again. The aldermanic dicky, which wilted com- 
 pletely and bowed its head in shame under the scathing 
 . snub of April 27th, was instantly given several vigorous 
 jerks and bidden to stand up straight and stiff once more, 
 and the municipal body suddenly exhibited signs of a re-
 
 THE SHBINB OF THE HUB. 275 
 
 eurrected self-respect after the month of humiliation with 
 its nose upon the Erie grindstone. But 
 
 " Alas for the rarity 
 Of Christian charity 
 Under the sunl" 
 
 The Boston Aldermen displayed a sad poverty in contrast 
 with Mr. Fisk's great wealth in this highest of the Chris- 
 tian graces. Unlike him, they could not forgive and for- 
 get, but felt sulky and were disposed to nurse malice in 
 their bosoms. On receiving this evidence that they were 
 of some little consequence, even to Prince Erie and "the 
 gentlemen under his command," they became unduly 
 elated by so great a compliment and were determined to 
 make their importance felt. That Boston Common, 
 whilom the pride of " the Hub," the object to which Bos- 
 tonians delighted to call the attention of New Yorkers be- 
 fore the days of Central Park ; that Boston Common with 
 its big elm, upon which they used to hang witches " in 
 good old colony times;" that Boston Common with its 
 Frog Pond whereon all Bostonians sent out their first 
 ships across summer seas and first experienced the pecu- 
 liar sensation and phenomenon of seeing stars by daylight 
 during their earliest graceful performances on skates ; that 
 Boston Common with its "hoop skirt" gate bearing the 
 State arms with the motto "sub libertate quetem"; that 
 Boston Common with its parade ground whereon all 
 Bostonians have played marbles and cat and ball, and 
 expended their weekly allowance of pennies upon giber-
 
 276 MOMENTABY BA-CKSLIDIITO. 
 
 alters in their youth, where Webster made his last 
 speech, where Gilmore first used cannon as a musical 
 instrument, whence little red balloons and big black bal- 
 loons had often gone up, to the infinite glee of little 
 Bostonians and their nurses, where pin-wheels had 
 whizzed and every species of pyrotechnic had fizzed, 
 gyrated and gone out after its kind, to commemorate 
 many a "glorious Fourth," that sacred Boston Common, 
 Baid these pious venerating Aldermen, was not to be 
 lightly profaned by the tread of unholy feet and the en- 
 trance of an armed force of Gothamites. While discuss- 
 ing the matter they had quite a little tempest in a 
 teapot, repeated the sneers indulged at Colonel Fisk 
 when considering his first letter, and that part of the 
 request asking for the use of the Common on Sunday for 
 religious exercises was refused on the ground that such a 
 Colonel with such a war horse, such a band of musicians 
 and such a regiment, would draw together a large crowd 
 of the lowest and most disorderly element in the city and 
 result in a desecration of the Sabbath and the Common. 
 
 When the Colonel was informed of the treatment his 
 last request had received, he suddenly forgot the nature 
 of the matter under consideration, put on his most war- 
 like expression of countenance and indulged in expletives 
 not generally deemed religious. Determined to bring 
 these aldermanic noses to the grindstone again and win 
 another triumph over the Boston magnates, the big pen 
 was again called into requisition to- indite- a telegram :
 
 WABM OVER RELIGION. 277 
 
 New York, Jtme 13 9 P.M. 
 To his Honor the Mayor of Charlestown, Mass. : 
 
 I am at this moment in receipt of a telegram from Bos- 
 ton announcing that the Ninth Regiment are denied the 
 privilege of holding religious services in any public place 
 in Boston except the street, on Sunday next. Will you 
 allow the regiment to march on Sabbath morning to your 
 hospitable city, and there hold religious services in such 
 suitable place as you may designate? If Monument 
 Square or the grounds surrounding Bunker Hill Monu- 
 ment are subject to your control, allow us to suggest .one 
 of those places. Please answer by telegraph at earliest 
 moment, in order that a committee may confer with you 
 on Thursday. 
 
 ^ JAMES FISK, Jr., 
 
 Colonel Commanding. 
 
 But the result of this flank movement was not so bril- 
 liant as the previous one, for it not only gave no oppor- 
 tunity to snub his snubbers, as the Governor's reply was 
 made to do, but it drove a new arrow of mortification, 
 and led to further forgetfulness that the subject was a 
 religious one. The Charlestown Mayor placed the matter 
 before the Aldermen and after considering it they 
 
 Itesolved, That the board esteems it a pleasure to grant 
 any military organization all the courtesies and civilities 
 becoming an intelligent community. But in considering 
 the request of Colonel James Fisk, Jr., for permission to 
 hold religious services in the open air with his regiment 
 on Sunday the 18th instant, while we respect the object 
 of the request, we feel that the crowd and confusion neces-
 
 278 A. BACK DOOR TABD AND MANY CITIZENS. 
 
 sarily attending a parade would certainly ill accord with 
 the proper observance of the Sabbath. And, therefore, 
 as a matter of order and regularity we deem it inexpedient 
 to grant the permission desired. 
 
 As soon as this resolution was passed some enthusiastic 
 individuals, thinking this conduct to visitors ungracious, 
 commenced scouring the city in search of some place to 
 tender to the valiant Colonel, that he might not be turned 
 away without saying his prayers. After great effort a 
 vacant patch of land, too poor for earthly use, was found 
 and made the subject of the following telegram : 
 
 Charlestown, June 15, 1871. 
 Colonel James Fisk, Jr., commanding Ninth Regiment 
 
 N. Y. N. G., New York : " 
 
 Near the foot of Bunker Hill, and approximate to the 
 spot where the British hosts landed to make their assault 
 upon the redoubts, ninety-six years ago, there is a suita- 
 ble lot of ground for your regiment to worship on Sun- 
 day, the 18th instant, which is tendered you by 
 
 MANY CITIZENS OF CHAKLESTOWN. 
 
 Either "many citizens" was. too indefinite an address 
 to reply to, or the Colonel was too much disgusted with 
 the Puritanic spirit he had fallen upon to waste more of 
 his valuable time upon such antediluvians, for the tender 
 of "many citizens" was aot accepted, and the Colonel 
 was forced to set out on his pilgrimage ere the religious 
 needs of the regiment were provided for. 
 
 The regiment left New York by special steamer for
 
 THJE NUTTH AT BUHKEK HILL. 279 
 
 Fall River on Friday afternoon, June 16th, and reached 
 Boston on the morning of the 17th. They were received 
 by a fine military escort, the first compliment of the kind 
 they had ever received under their new Colonel, and 
 marched to the St. James Hotel. After breakfast they 
 resumed the march through Boston to Charlestown, took 
 part in the celebration of the battle of Bunker Hill, 
 marched back through Boston to the Common, went 
 through a dress parade, then returned to their hotel and 
 were dismissed to amuse themselves as they pleased. 
 Everywhere on their march from the moment they ar- 
 rived a large crowd awaited them. The Colonel, mount- 
 ed on a splendid black horse, was of course the chief 
 centre of attraction. All faces were marked by the pecu- 
 liar smile which Mr. Fisk's appearance in public ever 
 evokes, and as he rode along there were frequent faint 
 demonstrations of applause of the kind that borders on 
 the doubtful ground between compliment and jeer. In 
 the evening the band, which had attracted much atten- 
 tion during the day from its large number of musicians 
 and the presence of Levy, the renowned cornet player, 
 gave a concert on the Common. It was a beautiful even- 
 ing and a vast crowd gathered to listen, and was of such 
 an appreciative class as to join in with a chorus of jews- 
 harps at the most effective parts of Levy's beautiful cornet 
 solos. The band played beautifully and the Bostonians, 
 though priding themselves on their musical culture, were 
 forced to confess they had nothing to compare with it.
 
 280 JUPITER PLUVITTS. 
 
 Sunday morning came, and it was announced that the 
 vexed question of religious services had been settled. 
 The regiment was to be formed in Franklin Square, 
 fronting the St. James, and the chaplain to deliver his 
 sermon from the balcony of the hotel. But alas ! after 
 his many trials and disappointments in relation to the 
 matter, it seemed as though the very elements had joined 
 his enemies and were opposed to Mr. Fisk's saying his 
 prayers in Boston, for a severe rain storm set in and, for a 
 third time, his plans for religious services were defeated. 
 Trying as this third rejection of his devotions was, the 
 Colonel's religious fervor remained' unabated, and he was 
 still determined that he would say his prayers somewhere 
 before he left Boston. His Opera Bouffe company hav- 
 ing recently performed at the Boston Theatre, he was on 
 such terms with the manager of that establishment as 
 to be able to secure it without difficulty for his present 
 purpose. Therefore it was decided that the stage of the 
 Boston Theatre, whereon his Aimee had yesterday enter- 
 tained an audience in comic opejra, should be the altar 
 from which should be offered the thrice rejected prayers. 
 A long string of omnibusses formed a cordon round the 
 St. James Hotel, the gallant soldiers of the Ninth were 
 packed into them and driven away to the Boston Theatre. 
 Brief as was the notice and unpropitious as was the wea- 
 ther, the vast auditorium was filled with spectators. The 
 regiment took seats in the body of the house, while the 
 Colonel wifh his staff, chaplain and band took positions
 
 "l BELONG IN BOSTON." 281 
 
 upon the stage. The band played so effectively and a 
 cornet solo by Levy was so stirring that the audience 
 broke out with applause. This the chaplain promptly 
 and severely rebuked and then proceeded to deliver a ser- 
 mon. This ended, the Colonel, in undress uniform and 
 white kids, arose and said : 
 
 Soldiers of 'the Ninth Regiment and Officers of the Staff: 
 On the morrow, if God spares us, we shall get back 
 again to our own city, or, at least, to tho city where you 
 belong, for I can scarcely say our city, because I belong 
 in Boston. This is my residence. I hardly can express 
 to you the feelings which I cherish toward you all for the 
 manner in which you have fulfilled all your duties as sol- 
 diers on this occasion. You have again occasion to feel 
 proud, in every sense of tho word, of your entire behaviour 
 from the time you left New York until now. I can only 
 thank you in all kindness, heartfelt kindness, that you 
 have done now as you always have done since you have 
 been under my command ; that you have again taken a 
 great interest in the performance of your duties, and that 
 you have, as usual, shown your willingness to carry out^ 
 every wish of your superior officers. It is always with 
 pride, when we have been anywhere, that in after times 
 when I have met any with whom we have been associated, 
 that I hear of the proud name in which the regiment is 
 spoken of. I felt certain of our reception in Boston. I 
 felt assured of your conduct. I knew what the result 
 would be. But a very unfortunate mistake, or accident, 
 has occurred with regard to the authorities of the city of 
 Boston a mistake *I would gladly have avoided. The 
 hospitalities we wanted extended to us were those that I
 
 282 poraiNG OIL ON TROUBLED WATBES. 
 
 felt we would be sure to get, and the only thing that haa 
 gone wrong was the occasion which has made it necessary 
 for me to offer an apology to the Mayor of the city of 
 Boston, in behalf of my regiment, when passing in review. 
 We did not know that he was to review us. I saw him 
 just in time to salute him myself, but the regiment was 
 unable to salute him, for there was not time to pass the 
 word down the line. It was a respect which "we owed to 
 him in his .position as chief magistrate of this city, and it 
 is right that the regiment should apologise ; and, there- 
 fore, when these remarks are registered, as they will be 
 to-morrow when we have returned to our homes, he will 
 hear that we have apologized to him for a mistake which 
 was not ours ; we should have been notified. (Applause, 
 from the spectators.) I wish to speak of the kind man- 
 ner in which the military of Massachusetts have received 
 us, and to thank the citizens of Massachusetts and those 
 of other States for the exceedingly kind welcome they 
 have accorded us. !fy was the only welcome we wanted. 
 (Applause.) The matter of our hospitalities and expenses 
 were borne by friends. Hospitalities, in the strict sense 
 of the term, we can carry out ourselves ; but the spirit 
 evinced by the people of Massachusetts, as we passed 
 along its streets, could not be purchased. It must come 
 from the heart ; from the good feeling they bear toward 
 us, and I thank them, and I know that you all thank 
 them for it. In the future, when we have occasion, and I 
 think we shall have, of turning from the city of New 
 York, I shall yearn toward Boston, for I think the good 
 feeling displayed by the citizens on this visit would bring 
 us all back here the next season, instead of anywhere 
 else. Therefore, when we go from Boston, I will say for
 
 FOBGIVS THOSE THAI DESPIIKiTLLT USE TOTT. 283 
 
 myself and my regiment that we shall carry back nothing 
 but the kindest spirit toward this good city. There 
 should have come up no "ism" ; there should have come 
 up nothing to say that we should not worship God how 
 and where we pleased. It was a mistake. Nobody 
 meant wroug toward us, and I was sorry to see that the 
 question was agitated at all. I do not believe that the 
 signers of the paper said to have been sent in to the Bos- 
 ton City Government, requesting that the Common should 
 not be opened to us, felt any differently toward us than 
 did the 100,000 or 150,000 people who welcomed us 39 
 warmly. We will cherish no bad feeling against them. 
 I do not believe they cherish anything against us. Again 
 let me thank them for all they have done for us. It 
 speaks well for us to exhibit ourselves in full ranks to-day 
 after the hard labors of yesterday, and reflecting on the 
 fact that a leave of absence was granted from 9 o'clock 
 last night to 1 o'clock to-day. I am told that, except 
 those who are upon the sick list, every officer and private 
 is present here this afternoon, and I am proud of the 
 Ninth. Because why ? whether under military rule or 
 otherwise, they feel a pride in their organization. They 
 take pride in its good behavior, take them where you will. 
 You have planted another peaceful battle on your flag. 
 Thanking you for the spirit in which you have carried out 
 your instructions, and that you have done what is right, 
 and discharged your duties with a degree of merit to 
 which you always aspire, I will retire. (Applause.) 
 
 The ceremonies in the theatre over, the regiment were 
 again disposed of in the omnibusses and driven to the 
 depot, where they took the cars for home. Despite the
 
 284 A17 BEYOIB. 
 
 drenching rain an immense crowd had gathered to wit- 
 ness the departure and cheered heartily for the parting 
 guest as the long train passed out of the depot. 
 
 Sympathy had grown rapidly in favor of the Colonel 
 and his regiment during their visit of thirty-sis hours. 
 The evident commendable earnest desire of the Colonel to 
 manifest the highest courtesy to every one and pay the 
 most scrupulous respect even to every Boston prejudice, 
 the marked gentlemanly bearing of every man in the 
 fegiment, which was noted by every one, the genuine 
 pleasure which the splendid music of the band had af- 
 forded, all conspired to turn the tide in favor of the visi- 
 tors and create a feeling that they were treated too curtly 
 by the municipal authorities. " He laughs best who 
 laughs last," and the silent rebuke which the bearing of 
 the Ninth while in Boston gavo to the absurd action of 
 the Aldermen in refusing the use of the Common for re- 
 ligious services, was a triumph of the proudest kind, and 
 the visit may well have been gratifying to them and their 
 Colonel, despite the preliminary affront 
 
 The Ninth had hardly recovered from the sea-sickness 
 of their very stormy homeward voyage and ceased to talk 
 of their pleasure trip, when they were suddenly sum- 
 moned to arms for a more serious purpose than a holiday 
 parade. July' 12th, 1871, will go down as a historic day 
 in the annals of New York, because of the terrible riot 
 that occurred on that date, and the Ninth wrote its fame 
 upon the same page of history in the blood of three of
 
 KAXLY1NO FOB BATTLE. 285 
 
 its members, though perhaps it gained a greater epheme- 
 ral notoriety from the part played by its Colonel on that 
 memorable day. 
 
 The Governor having ordered out the militia to protect 
 the procession of Orangemen and suppress riot, Colonel 
 Fisk was early at work rallying his command, little 
 dreaming what a serious record the day would bring 
 forth. The men of the Ninth that first reported at their 
 armory were immediately sent out by the Colonel to hunt 
 up the rest and hurry them to headquarters. But Colonel 
 Fisk now experienced some difficulties from the many 
 irons he had in the fire. Being the owner of one of 
 the ferries to Jersey City, he received orders from the 
 Governor to stop running it, to prevent Jersey Orange- 
 men from coming across. He left his armory and went 
 to his Grand Opera House to give directions for carrying 
 out this order, but before this matter was settled he re- 
 ceived word that his regiment had formed and was on its 
 way to the scene of anticipated trouble and immediately 
 started to join it. It being very hot, he had thrown off 
 his coat while in the Opera House and, in his eagerness 
 to be at the head of his men, thought not of such trivial 
 matters as dress, so the doughty Colonel was seen hurry- 
 ing up Eighth Avenue in his shirt sleeves and s wordless. 
 A son of Mars in such guise naturally excited the merri- 
 ment of the bystanders, and caused some jeering remarks. 
 Arrived at the head of his command he borrowed a ser- 
 geant's sword, less glittering and costly than, his own but
 
 IS THE BIOT, JULY 12lH, 1871. 
 
 equally serviceable, and assumed command. In the at- 
 tack of the rioters upon the troops the Ninth was the 
 regiment to suffer most severely, three of its men losing 
 their lives. When the troops returned the fire the mob 
 rushed in every direction to get out of range. The space 
 between the Sixth and Ninth Kegiments being the readi- 
 est escape for many, a crowd rushed through, and as 
 Colonel Fisk stood here at the head of his regiment in the 
 way, the mob ran against him and he tumbled over. Not 
 having anticipated anything so serious as this, .his nerves 
 were somewhat disturbed by the unexpected event, and 
 not liking that kind of play he got up and ran into the 
 first place that presented itself. Thinking all the fury 
 of the mob now concentrated upon himself, he felt in- 
 secure in his first hiding place and therefore ran out into 
 the back yard, jumped over the fence and went on jump- 
 ing fences till he had passed several back yards. He 
 then ventured to run through a passage way to Twenty- 
 ninth Street, and after looking carefully up and down the 
 street, and seeing no one near, he ran across the street 
 through another passage way to another back yard and 
 then commenced jumping fences again. At length he 
 came upon an Irish woman in one of the back yards, who 
 was at first frightened at his appearance, but who, on 
 hearing the pitiful story of his great danger, got him an 
 old hat, coat and pair of pants. Disguised in these, and 
 having colored his moustache with a blacking brush, he 
 ventured out upon the street and, starting in the least
 
 AFTER THE BATTLE. 287 
 
 frequented direction, wandered about like Ulysses till he 
 espied the carriage of his fidus Achates, Jay Gould, com- 
 ing up the avenue. He hailed the driver and the carriage 
 stopped, but Gould looking out did not recognize the 
 Prince and Colonel in such disguise, and fearing he might 
 be some dastardly Hibernian, ordered his coachman to 
 drive on. The fugitive Colonel succeeded in making him- 
 self known, however, and was taken into the carriage, 
 driven to their Twenty-third Street Ferry, there got on 
 board a tug boat and hastened. to Long Branch, where an 
 interviewist of the New York Sun next found him in 
 sumptuous apartments sweetly sleeping on a luxurious 
 lounge, surrounded by a bevy of females and "abeauti- 
 girl was fanning him." 
 
 Of the many wild rumors flying about on that terrible 
 day, the wildest were those relating to the Colonel. He 
 had no sooner fallen over when the crowd ran against 
 him than the rumor started that he was mortally wound- 
 ed, riddled with bullets, and torn in pieces by the infuri- 
 ated mob. This was soon modified by the report that he 
 was badly, though not fatally, wounded, and that the 
 house to which he had been removed was kept a dead 
 secret, lest it should be torn down by the mob. Next, the 
 Colonel had received only a painful wound in the ankle, 
 and was quite safe from all harm. And so the modifica- 
 tions went on till the interviewee found him drinking 
 cobblers at Long Branch, hurt, as to his ankle not 
 stall.
 
 288 BSFOKE GEAND DUKE ALEXIS. 
 
 The last time the Ninth ever marched under command 
 of its far-famed Colonel, the last time he ever appeared 
 conspicuously before the public and drank deep draughts 
 of that delight, so keen and sweet to him, which came 
 from making a sensation and centering the gaze of the 
 multitude, was on the occasion of the reception given the 
 Russian Grand Duke Alexis on his arrival in New York, 
 November 21, 1871. The military display on the occa- 
 sion was very fine and elicited the Duke's highest admira- 
 tion. When the Ninth appeared with its unequaled band 
 and the Colonel whose form and face were known to all, 
 the crowd sent up such a cheer as greeted no other regiment 
 that day. It was obviously personal to the Colonel him- 
 self and seemed a sincere demonstration of popularity 
 with the throng. Royalty impressed him with nothing 
 like awe. He was perfectly at home on his magnificent 
 horse, and gave the Duke the military salute with perfect 
 nonchalance and self-possession, and royalty lifted its 
 chapoau to Mr. Fisk. 
 
 In the evening he extended the Duke the compliment 
 of a serenade by his superb band. The square, streets, 
 and every available place in the vicinity of the Clarendon 
 Hotel were densely packed with people. A small space 
 for the band was kept clear by a strong cordon of police, 
 and two calcium lights threw their intense light upon the 
 musicians and shed a spectral glare over the whole scene. 
 After the salutatory pieces were played, the Colonel, was 
 invited into the house set apart for the royal guest and
 
 FROM THE POLICE COURT TO ROYALTY. 289 
 
 presented to the Duke. He chatted with him in the free- 
 and-easy, unembarrassed manner ho wore among his Erie 
 associates, and in the course of his remarks said : " I ex- 
 tend to you the hospitality of all I own in America." 
 
 On Saturday ho had been in the Yorkville Police Court 
 on a charge of libel preferred by his former mistress ; on 
 this Tuesday evening he was in the most distinguished - 
 company in the land ! Such were the strange extremes 
 that alternated so rapidly in his wonderful career. 
 
 The. scene that followed Mr, Fisk's exit from the royal 
 presence was a fitting climax to the long series of striking, 
 sensational tableaux with which his life was crowded as was 
 never another private citizen's. In front, and far up and 
 down the streets on either side, was a dense mass of hu- 
 manity gazing in dazed wonder. Close by his side was 
 Europe's royalty, which he was entertaining ; while in the 
 background, looking down upon the wild scene from the 
 hotel, was genius that had often moved all that is most 
 elevating in the soul, those whose names are symbolic of 
 all that is refined and elevating the divine-voiced song- 
 stress, Nilsson, and her American sister in the divinest of 
 the arts, Kellogg. In the centre of this scene stood Mr. 
 Fisk, one corner of his military cape thrown back over 
 his shoulder, displaying his large diamond pin glittering 
 brilliantly under the calcium light. Ho was never in higher 
 spirits or felt more in his element. The cup sweetest in 
 all the world to him was flowing to the brim. Ho lighted 
 his cigar and talked glibly and gleefu'ly to all around him. 
 K
 
 290 THE LAST TABLEAU. 
 
 His band sent out its most delicious strains. Levy made 
 his cornet do its best service ; the multitude rent the air 
 with applause, which was warmly joined in by the Duke, 
 who had come out upon his balcony to look and listen. 
 The curtain falls upon this scene and there closes the 
 long list of sensational tableaux that, commencing on a 
 peddler's cart in the quaint New England hamlet, ran the 
 circle of the world's greatest variety with astounding 
 rapidity, and ended with a multitude of many thousands 
 in front, and the world's most favored and distinguished 
 forming the side and background. The last piece 
 is played, the calcium lights are turned out, the dense 
 throng breaks up and scatters, the Duke retires to 
 his apartments, Mr. Fisk is shut from view till seen 
 lying in state at the tragic close, the last sweet strains of 
 his band die away upon the midnight air to be waked no 
 more till they march before his lifeless form with solemn 
 tread, playing 
 
 " Funeral marches to the grave." 
 
 -ji^eb aiH
 
 MANIPULATING JUSTICE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 JFSTICE THE N. T. SUPKEME cotnci STRAWCM 
 JI7DICIAL IKCOXSISTENCIES - NOW T00 SEE IT AKD NOTT TOU 
 DON'T THE LAW'S DELAY EECEITEKS A GBEAT NAME 
 TAninsnED men THEY MAKES TSTJE MEN THIEVES. - 
 
 Of all tho wonderful power Mr. Fisk obtained and 
 of the many remarkable things ho did, the most as- 
 tounding, as well as the most dangerous and significant,
 
 292 THE SXJPKEilE COUET. 
 
 was the control gained over the Supreme Court, First Dis- 
 trict, and tho deeds he was able to do by its open aid and 
 connivance. 
 
 There are eight judicial districts of the Supreme Court 
 in New York, each presided over by a different set of 
 judges ; yet the power of each judge" extends over the 
 whole State, so that in this Court a man living in Buffalo 
 may bring a suit in New York. Of course this whole 
 system rests upon the assumption that the different 
 judges, being each of the same power, will treat each 
 other's proceedings with courtesy and respect, for if they 
 wantonly or lightly exercise their authority they might go 
 on issuing orders, injunctions and processes subsequent to 
 each other ad infinitum and no issue ever bo reached. 
 When Judge Barnard granted his first orders and injunc- 
 tions in tho Vanderbilt-Erio war, tho party with which 
 Mr. Fisk trained took advantage of this possibility of abuse 
 of power, and got subsequent injunctions and orders 
 in various districts tying up all of Judge Barnard's pro- 
 ceedings. These orders were promptly disregarded by 
 Judge Barnard as being anomalous, monstrous and be- 
 yond a judge's right or power. Tho question came up in 
 the General Term of the Supreme Court in Juno, 18CS, in 
 one of tho Vanderbilt cases and tho decision was unani- 
 mous against such a power in a judge, and in giving the 
 opinion of the Court Judge Cardozo said : 
 
 " The idea that a cause by such manoeuvres as have 
 been resorted to here can be withdrawn from one judge
 
 WEST SCENE. 293 
 
 of this court and taken possession of by another, that 
 thus one judge can practically prevent his associate from 
 exercising his judicial functions ; that thus a causo may 
 be taken from judge to judge whenever one of the parties 
 fears that an unfavorable opinion is about to be rendered 
 by the judge who, up to that time has sat in the case, 
 and that thus a decision in the suit may be constantly 
 and indefinitely postponed at the will of one of the 
 litigants only, deserves to be noticed as being a curiosity 
 in legal tactics, a remarkable exhibition of inventive 
 genius and fertility of expedient to embarrass suits which 
 this extraordinarily conducted litigation has developed. 
 Such a practice as that disclosed by this litigation, 
 sanctioning the attempt to counteract the orders of each 
 other in the progress of the suit, I confess is new and 
 shocking to me, and I trust that we have seen the last in 
 this tribunal of such practices as this case has exhibited." 
 
 The chief managers of the legal tactics alluded to in 
 these words, tactics for the anti-Vanderbilt party with 
 which Mr. Fisk was identified, were the members of the 
 distinguished law firm of Field & Shearman. The 
 senior member is Mr. David Dudley Field, one of the 
 fathers of the New York Code, a man with a name famed 
 in England as well as at home, who is put down in the 
 Cyclopaedia as "a great law reformer" the brother of 
 Mr. Cyrus Field who laid the first Atlantic cable, and a 
 man of highest social and professional standing. Mr. 
 Shearman is one of the few thorough read lawyers among 
 the younger members of the New York bar, a man of 
 eminent professional standing and the superintendent of
 
 294 FIRST SCTElOt 
 
 the Sunday School in Henry Ward Beecher's 
 Dudley Field, a son of David Dudley, is the third 
 member of the firm. At the time of the first legal 
 scandal raised by the Yanderbilt-Erie war, the opinion 
 entertained by this firm as to the moral and professional 
 character of Judge Barnard had been placed beyond any 
 doubt. Mr. Shearman had already published an article 
 in the N~orth American llevietD, portraying this very 
 judge in the most derogatory terms, as a man utterly 
 devoid of the legal attainments or moral character befit- 
 ting his position j David Dudley Field was at that very 
 time actively exerting himself to bring about the* 
 impeachment of this same judge, as being notoriously 
 corrupt, a scandal and disgrace to the bench; and the 
 opinion which Dudley Field, the son, had of the man was 
 proven in one of these very cases by evidence taken before 
 the judge himself showing that he had attempted to 
 bribe the judge to sign an order by offering him money 
 if he consented and threatening his impeachment if he 
 refused. 
 
 When Mr. Fisk first became connected with the En* 
 Railroad, and in th& multitude of suits commenced soon 
 after his advent, the party with which he was identified 
 was bitterly and scathingly denounced by Judgo Georgo 
 G. Barnard as a band of " thieves, scoundrels and rascals 
 who had infested Wall Street and Broad Street for 
 years," and they were finally driven out of the State by 
 him.
 
 SECOND fiCENB. 29$ 
 
 The next seene occurs some six months after the 
 opening scandal, this record of the firm of Field & 
 Shearman, and the foregoing words from Judge Car- 
 dozo. And this scene finds Judge Barnard in the most 
 intimate relations with Fisk and the very men whom, 
 when we last heard him, he was denouncing as " thieves, 
 scoundrels and rascals," granting at their request some of 
 tho most astounding orders that ever emanated from a 
 court. Judge Cardozo is seen doing the very things which 
 when we last heard him he declared himself " shocked " 
 at the very idea of, and " trusted he had seen the last of 
 it in this high tribunal" taking cases, not from another 
 district merely, but from a fellow judge in his own dis- 
 trict, and under circumstances far more aggravating than 
 those in tho case which he had himself so severely repro- 
 bated and declared beyond the power of a judge only a 
 ew months before. And the firm of Field & Shearman is 
 disclosed as having suddenly ceased their warfare upon 
 the judgo whom they had denounced as too corrupt to be 
 tolerated, and now all the suits of their distinguished 
 railroad client are dragged before this very judge by 
 hook and by crook, by precisely such manoeuvres as the 
 judge had declared wholly without warrant and illegal, 
 had treated as sufficient grounds for disregarding proceed- 
 ings, and been sustained in bis course by tho decision 
 of his General Term. In tho Albany & Susquehanna 
 war, Barnard (who had been the first to deny the right 
 or power) and Peckham followed each other with counter
 
 296 THE LAW'S BELAY. 
 
 injunctions morning after morning, each one tying up aH 
 the other had done, till the law fell into utter contempt 
 and was wholly unheeded. 
 
 The numerous suits commenced against !Fisk to enforce 
 the contracts entered into on his behalf on Black Friday 
 and which he repudiated, were brought in the Court of 
 Common Pleas, probably for the express purpose of 
 avoiding Barnard ; but when they were all commenced, 
 that judge coolly issued an order commanding all these 
 suits to be transferred from the Common Pleas and 
 brought before him. This order was appealed from as 
 being quite beyond his power.- The question came up 
 in the General Term after much delay, and Barnard 
 being disqualified from sitting in review of one of his 
 own cases, there were only two judges to pass upon it. 
 Judge Ingraham promptly decided that Barnard had 
 exceeded his authority and that the suits could not be- 
 taken out of the Common Pleas in the manner attempted. 
 Cardozo was not ready to decide, so the case had another 
 long delay. Being at length forced to dispose of the 
 question somehow, Cardozo gave no opinion at all on the 
 subject, but merely failed to concur with Judge Ingraham. 
 Under the rule in such cases, where the Court is divided,, 
 the question went to the Second (Brooklyn) District, 
 Here it was promptly decided that Barnard had no such 
 authority as he had assumed. Thus, after a year and 
 a half of "the law's delay" under the manoeuvring of 
 Field & Shearman and their now favorite Judge Bar-
 
 PACIFIC E. E. WRIVKN OTT OF KKW YORK. 297 
 
 Hard, these suits came back to where they were com- 
 menced, and the test suit was decided against Fisk, despite 
 an attempt to bribe the jury. 
 
 In the early days of the Union Pacific Railroad, Mr. 
 Fisk wanted to purchase a large amount of stock by pay- 
 ing only a certain per cent, of the value down (as is gen- 
 erally done on original subscriptions), that he might have 
 an important voice in its councils. This offer ( was 
 declined and he was permitted to have only so much 
 stock as he would pay the full value of at once. Thia 
 offended him and he was bent on being a thorn in the 
 side of the great corporation. He purchased some half 
 dozen shares of the stock and then commenced a suit 
 against the company to compel them to make known its 
 affairs to him as a stockholder. In the course of the suit 
 of course it was made necessary to have the books of the 
 company for inspection. The officers declined to give 
 them up. Fisk got an order to seize them and a score of 
 men were set to work with sledge hammers to batter in 
 the huge safe of the company in the wall of their office 
 in Nassau Street. The proceeding caused much excite- 
 ment in the vicinity, but the hammering was kept up 
 and finally the heavy plates of iron yielded and the 
 safe was opened. The company were so indignant at 
 this outrage under the protection of the Courts that 
 they removed their headquarters from New York to 
 Boston, and thus one of the greatest corporations 
 in the world both in wealth and importance was
 
 208 THE HEATH & RAPHAEL CASE 
 
 literally driven out of New York by Mr. Fisk and 
 the insecurity which they felt in the New York Courts. 
 
 Some English owners of upwards of 60,000 shares of 
 Erie stock sent them to the officers of the company for 
 transfer before the books were closed for election. 
 Messrs. Fisk and Gould seized every one of these shares 
 and got an order from Judge Barnard sustaining them in 
 the seizure, which was nothing but a daring robbery. 
 Legal proceedings were commenced by the owners, but 
 the case came up before Barnard and he put it down for 
 trial after election. The first object of the owners to 
 vote on their stock being thus hopelessly gone, they were 
 next concerned lest they should lose their property en- 
 tirely. Judge Barnard, at the instigation of Fisk and 
 Gould, had appointed a receiver who had taken possession 
 of the stock. One of the parties being a foreigner, a suit 
 was commenced in the United States Court in the matter, 
 the stock meantime remaining in the hands of the Bar- 
 nard receiver. When the suit had been delayed as long 
 as possible and was likely to come on and be decided in a 
 way to take the property out of the custody of the Bar- 
 nard receiver, Mr. Fisk's lawyers served a notice of dis- 
 continuance of the suit in the United States Court, and 
 recommenced proceedings in the State Court, intending to 
 travel over this same course of delay again. It was soon 
 found that this dodge would not work and the matter had 
 to be left to the United States Courts. When it came on 
 for trial, all the Erie clerks who wore important witnesses
 
 HECEIVTCXS. 1299 
 
 in the matter had suddenly disappeared, reported to have 
 gone to Europe, and Jay Gould when on the stand could 
 not seem to remember anything. This farce soon leading 
 to very hot water, and an order being issued for Jay 
 Gould's arrest for contempt, the desired witnesses and 
 boots were forthcoming and Mr. Gould's memory sud- 
 denly became excellent, and the stock was finally returned. 
 
 A receiver is an officer of the Court appointed to take 
 charge of property in litigation to see that no harm comes 
 to it and that the interests of neither party suffers pond- 
 ing proceedings. He stands in. the place of the Court and 
 is supposed to be indifferent to the two parties, favoring 
 neither. Judge Barnard's first act in favor of Messrs. 
 Fisk and Gould was to appoint Jay Gould himself a 
 receiver of the Erie Railway upon Gould's own petition, 
 he being the president of the road at the time and the 
 leader of one of the hostile parties. 
 
 In the Albany & Susquchanna war, James Fisk, Jr., 
 was the active leader of one of the factions, yet when a 
 receiver of that road was petitioned for in Fisk's own 
 suit, James Fisk, Jr., was the disinterested and impartial 
 receiver whom Judge Barnard thought proper to appoint 
 for the responsible trust and to represent the Court. 
 And when a receiver of the stock of disputed legality in 
 the same case was asked for, Judge Barnard appointed 
 a man so exceedingly impartial and disinterested that he 
 subsequently voted on the stock in favor of Mr. Fisk, 
 contrary to the wishes of the only man who conld by any
 
 A GREAT NAME TAE5I8HED. 
 
 possibility have had any right to vote on it at all, and for 
 this impartial and disinterested service, his fee was the 
 modest sum of $15,000 ! 
 
 It is a long road that has no turning, and at length 
 events began to indicate that these legal scandals and 
 outrages have reached the length of their tether. All at 
 once, the great firm of Field & Shearman found their 
 reputation for professional honor hopelessly blemished, 
 their social status sadly weakened, and a name that was 
 near the pinnacle of lasting fame suddenly sunk in dis- 
 grace and fouled with mud flung by their own hand. 
 They were made to realize that, even in New York, there 
 are some things which may not be done with social and 
 professional impunity. 
 
 The following is the sworn statement of Jay Gould of 
 lawyers' fees paid by the Erie Railway, for the single 
 year 1868: 
 
 Eaton & Taylor $39,998 30 
 
 D. D. & D. Field 31,289 10 
 
 David Dudley Field 12,000 00 
 
 Field & Shearman ! 5,000 00 
 
 William M. Evarts 15,000 00 
 
 C. A. Seward 24,000 00 
 
 E. W. Stoughton 15,500 00 
 
 John TL. Porter ....... X. ..., 22,000 00 
 
 William Fullerton 11,000 00 
 
 John E. Burrill 21,000 00 
 
 James T. Brady , 6,000 00 
 
 A. J. Vanderpoel 10,000 00 
 
 Brown, Hall & Vanderpoel 1,000 00 
 
 Edwards Piorrepont .,..,..,.,...,.... 30,000 00
 
 RICH PREY MAKES TBT7B MEN THIEYE3. 801 
 
 Martin & Smith $12,500 00 
 
 J. C. Bancroft Davis 10,612 00 
 
 Levi Underwood 11,002 00 
 
 John Ganson 15,000 00 
 
 Ganson & Smith 2,031 50 
 
 C. N. Totter 7,000 00 
 
 Dimmick & Whitney 5,000 00 
 
 J. N. Whiting 2,500 00 
 
 William H. Morgan 2,177 80 
 
 Cortlandt Parker 3,10000 
 
 Peter Cagger ^.... 2,000 00 
 
 Samuel Hand.... .*. 1,000 00 
 
 L.Seymour 1,250 00 
 
 J. . Bosworth 1,000 06 
 
 Chapman & Martin 1,00000 ' 
 
 Isaac W. Scudder 1,000 00 
 
 John Hopper 1,500 00 
 
 Devlin 1,000 00 
 
 Lane ; ],COO 00 
 
 H.Harris 1,000 00 
 
 Lyman Tremain 700 00 
 
 Rumsey, Jones & Robie 750 00 
 
 David Rumsey 500 00 
 
 Bradley & Kendall 500 00 
 
 Spencer, Thomson & Mills 500 00 
 
 L. Zabriskie . . 500 00 
 
 $330,510 70 
 
 David Dudley Field, Field & Shearman, and D. D. & D. 
 Field, being practically one and the same firm, the amount 
 paid this one office in a single year was 848,289.10. 
 
 " Rich prey makes true men thieves ;" 
 
 and this exhibit abundantly verifies Mr. Fisk's character- 
 istic assertion, that " the lawyers lap up Erie money as 
 kittens lap up milk."
 
 :c; .;o 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 JOSIE AND THE GUM SHOES ANOTHEB. MIDNIGHT ABBEST 
 
 MISS MANSFIELD EDWABD S. STOKES THE SOFT SPOT IN THE 
 
 HEEL OF ACHILLES HINC ILL.& LACHBTM.E TOUCHINQ 
 
 SCENES PUT ME IN MY LITTLE BED SMOULDEBING FIBES 
 
 THE VOLCANO BBEAXS OUT THE ASSASSINATION. 
 
 The last new episode in Mr. Fisk's career was of a 
 nature totally different from all its predecessors, seeming 
 more like a chapter from the Iliad, while the others 
 savored of the Arabian Nights. Its opening act caused 
 his name to figure conspicuously in the papers for a few 
 days ; its last laid him in his grave. 
 
 Saturday night, January 7th, 1871, the footsteps of a 
 young man were dogged about the streets for several 
 hours, till he was finally caught at the Hoffman House, 
 and arrested on charge of heavy embezzlements from the
 
 ANOTflEB MIDUIGHT AEBEST. 303 
 
 Brooklyn Oil Refining Co., of -which he was part owner 
 and the secretary. He was forced to lie in jail over Sun- 
 day, but readily secured bail on Monday, when the exami- 
 nation disclosed that his arrest, though nominally at the 
 instance of another man, was really instigated by Fisk, 
 and was delayed till Saturday night for the express 
 purpose of rendering it impossible to secure bail in time 
 to avoid remaining in jail over Sunday. It also appeared 
 that there was a modern Helen in the case, that slighted 
 lov,i accounted for the milk in this cocoanut, and that 
 the object was, not to punish embezzlement, but to gratify 
 revenge and inspire terror. 
 
 Miss Helen Josephine Mansfield, a beautiful Boston 
 girl, was born December 15th, 1847. Her father died 
 when she was quite small, and her mother married a man 
 named Warren for her second husband. In her seven- 
 teenth year she and her mother went to California to join 
 Warren, who had preceded them there, and was an editor 
 cf a small journal in San Francisco. Here she met Frank 
 lawlor, an actor, married him in September, 1864, lived 
 vith him about two years, when he obtained a divorce, 
 without opposition on her part, both living in New York 
 at the time. The decree was signed by Judge Barnard. 
 Sle met Mr. Fisk in the winter of 18C8, at the house of 
 Mss Anna Wood, in 34th street. She was quite poor 
 at the time. Mr. Fisk was deeply smitten with her at 
 sight, and immediately lavished upon her all the kindness 
 for which he was noted wherever his affections were en-
 
 304 MISS MANSFIELD. 
 
 listed. In a few weeks she that had been almost needy 
 was lavishly supplied with silks and diamonds, surrounded 
 by luxury, her every desire indulged. The flight of Erie 
 officials to Jersey City soon followed, and she shared all 
 the trials, excitement and fun of Fisk's memorable exile, 
 occupying the finest suite of rooms in Taylor's Hotel. 
 Not long after the return she had become possessed of 
 sufficient money through Fisk to purchase the brown 
 stone residence, 359 West 23rd street, near the Grand 
 Opera House and Erie offices. Here she lived in the most 
 luxurious style, bountifully supplied with everything that 
 a Sybarite could wish, or wealth unlimited procure. She 
 had the grandest turnout that appeared in the Park, en 
 joyed the pleasures of Long Branch, and was a conspicuous 
 specimen of a certain type of beauty. At her house some 
 of the most important and peculiar legal papers in Eri 
 tactics are supposed to havo been drawn up by Field t 
 Shearman, and there Judge Barnard was suspected of hold- 
 ing extra midnight sessions of the Supreme Court for 
 Erie's special behoof. Mr. Fisk doted upon her, callel 
 her his dear " Dolly" and " Dumplins," made her his co)\- 
 fidante in all the secrets of the Erie ring, and often wrote 
 or telegraphed her during the day when anything occumd 
 so specially pleasing to him that ho wished to feel hsr 
 rejoicing with him before he could see her to tell her at 
 evening. There was no other place like Josie's for him in 
 his social hours. There ho lived, there he invited his in- 
 timates to dine, there was his elysium.
 
 JOSIE. 
 
 HELEN JOSEPHINE MANSFIELD.
 
 EDWAKD S. STOKES. 305 
 
 \ 
 
 Among those who in time became frequenters of Josie's 
 elegant parlors was Edward S. Stokes. He was born in 
 Philadelphia in 1841, but moved to New York with his 
 family when a youth. He was born and bred to an 
 excellent social position, and when about twenty-one 
 years of age was married to a lovely New York girl. By 
 birth, training, connections and tastes he was a gentle- 
 man ; but under the pestiferous influences with which 
 Wall street impregnated New York atmosphere, he 
 gradually swerved from his early associations and habits, 
 became a speculator and lived the usual life of a gay 
 young New Yorker. It was in this latter course that he 
 became acquainted with Mr. Fisk and formed a business 
 connection with him in the Brooklyn Oil Refining Co., 
 one of the many companies in which Fisk was interested, 
 and which secured large and very profitable contracts for 
 furnishing supplies to the Erie railroad. At this time 
 Mr. Stokes also met Miss Mansfield, and he, too, found a 
 force in her charms. Being an exquisite in dress, fine 
 looking, very debonair and fascinating in his manners, 
 the attraction between him and Josie was mutual and 
 ho became an habitue of her parlors and was favored 
 with her smiles to such an extent that Mr. Fisk began to 
 remonstrate. This she resented, and after one of the dis- 
 agreements in consequence, she sent her benefactor a note 
 discontinuing his acquaintance instead of Stokes's, and 
 ordering him to remove from her house everything be- 
 longing to him, leaving behind not so much as his over- 
 L
 
 306 
 
 TEABS, IDLE TEABS. 
 
 shoes. This note naturally affected the stont heart not a 
 little, and was said to have affected him to tears. 
 
 "TEAKS, IDLE TJKAK3" FOR JOSIE. 
 
 The Admiral thought that if Stokes, his friend and 
 business associate, knew that his visits to "the bower 
 where the woodbine twineth " were displeasing to him a 
 man of so much power and consequence they would bo 
 discontinued, so he ingenuously took the note that "pirsed 
 his hart" to Stokes, told him all, and, with tears in his 
 eyes, said, " See hero, Ned, she wont even let mo leavo 
 my gum shoes in tho house !" Stokes endeavored to 
 make light of the matter and said all would soon como
 
 THE HASP THAT ONCE THBOUOH TABA*S HALLS. 807 
 
 round right again. In vain ! Nothing would satisfy but 
 a positive promise to " keep away from that bower." 
 This, to Mr. Fisk's great surprise, being refused, he next 
 tried a command and a threat. This worked no better, 
 and the Admiral returned to his marble palace with 
 clouded brow. 
 
 The heart that once on Erie's walls 
 
 The soul of greatness shed, 
 Now sits as sad in Erie's halla 
 
 As if that soul were fled. 
 So sleeps the prido of former days; 
 
 So glory's thrill is o'er 
 When Josie, in her altered ways, 
 
 Throws gum shoes out the door. 
 
 No more to fleets and buttons bright 
 
 The heart of Erie swells ; 
 The chord alone that wakes at night 
 
 Its tale of ruin tells. 
 No charm hath now the French ballet, 
 
 Thrown in -with Opera Bouffe, 
 To chase the deepset gloom away 
 
 That sighs 'neath Erie's roof. 
 The joy of all those former wiles 
 
 Its whilom power hath shed. iv1il 
 Prince Erie weeps for Josie's smiles 
 
 And sobs, " My gum shoes, Ned I" 
 
 The Admiral now resolved that the man who had dared 
 to thwart his wishes in this matter should feel the mighty 
 weight of his crushing power. Soon Stokes was informed 
 of the rescinding of certain verbal contracts for large 
 amounts which ho had with the Erie Railway. Next 
 he was asked either to sell out his share in the Brook- 
 lyn Oil Refining Co., or buy out the other owners/ He
 
 308 THAT APPLE ON MOITNT IDA. 
 
 accepted the latter alternative and an agreement upon 
 price was fixed between him and Fisk; but the other 
 owners would not assent to the arrangement made by 
 Fisk, so it fell through. From these and other indica- 
 tions, Stokes knowing he had incurred the displeasure 
 and enmity of Fisk, sent him a note asking for an inter- 
 view at Delmonico's, that they might reconcile such an 
 unworthy difference. The Admiral responded to the 
 appointment, and on reaching the rendezvous remarked 
 to Stokes, " I thought I could cut. nearer a man's heart 
 than any one in New York, but you go plump through 
 it." The interview promised little result, the one thing 
 that .would satisfy Fisk being just the one thing that 
 the other would not promise, and therefore Stokes pro- 
 posed that they should leave it to Josie to decide between 
 them. Fisk jumped at the proposal. He had to drill, 
 with the Ninth that evening, and left the famed restau- 
 rant saying to Stokes, " Meet me in Josie's at half past 
 ten." 
 
 At the later interview the parties holding the same 
 determination, Josie declined to decide between them, 
 seeing no reason why they should not all be friends, 
 neither concerning himself about the doings of the other. 
 But Fisk was inexorable in the stand he had taken 
 and said, " It won't do, Josie ! You can't run two engines 
 on one track in contrary directions at the same time." 
 The interview was prolonged till the small hours of the 
 night,, and was said to have been attended with more
 
 A BOSKET'S NEST. 
 
 tears, but ended at last without any change of the situa- 
 tion. The proud Admiral, chagrinned that the decision 
 was not quick in his favor, now resolved to abandon 
 "Dumplins " forever and wreak his vengeance upon his 
 triumphant rival. The next step in the matter was the 
 arrest of Stokes on the charge of embezzlement, when 
 all the facts as related came out in the papers. The 
 charge was speedily dismissed as unsustained, and the 
 whole affair was quickly smothered, it proving to have 
 stirred up a more than usually troublesome hornet's 
 nest. Josie knew more about Erie matters, and also 
 certain doings of the Tammany Ring, than the Erie 
 managers and Tammany Sachems could then afford to 
 have made public. The price of her silence in regard to 
 them was, the discontinuance of all hostility to Stokes, 
 and a full liquidation of all his rights, legal, equitable 
 and pecuniary, and this the said interested parties ob- 
 liged the Admiral to accept. 
 
 The next day after the above facts appeared in the 
 papers, Fisk addressed a characteristic letter to the 
 World, denying many of the statements and reminding 
 that paper of the "sacred mandate," "Thou shalt not 
 bear false witness against thy neighbor." But the most 
 amusing part of this communication was not in the body of 
 the letter itself, but in the 
 
 " P. S. I only wish, where your article states I burst 
 into tears that you gave the truth. Years ago, before the 
 world battled me so fearfully, I have a vague recollection
 
 310 P. 8. PUT MB IN MT LITTLE BED. 
 
 that emotions could be aroused which would call forth 
 tears, but that is many years ago, far back, before energy 
 had taken such complete hold of us all, and before ambition 
 swayed the minds of men as it now does. But tho mem- 
 ory of those days is lasting and I can recall that when 
 night came a mother's hand was laid upon my head, 
 and I was taught to repeat a simple prayer and then I 
 heard the words, * My son, I must put you in your little 
 bod.', !f) 
 
 J.F.,Jr. 
 
 The rod which Stokes held over the head of his enemy 
 in the possession of so many damaging secrets of Erie 
 and Tammany, was a tempting one to wield, and he was 
 inclined to make the most of it. He made claims upon 
 Fisk which the latter declared exhorbitant. Finally the 
 matter was referred to Clarence A. Seward (a son of the 
 Hon. William H.), and in his hands were placed certain 
 letters that Fisk had written Josie in his doting hours, 
 and which contained the secrets that so seriously impli- 
 cated the two Rings, and also a prominent and highly re- 
 spected firm of Boston bankers. Mr. Seward delayed his 
 decision till Stokes grew very impatient, and then 
 awarded Stokes $10,000 (only a small portion of his claim), 
 handed the compromising letters over to Peter B. Sweeny 
 for safe keeping, and stai-ted on a tour to Europe. Stokes 
 complained bitterly of this award as a fraud, and it was 
 insinuated that Mr. Seward had been bribed by Erie 
 money. However, Stokes took the $10,000, but did not 
 regard the matter as settled and waited for opportunities.
 
 TUB COMBAT DEEPENS. 311 
 
 , The next move was by Miss Mansfield, who sued Fisk 
 in September to recover $50,000 which she claimed to 
 have entrusted to him to invest for her in their halcyon 
 days. In this suit it was sought to introduce certain affi- 
 davits of Miss Mansfield and Stokes, rehearsing the sub- 
 stance of the compromising letters that had slipped out of 
 their possession. It was of vital importance to Fisk and 
 Erie that these affidavits should be suppressed. Erie's 
 Judge Barnard was just then out with Fisk and the Kings, 
 and, despairing of success before any of the New York 
 judges, recourse was had to the old. dodge of going over 
 to Brooklyn, where they had a facile tool in Judge Pratt. 
 By making one Potoon a party to the case, and alleging; 
 that he was a resident of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Judge 
 was secured jurisdiction in the case and speedily granted 
 an injunction against using the affidavits or publishing 
 the letters. It finally turned out that there was no such 
 person as Potoon in existence, so the Brooklyn Judge 
 lost jurisdiction and the case came back to New York to 
 be decided by Judge Brady. 
 
 During the delay incident to these proceedings Miss 
 Mansfield commenced another suit against Fisk for libel, 
 bringing it in the Yorkville Police Court. A colored boy 
 named Richard E. King, who had been long in Miss Mans- 
 field's employment, was induced by Fisk to leave her, and 
 then to make an affidavit to the effect that he had heard 
 Miss Mansfield, her cousin Mrs. Williams, and Stokes talk- 
 ing together and laying plans how they could make money
 
 312 MISS MANSFIELD tTNPEE CBOSS-FIBE. 
 
 out of Fisk. After making this affidavit, the boy King 
 disappeared, and could not bo found. The publication of 
 this affidavit was the ground of the libel suit on which 
 Mr. Fisk was arrested and gave bail. The case was first 
 called Saturday, November 18, 1871. On that morning, 
 Fisk appeared in naval uniform, and there was a great 
 sensation in and about the court room. Owing to a mis- 
 take by her lawyer, Miss Mansfield left early, and was 
 not present when called as the first witness, so tho case 
 was adjourned, one week. Saturday morning, November 
 25th, the sensation was repeated. Fisk, Mansfield and 
 Stokes were all present. Fisk left early, but Miss Mans- 
 field took the stand, and was under examination several 
 hours. She maintained the mostimpertubable self-posses- 
 sion throughout, enduring the severe cross-examination of 
 Fisk's lawyers without the slightest confusion or loss of 
 temper. Her bearing challenged the wondering admira- 
 tion of jevery one present. Her examination was not fin- 
 ished when he case was adjourned for another week. 
 But instead of proceeding the following Saturday, it was 
 adjourned from time to time till the eventful Saturday, 
 Jan. Gth, 1872. On that morning Fisk did not appear, 
 but Miss Mansfield was again called to the stand, and so 
 bitter was her cross-examination, so searching and mor- 
 tifying were the questions relative to her condition when 
 she met Mr. Fisk, &c., &c., that all her remarkable nerve 
 and fortitude gave way and she burst into tears. This is 
 supposed to have excited the revenge of Stokes, who was
 
 THE HANDWEITIS0 ON THE WAUL. 313 
 
 present at the time, and was himself next put upon the 
 stand and made to answer some very disagreeable and 
 difficult questions. Altogether, the day seemed to have 
 damaged the bright promise of the previous day's examina- 
 tion very materially, and their feelings in the matter must 
 have been very much aggravated by the fact that the 
 day before Judge Brady had rendered a very unexpected 
 decision in the case before him, sustaining Judge Pratt's 
 injunction against the publication or use of the affidavits 
 or letters. Things looked as if Fisk waa getting the best 
 of them everywhere. They knew, too, that he had been 
 exerting himself to get Stokes indicted for an attempt at 
 blackmailing in instigating these suits. In this state of feel- 
 ing they parted at the court house, Miss Mansfield and her 
 cousin Mrs. Williams going in one carriage to her residence 
 in 23d street, Stokes and his lawyers taking another car- 
 riage to Delmonico's restaurant, corner of Broadway and 
 Chambers street, where the three took lunch. While they 
 were there, the spider-eyed Judge Barnard came in and 
 said to the district attorney, one of Stokes' s lawyers, 
 that the Grand Jury had found an indictment against 
 Stokes for an attempt at blackmailing. Stokes is sup- 
 posed to have heard this remark and been rendered 
 desperate by it. He saw the waters closing around him 
 on every side. Years of a reckless, gay, exciting life were 
 showing their harvest of thorns and thistles, and had 
 already made his black hair prematurely gray. He had 
 sacrificed family, good name, wife and child, for pleasures
 
 314 SHADOWING HIS VICTIH THE 8HOOTIN0. 
 
 that " in their triumph die ;" a once fine fortune had 
 dwindled away in an unequal contest, and he now saw 
 himself falling into the power of his enemy. He left his 
 lawyers hastily, hired a coup6 and was driven to the Hofi- 
 man House, where ho lived ; after going to his room for 
 a few minutes ho was driven down Twenty-third street, 
 and was seen sitting in the coupe before tho Grand Opera 
 House, looking up to Fist's window. By some unknown 
 means ho learned that Fisk was going to call at the Grand 
 Central Hotel at about four o'clock. With this knowl- 
 edge he was driven down Broadway a short distance be- 
 yond the hotel, got out 6f the carriage, paid the hackman, 
 walked back to tho Grand Central Hotel, went up stairs 
 and took his position at the head of the staircase lead- 
 ing to the ladies' entrance. He had not long to wait. A 
 few minutes after four o'clock Mr. Fisk's carriage drew 
 up before the ladies entrance ; he cleftly alighted, crossed 
 tho sidewalk with his usual air, in the height of spirits, as if 
 this life were all a charm with nothing beyond it, passed 
 through the door and ascended seven steps to the first land- 
 ing when he looked up and saw Stokes standing above with 
 something in his hand. As his eyes caught that some- 
 thing it was discharged and he fell, crying " Oh !" He got 
 partly Up when another shot was fired and took effect in 
 in his arm. Ho was carried up stairs, and laid upon a 
 bed, and tho doctor of the hotel was immediately at his 
 fiido. After the shooting, Stokes throw his pistol under a 
 sofa in the ladies' parlor, descended to the main hall and
 
 ADSUM. 315 
 
 endeavored to escape by the back or Mercer street en- 
 trance; but tho cry of "man shot!" being raised up 
 stairs, tho fleeing assassin was caught and held. An 
 examination disclosed that ono of the two shots had mado 
 only a flesh wound in tho left arm, while tho other had 
 entered tho abdomen, five inches above the navel and two 
 inches to the right of tho median lino. The latter was at 
 once perceived to be probably mortal. The news spread 
 like \vild fire, and in a few minutes was known all over 
 the city. A crowd thronged tho hotel, and in a short tirno 
 Jay Gould, .William M. Tweed, David Dudley Field and 
 other intimate friends of tho wounded man had gathered 
 in tho room whero ho lay. After his wounds wero dressed 
 he made an ante mortem statement of the circumstances 
 of the shooting, identified Stokes, who was brought be- 
 fore him, as tho man who shot him, and then made his will. 
 Ho remained calm and boro himself with excellent nerve, 
 seeming to s;iffer little pain. About 10 o'clock tho opiates 
 administered began to affect him and he slept till about 4 
 o'clock Sunday morning, when ho woke, said ho was " do- 
 ing nicely," asked for some water, and coon fell asleep 
 again. About 9 o'clock ho woko again and was now evi- 
 dently sinking rapidly. IEo remained unconscious arid 
 easy till a quarter to eleven, when the mysterious ch.ange 
 came calmly over him, and the man of sensations was 
 dead. 
 
 As if giving the last touch of dramatic propriety to this 
 modern Iliad, precisely a year had passed in its perform-
 
 316 THE BECOBD OF ONE YEAR. 
 
 ance before the public. On the first Sunday of 1871 the 
 curtain rises upon a young man secured in jail for the 
 day by a mean trick, the victim of hell-born revenge, 
 while the pursuer rolls the morsel of triumph under his 
 tongue con arnore, and glories in the fancied terror of his 
 abused power. On the first Sunday of 1872 the prison 
 door again closes upon the same young man, but he is the 
 slayer now, and seems to glory in the notoriety of his 
 cowardly act, while he who then felt triumphant and pan- 
 oplied in a power that secured him from danger, is shot 
 down like a dog, without a moment's warning, unsuspect- 
 ing, and renders up his life, in turn the victim of his own 
 revenge.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 AT HOME HIS LEISURE HOTTES IN THE PAEK AT LONG 
 
 BEANCH AMONG HIS MEN MES. FISK THE DEAD MAECH 
 
 THE LAST JOUENEY BY EAIL THE GBAVE. 
 
 Mr. risk's private life was on the samo sumptuous 
 scale of grandeur and luxuriance as his career in 
 the business world and the acts which made him 
 known to the public. His residence was at 813 
 West Twenty-third Street, next door to his Erie castle, 
 and nothing that wealth could bring was spared 
 in its accommodations and supplies. He kept a sta- 
 ble of fine horses, seeming to delight more in a fine, 
 large turnout than in a fast team. He was often seen in 
 the Park or on Fifth Avenue, with a beautiful four-in- 
 hand, and sometimes six fine horses, three blacks on one 
 side and three whites on the other. Not unfrequently he 
 held the reins himself, which he could do in a style that 
 few owners of a turnout can boast. On his large drag 
 or coach, were four colored men in livery, two footmen 
 behind, and the driver and assistant in front. No other
 
 818 PEBSONAL TEAITS. 
 
 turnout in the city created anything like the sensation his 
 did. His summer retreat was at Long Branch, and here, 
 as elsewhere, during the season, ho appeared in the 
 grandest style, had the most striking turnout, and attract- 
 ed universal attention. 
 
 No man would go farther or spend more for revenge 
 than ho if ho felt himself wronged ; but, on the other 
 hand, no man was moro Had hearted or ready than he 
 with his means, when ho thought ho could do good, help 
 the deserving, or relieve suffering. Ho was quick to 
 appreciate a favor and never forgot it. All his im- 
 mense business affairs were attended to as so much 
 play, seeming not to weigh him down with any care 
 or trouble. "With half a dozen enterprises on hand, 
 any one of which would be all that most men could at- 
 tend to, ho seemed as free from care as a school boy, 
 dashed off his duties with astounding rapidity, and 
 was facetious and full of fun all 'the time. No being 
 was ever more self-sufficient and self-reliant. He satis- 
 fied himself and acted upon his own ideas. If others 
 liked what he did, it was well ; if not, it was equally well. 
 He wanted everything in his power, and depended upon 
 nobody that ho could not command. Ho was not harsh 
 or offensive, but the reverse, in tho exercise of his 
 authority ; yet all about him must tacitly acknowledge it. 
 Ho was so perfectly affable with every one, whether of 
 high or low degree ; his manner, was so full of that hail-fel- 
 low well met style to every one with whom he came in con-
 
 MRS. FISX. 
 
 tact ; ho had such strong sympathy for the merry element 
 of life and was so constantly full of fun, he was liked nof a 
 little by the army of employes and retainers that sur- 
 rounded him in his Erie offices, his theatres, his regiment, 
 and his navy. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was married quite early in life to Miss Lucy 
 D. Moore, of Springfield, Mass. When he came io New 
 York she remained in Boston, preferring that for her resi- 
 dence. She lived in a style that was a fitting counterpart 
 of her husband's, like him, was very generous of the 
 ample means at her disposal, and has made not a few- 
 hearts happy and grateful by her kindness. She had a 
 beautiful villa at Newport, and her turnout was the 
 grandest that appeared on Bellevuo avenue. Despite 
 his eccentric career their relations were always pleasant. 
 The news of the shooting was telegraphed her ii* 
 Boston. She left immediately and reached him the 
 next morning about seven o'clock ; but he never spoke or 
 seemed to recognize any one after her arrival. His will 
 left all his property to her, except $100,000 to his sister, 
 an annuity of $3,000 to his father and mother, and an- 
 nuities of $2,000 each to Minnie F. Morse and Eosie C. 
 Morse. 
 
 Monday, January 5th, 1872, the morning papers an- 
 nounced that his funeral would take place that day at the 
 Grand Opera House, where his body would lie in state. 
 Hours before the appointed time, one of the largest crowds 
 ever drawn together in New York had gathered in the
 
 320 THE OBSEQUIES. 
 
 vicinity and every place that might afford even a passing 
 glimpse of the coffin was packed with people. From the 
 .moment the doors were opened to the throng, a swqllen 
 stream of humanity flowed in and past to get a last view 
 of the face till time forbade its longer continuance. The 
 brief funeral services over, the solemn procession was 
 formed. At its head, after the necessary force of police, 
 was the band in which he had taken so much pride and 
 which existed only through him. Laboring men from all 
 the varied industries with which he had been connected 
 -turned out in full force. The brigade in which ho was 
 Colonel was ordered out to pay the tribute due his rank, 
 his own Ninth regiment forming the guard of honor. 
 Behind the hearse came his favorite black charger, and 
 then the long line of carriages containing his family, the 
 Erie officials, and those with whom he had been intimate. 
 The band touched the wild strains of the "Dead March 
 in Saul," and the procession started through the street 
 packed with humanity, passed the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
 the balcony and every window of which, as well as of all 
 the neighboring houses, were crowded .with spectators. 
 The cortege wound slowly through Madison Square, 
 turned to the East, and reached the New York and Now 
 Haven depot, whore the coffin was placed in. the "funeral 
 car. The train drew out, and James Fisk, J'r., had 
 passed away from New York forever, leaving it as ho had 
 lived in it the centre of a profound sensation. 
 
 There seemed a weird propriety in the tragic close.
 
 EDWARD S. STOKES,
 
 CHABITT COVEEETH A MULTITUDE OP SINS. 321 
 
 Dramatic harmony could hardly have made it otherwise. 
 A tragic end was almost to be expected for a career that 
 scrupled not to cross men in matters that exasperate the 
 most desperate passions, and there had been not a few 
 occasions in it where perhaps his violent end would have 
 drawn to him no pity ; but the manner and circumstances 
 of his death turned to the man a current of sympathy 
 that else he never would have had. A strange influence 
 rested upon all the crowd and all realized anew and more 
 vividly the awfulness of sudden death, a violent sudden 
 death. No one defended the morality of his nature or 
 denied that the world and society could but be greatly the 
 worse for every such career ; but the mysterious power of 
 death to silence censure and open the heart to the' consid- 
 eration of redeeming traits was intensified by the cruelty 
 of his murder, and lead many to admit for the first time 
 that his charity, kindness of heart and mental endow- 
 ments were all on a scale commensurate with his moral 
 deficiencies. Many kind, noble-hearted acts were freely 
 told of him now. And might it not be, too, that he had 
 in some degree been made the scapegoat of moral ob- 
 liquities not wholly his ? Was he not a legitimate out- 
 growth of the prevailing morality of New York ? The 
 legal tactics that scandalized the country in his name 
 were not his work, but that of men of the most eminent 
 professional and social standing, hired for the purpose. 
 The judicial fiats that robbed many men of their rights 
 and dues, were not issued by him, but by Judges
 
 322 BENDER UNTO CLESAB THE THINGS THAT ABE 
 
 whom ho found on the bench of the Supreme Court. 
 If infamous bills passed tho Legislature for his special 
 behoof, they passed by the votes of the people's chosen, 
 and were signed by the Governors of the State. The 
 crucible of death cleared him of much that had been 
 heaped upon him where others were more to blame, more 
 false to their higher trusts. The grave open to receive 
 him, men's minds leaped forward to the judgment of his- 
 tory and saw that he only lived, openly and without dis- 
 guise, much as those who passed for his betters and held 
 positions of honor, lived and acted in secret, adding to 
 their crimes one he never wore hypocrisy. 
 
 How giant-like his mental powers and executive abilities 
 were, th*e duties left vacant by his death and the influence 
 of the event on many great interests, made impressively 
 manifest. Who could step into his place and dis- 
 charge all his multifarious duties? A dozen men were 
 needed, and then nothing would move as he made it move. 
 The news of his assassination produced a sensation second 
 only to that of President Lincoln's throughout his own 
 land and in Europe. It had a marked effect upon the 
 London Stock Exchange. Tho effect may not have been 
 complimentary, but it at least bespoke his abilities. He 
 had many of the mental (and moral, too) traits that made 
 a Bismarck, and had he been an educated man, he would 
 undoubtedly have led an equally prominent career in a 
 different field and written his name upon the history of 
 his country as one of her most remarkable public men.
 
 TO BEATTLEBOBO-THE CIRCLE COMPLETE. 323 
 
 The last railroad journey, the funeral train that bore 
 him back to his early home at Brattleboro, attracted an 
 interest that attaches only to a remarkable man. At all 
 the stations along the road over which it passed, crowds 
 gathered, eager to catch a glimpse of anything connected 
 with the man and the final tragedy. It was near mid- 
 night when the train reached Brattleboro. A night more 
 drear, more weirdly in keeping with the occasion, could 
 not well be. Snow covered the landscape, the mountains 
 towered above in their gloom, and a cutting, desolate wind 
 sent a shiver through the multitude waiting amid the 
 wild scene for the coming back of one whose boyhood and 
 early life had run beside their own, who had gone out 
 from them to lead a career that excites in them a peculiar 
 wonder, because of their knowing more intimately than 
 others how small the beginning coming back for the 
 last rites at their hands. He was taken to the Revere 
 House, where we early found him, and the circle is com- 
 plete. He has been out, made the world know him as 
 few are ever known by sheer force of their own abilities, 
 and has been brought back to be buried at the age of 
 thirty-six. 
 
 With the gray dawn of Tuesday morning, January 9th, 
 1872, picturesque vehicles of all variety of non-descript pat- 
 terns begin to pour into the quaint village of Brattleboro, 
 all heavily freighted with people of' the country round 
 eager to witness the last ceremonies over the man who has 
 made so much noise in the world. Many were there who,
 
 324 THE TINAL CEEEMONT. 
 
 as children, in middle life, or even old age, had looked up- 
 on him with something of wonder when his form was 
 familiar to them in his earliest career. The tragic close 
 has impressed them with an awe, a wonder, a shudder, un- 
 known to the denizens of the city where it fell. Voices 
 are hushed to their lowest tones ; movements are slow and 
 careful, as if in fear of disturbing Death. Something akin 
 to stupor rests upon them all, as if unable to comprehend 
 how such things can be, as though doubting if it be 
 real. The gold-mounted rosewood casket is placed in a 
 position for them to pass by and look upon the face of the 
 dead. He lies in his elegant full uniform of a Colonel, 
 with his beautiful sword beside him. They saw the begin- 
 ning, they have seen the end. The awe pervading the 
 throng deepens and becomes more dread. Brief and sim- 
 ple services are held, and the last procession, plain and 
 wholly unostentatious, is formed and winds through the 
 street, over the bridge, up the steep hill, to the grave. 
 It is a bleak, dreary day, and the plain, unornamented, 
 treeless burial ground is in keeping with the day. It is 
 at the southern border of the village, upon a bluff rising 
 abruptly from the mellifluous Connecticut, with Mount 
 Mantasket towering up gloomily, jusi across the river, 
 in New Hampshire. Snow covers the landscape, and the 
 vehicles in the final procession are sleighs. The casket is 
 lowered to its place in the ground, the first shovelfull of 
 earth grates down upon its lid; the grief-stricken wife, 
 sister, mother and friend, are led away, tho officers of the
 
 EIC JA.CET. 325 
 
 Ninth are called into line and given the " order march !" 
 and James Fislc, Jr., is alone for his long rest. 
 
 Homely and desolate though the graveyard be in itself, 
 it commands a view rarely equalled in surpassing loveli- 
 ness. Here summer is charming in beautifully-nestled 
 mountain scenery, and whispers only of quietude,. happi- 
 ness and purity ; here the tints of autumn leaves are of 
 unrivalled brilliancy and variety, clothing the entire land- 
 scape in a grandeur that feasts eye and soul ; here winter 
 is most impressive in its drear and solemn majesty. 
 Here, amid scenery in strange contrast with the inci- 
 dents of his life, yet in perfect keeping with many of the 
 impulses of his heart, returned to the dust as it was 
 the man whose career was one of the most remarkable 
 of which the world has any record. 
 
 THE END.
 
 THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEES. 
 
 One -week from the morning Mr. Fisk died, the following letters, 
 except the last two, were published in the New York Herald as the 
 ones over which there had been so much controversy in the courts. 
 They contain no such important revelations as the public had been 
 led to expect. Among them are none revealing any Erie or Tammany 
 secrets, nor could it reasonably be expected that any such would 
 ever see the light again after once passing into the hands of Peter 
 B. Sweeny. There is in them nothing compromising any one but 
 their author, nor him in any way for which he would have cared in 
 the least. It is absurd to suppose that these are the letters that gave 
 Stokes and the woman their fancied power, or whose possible publi- 
 cation made so many minds uneasy, and against which Mr. Fisk 
 fought with such vehemence mid determination. Private letters 
 such as these are the best reflex the world ever gets of a man's real 
 heart and nature in his best hours, moods and impulses ; and it is 
 Emerson (is it not ?) who says that every man has a right to be 
 judged by his best moments. 
 
 The first letter was written on his visiting card, in the winter of 
 1867-8, and ran: 
 Mrs. Josie Lawlor, 42 Lexington avenue : 
 
 Come. "Will you come over with Fred and dine with me ? If 
 your friends are there bring them along. Yours, truly, 
 
 J. F., Jn. 
 
 Have not heard from you as you promised. 
 
 On the back of the card was : 
 
 Come. Fred is at the door. My room, 8 o'clock. After many 
 good looks I found Mr. Chamberlain. The understanding is now 
 that yourself and Miss Land are to go with me, say at half-past 9 
 o'clock, and the above gentleman is to come at 11 o'clock, as he has 
 some matters to attend to which will take him until that time. 
 Answer this if you will be ready by half-past 9 o'clock. 
 
 Yours, truly, JAMES FISK, JK.
 
 n THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEES. 
 
 Soon after Josie had arrayed herself in silks and fine jewelry, 
 wishing to dazzle her benefactor, as Cleopatra dazzled Caesar by 
 being borne into his presence as a bundle of old rags, from which 
 she emerged in all her splendor, she called at the Erie office, and, 
 of course, made a decided sensation among the clerks and attend- 
 ants. It must be remembered that Fisk was then unknown to the 
 public, had not attained to autocratic power, was only a director 
 under Drew and Eldridge, and could not then afford to disregard 
 public sentiment. The next day he wrote : 
 
 Strange you should make my office or the vicinity the scene for a 
 " personal." You must be aware that harm came to me in such 
 foolish vanity, and those that could do it care but little for the in- 
 terest of the writer of this. Tours truly, 
 
 JAMES FISK, JR. 
 5TH Av. H. 
 Dolly : Enclosed find money. Bully morning for a funeral. 
 
 J. F., JR. 
 
 Dear Josie : Get ready and come to the Twenty-third street en- 
 trance of the hotel and take me down town, and then you can come 
 back and get the girls for the Fulton dinner to-day. 
 
 Yours truly, SARDINES. 
 
 SHE IS GOING OFF ON A JOURNEY. 
 
 Dolly : The baggage sleigh will call at one o'clock, and you can 
 leave in my charge what you see fit. You have no time to lose. 
 
 J. F., JR. 
 
 My people are partaking of New York, in the shape of " White 
 Fawn" and two or three other different matters. I may not be able 
 to see you again to-night. If not, will take breakfast with you 
 the best I could do. Yours truly, JAMES. 
 
 February 5, 1868. 
 
 Dear Dotty : Get right up now, and I will be down to take break- 
 fast with you in about thirty minutes. We will take breakfast in 
 the main dining room down stairs. 
 
 Yours truly, JAMES FISK, JR. 
 
 Wednesday Morning, Feb. 6. 
 
 A NOTE ENCLOSING MONEY. 
 
 Have the kindness to acknowledge. Yours truly, 
 
 Feb. 22, 18C8. J. F., JR. 
 
 GOING TO THE OPERA. 
 
 Dear Josie : I have got some matters to arrange, and cannot call 
 for you until it is about time to go. I will be there twenty minutes 
 before 8. Be ready. Yours truly, JAMES. 
 
 Feb. 26, 1868.
 
 THE ENJOINBD LOYB LETTEKS. ni 
 
 Dolly : Enclosed find $50. Sleep, Dolly, all the sleep you can to- 
 day every little bit ! Sleep, Dolly ! I feel as if three cents' worth 
 of clams would help me some. Yours truly, J. F., JR. 
 
 MONDAY MORNING. 
 
 I am going to the San Francisco Minstrels with my family. If 
 Mr. L. was here I should ask him to take you. Shall see you to- 
 morrow evening. Yours truly, J. F., JR. 
 
 This is a playful allusion to his having to play the family man, 
 and implies that it would be in keeping if Josie could appear at the 
 same place under escort of her divorced husband. 
 
 Dolly : Enclosed find . I am wrong, but I am bothered. It 
 
 will come right. When I don't come don't wait. You shall not.be 
 placed as you was to-night again. Yours truly, 
 
 "Wednesday Evening. JAMES FISK, JK. 
 
 Have the kindness to acknowledge. J. F., JR. 
 
 Feb. 22,1868. 
 
 187 WEST STREET, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 1868. 
 
 My Dear Josie : James McHenry, the partner of Sir Morton Peto, 
 the largest railway builder in the world, Mr. Tweed and Mr. Lane 
 will dine with us at half-past six o'clock. I want you to provide as 
 nice dinner as possible. Everything went off elegantly. We are 
 all safe. Will see you at six o'clock. 
 
 JAMES FISK, JR. 
 MONDAY, Aug. 2, 1869. 
 
 Dear Josie : Send my valise, with two shirts, good collars, vest, 
 handkerchiefs, black velvet coat, nice vest, patent leather shoes, 
 light pants. I am. going to Long Branch to see about the calerye. 
 Enclosed find $25. Be back in the morning. J. F., Jr. 
 
 ST. JAMES HOTEL, Sunday, Oct. 18, 1869. 
 Dear Josie : Enclosed you will find $143. Yours truly, 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 Josie wished a competence for life settled upon her. Fisk refused, 
 and she sent him a letter severing their intimacy. 
 
 SUNDAY EVENING, Feb. 1, 1870. 
 
 My Dear Josie : I received your letter. The tenor does not sur- 
 prise me much. You alone sought the issue, and the reward will 
 belong to you. I cannot allow you to depart .believing yourself 
 what you write, and must say to you, which you know full well, 
 that all the differences could have been settled by a kiss in the 
 right spirits, and in after days I should feel very kindly toward you 
 out of memory of the great love I have borne for you. I never was 
 aware that you admitted a fault. I have many God knows, too 
 many and that has brought me the trouble of the day. I will not
 
 IV THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTERS. 
 
 speak of the future, for full well I know the spirit yon take it in. 
 " You know me," and the instincts of your heart will weigh me out 
 in the right scale. I will give you no parting advice. You have 
 been well schooled in that, and can tell chaff from wheat, and prob- 
 ably are as strong to-night as the humble writer of this letter. 
 The actions of the past must be the right way to think of me ; and 
 from them, day by day, I hope any comparison which you may make 
 from writing in the future. will be favorable for me. A longer letter 
 from me might be much of an advertisement of my weakness, and 
 the only great idea I would impress on your mind is how wrong 
 you are when you say that I have " grown tired of you." Wrong, 
 wrong ! Never excuse yourself on that in after years. Don't try 
 to teach your heart that, for it is a lie, and you are falsifying your- 
 self to your own soul. 
 
 No more. Like the Arabs, we will fold our tents and quietly 
 steal away, and when we spread them next we hope it will be where 
 the " woodbine twineth," over the river Jordan, on the bright and 
 beautiful banks of Heaven. From yours, ever, 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 Finding from this letter that Fisk was not yet her slave and that 
 she could not gain her object, she went to see him and they quickly 
 made up again. 
 
 FEBRUARY 10, 1870. 
 
 My Dear Dolly : "Will you see me this morning ? If so, what 
 hour ? Yours truly, ever, JAMES. 
 
 WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY, ) 
 WORCESTER, Mass. > 
 
 To H. J. Mansfield, 357 West Twenty-third street : 
 On the 3 o'clock train from Boston. Shall be in New York at 12. 
 
 J. F., JR. 
 
 lOrH OF MARCH. 
 
 Dear Dotty: Enclosed find $75, which you need; do not wait 
 dinner for me to-night ; I cannot come. Yours truly, ever, 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 My Dear Josie : Enclosed find your request. I will send to the 
 Fifth Avenue for the things. I cannot go to the house as much as 
 I would like to. Yours, JAMES. 
 
 May 6, 1870. 
 
 C. OFFICE, May 31, 1870. 
 Please send me the diamond brooch and necklace, my dear. 
 
 JAMES. 
 AUGUST 1, 1870. 
 
 My Dear Josie : I send yon letter I found to my care on my desk. 
 I cannot come to yon to-night. I shall stay in town to-night, and 
 probably to-morrow night, and after that I must go East. On
 
 1KB ENJOINED LOVE LETTERS. V 
 
 my return I shall come to Bee yon. I am sure you will say, 
 " What a fool 1" But you must rest and so must I. The thread 
 is so slender I dare not strain it more. I am sore, but God made 
 me so, and I have not the power to change it. 
 Loving you, as none but you, I am, yours ever, 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 AUGUST 4, 1870. 
 
 Dear Jotie : I found on my arrival at my office that the following 
 despatch had passed West last night : 
 
 E. 8. Stokes, Buffalo and Saratoga Springs : 
 Fay no attention to former despatch. Come on first train. BAKE. 
 
 Of course it means nothing that you are aware of. But let me give 
 you the author of it and my authority, and you will see how faith- 
 fully they have worked the case out after my departure last evening. 
 Miss Peiris drove directly to Rane's office ; from there to the corner 
 of Twenty-second street and Broadway, where the above despatch 
 was sent, and from there to Ruilley's. A third party was with 
 them, but who left them there ? Bane and Peiris, why should they 
 need Stokes ? " Comment is unnecessary " a plotting house and 
 against me. What have "I done" that Nully Peiris should work 
 against my peace of mind. Yours, truly, ever, 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 P. S. Since writing the within I understand a despatch has 
 reached New York that he is on his way. JAMES. 
 
 Josie, still failing to secure the settlement of a competency for 
 life upon her, has now discarded Fisk for Stokes. 
 
 AUGUST 19, 1870. 
 
 Enclosed you will find $400 for your little matters. You told me 
 when I saw you last you would send me your bills, which I would 
 be pleased to receive, and they shall have my attention at once. 
 Your letter would require a little time to prepare a right answer to, 
 so I will answer it more fully by to-morow, when I can look it more 
 carefully over. I am very happy to know that you have acted from 
 no impulse in leaving me, but that it was a long matured plan. I 
 hope you have made no mistake. Yours truly, as ever, 
 
 JAMES FTSK, JB. 
 
 NEW YOKK, Oct. 1, 1870. 
 
 Mrs. Mansfield : There can be no question as to the authority of the 
 letter which was handed to me yesterday by your servant, in this 
 respect differing from the epistle which you say you received from 
 Miss Peiris, and which, in your opinion, required the united efforts 
 of herself, Mile. Montaland and myself. Certainly the composition 
 should be good if these parties had combined to produce it. But the 
 slight mistake you made is evident from the fact that the letter re- 
 ferred to was never seen by me, and I presume Mile. Montaland is
 
 n 
 
 equally ignorant of its existence, as it is not likely she troubles her- 
 self about your affairs. I can scarcely believe* that she assisted Miss 
 Peiris in composing the letter, and the credit is therefore due to 
 Miss Peiris for superior talent in correspondence. As far as the 
 great exposure you speak of is concerned, that is a dark entry upon 
 which I have no light, and, as I fail to see it, I cannot, of course, 
 understand it. I have endeavored to put your jumbled letter to- 
 gether in order to arrive at your meaning, and I presume I have 
 some idea of what you wish to convey ; but as your statements lack 
 the important element of truth, they cannot, of course, have any 
 weight with me. 
 
 You may not be to blame for entertaining the idea that you have 
 shown great kindness to Miss Peiris and others, and that they are 
 under great obligations to you for favors conferred. The habit of 
 constantly imagining that you were the real author of all the benefits 
 bestowed upon others would naturally affect a much better balanced 
 brain than yours, and in time you would come to believe that you 
 alone had the power to distribute the good things to those around 
 you, utterly forgetful of him who was behind the scenes entirely 
 unnoticed. Can you blame, then, those from whose eyes the veil has 
 fallen, and who see you in your true light as the giver of others' 
 charities ? I would not trouble myself to answer your letters, and 
 I do not consider it a duty I owe you to give you a final expression 
 of my opinion. In venting your spite on Miss Peiris (with whose 
 affairs, by the way, I have nothing whatever to do) you have written 
 a letter, in answering which you afford me an opportunity of con- 
 veying to you my ideas respecting the theories which you have taken 
 every opportunity to express to those around you, and which many 
 people have considered merely the emanations of a crazy brain. I 
 could not coincide with this view, for crazy people are not inclined 
 to do precisely as they please, either right or wrong, and so long as 
 they are loose I consider them sane, and therefore I could not put that 
 construction on your conversation. 
 
 As for Miss Peiris being " a snake in the grass,"' I care but little 
 about that. She can do me neither harm nor good. I have done all 
 that has been done for her during the past year. She comes to me 
 and says : " Sir, you have been my friend ; you have assisted me in 
 my troubles, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart." This 
 is a full and sufficient recompense for me for any good I may have 
 done her, and she can return. If she be a snake in the grass, I 
 know full well her sting is gone and she is harmless. But what 
 think you of a woman who would veil my eyes, first by a gentle 
 kiss, and afterward, night and day, for weeks, months, and years, by 
 deceit and fraud, to lead me through the dark valley of trouble, 
 when she could have made my pathway one of roses, committing 
 crimes which a devil incarnate would shrink from, while all this 
 time I showed to her, as to you, nothing but kindness, both in words 
 and actions, laving at your feet a soul, a heart, a fortune, and a
 
 THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEBS. VII 
 
 reputation which had cost, by night and day, twenty-five years of 
 perpetual struggle, and which, but for the black blot of haying in 
 an evil hour linked itself with you, would stand out to-day brighter 
 than any ever seen upon earth. But the mist has fallen, and you 
 appear in your true light. I borrow your own words to describe 
 you, " a snake in the grass," and verily I have found thee out, and 
 you have the audacity to call your sainted mother to witness your 
 advice to me. " A dog that bites," &c., &c. 
 
 You accused her of leading you on and of ever standing ready to 
 make appointments for you. The tone of your letter is such that 
 you seem willing to shoulder the load of guilt under which an 
 ordinary criminal f would stagger. I believe you have arrived at 
 that state when no amount of guilt will disturb your serenity or 
 prevent your having sweet dreams, and we still shall see you crawl 
 " a snake in the grass." 
 
 How I worship the night I said, " Get thee behind me, Satan !" 
 The few weeks that have elapsed since that blessed hour, how I 
 bless them for the peace of mind they have brought me ! Again 
 the world looks bright, and I have a being. You imagined I would 
 pursue you again, and you thought I would endeavor to tear down 
 the castle you had obtained by robbery. God knows that if I am 
 an element so lost to every feeling of decency as to be willing to 
 link itself with you I will foster it, so that it will keep you from 
 crawling toward me and prevent me from looking on you as a snake, 
 as you are, and from raising a hand in pity to assist you should 
 trouble again cross your path. So I have no fears that I will again 
 come near you. 
 
 I send you back a ring ; and, were I to write anything about it, 
 the words would be only too decent for the same, were they couched 
 in the worst of language. So I say, take it back. Its memory is 
 indecent, and it is the last souvenir I havo that reminds me of you. 
 I had a few pictures of you, but they have found a place among the 
 nothings which fill the waste basket under my table. I am aware 
 that in your back parlor hangs the picture of the man who gave 
 you the wall to hang it on ; and rumor says you have another in 
 your chamber. The picture up stairs send back to me. Take the 
 other down, for he whom it represents has no respect for you. After 
 you read this letter you should be ashamed to look at the picture, 
 for you would say, " With all thy faults I love thee still," and what 
 would be merely the same oft-repeated lie. So take it down. Do 
 not keep anything in that house that looks like me. 
 
 If there are any unsettled business matters that it is proper for 
 me to arrange send them to me, and make the explanation as brief 
 as possible. 
 
 I fain would reach the point where not even the slightest necessity 
 will exist for any intercourse between us. I am in hopes this will 
 end it. 
 
 JAMES FISK, JR.
 
 Yin THE ENJOINED LOTE LETTEBS. 
 
 James Fisk, Jr. : That your letter had the desired effect yon can 
 well imagine. I am honest enough to admit it cut me to the quick. 
 In all the annals of letter-writing I may say it eclipsed them all. 
 Your secretary made a slight error, however, in supposing that Mile. 
 Montaland was mentioned. The only prima donna I had referred to 
 was " Miss Peiris." As you say, Mile, has nothing whatever to do 
 with my affairs. I have always respected her, and only thought of 
 her as one of the noblest works of God beautiful and talented, and 
 your choice never referring to her in my letter in thought or word. 
 I freely admit I never expected so severe a letter from you. I, of 
 course, feel that it was unmerited ; but as it is your opinion of me, I 
 accept it with all the sting. You have struck home, and, I may say, 
 turned the knife around. I will send you the picture you speak of 
 at once. The one in the parlor I will also dispose of. I know of 
 nothing else here that you would wish. I am anxious to adjust 
 our affairs. I certainly do not wish to annoy you, and that I may be 
 able to do so I write you this last letter. 
 
 You have told me very often that you held some twenty or twen- 
 ty-five thousand dollars of mine in your keeping. I do not know if 
 it is so, but that I may be able to shape my affairs permanently for 
 the future that a part of the amount would place me in a position 
 where I would never have to appeal to you for aught. I have never 
 had one dollar from any one cite, and arriving here from the Branch, 
 expecting my affairs with you to continue, I contracted bills that I 
 would not otherwise have done. I do not ask for anything I have 
 not been led to suppose was mine, and do not ask you to settle what 
 is not entirely convenient for you. After a time I shall sell my 
 house, but for the present think it best to remain in it. The money 
 I speak of would place me where I should need the assistance of no 
 one. 
 
 The ring I take back as fairly as I gave it to you ; the mate of it 
 I shall keep for company. Why you could say I obtained this house 
 by robbery I cannot imagine ; however, you know best. I am sorry 
 that your associations with me was detrimental to you, and I would 
 gladly with you (were it possible) obliterate the last three years of 
 my life's history ; but it is not possible, and we must struggle to 
 outlive our past. I trust you will take the sense of this letter as it 
 is meant, and that there can be no mistake I send this by Etta, and 
 what you do not understand she will explain. 
 
 NETW YORK, Oct. 4,1870. 
 
 After tho departure of Etta to-day, I wasted time enough to read 
 over once more the letter of which she was the bearer from you to 
 me, and I determined to reply to it, for the reason that if it re- 
 mained unanswered you might possibly think I did not really mean 
 what I said when I wrote ; and, besides, I was apprehensive that 
 the friendly talk carried on through Etta, at second hand, between 
 you and me, might lead you to suppose I had somewhat repented of
 
 THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEBS. EC 
 
 the course I had taken, or of the -words I had penned. It is to re- 
 move any such impression that I again write to you, as I -would have 
 the language of my former letter and the sentiments therein ex- 
 pressed stamped upon your heart as my deep-seated opinion of your 
 character. No other construction must be put upon my -words. I 
 turn over the first page of your letter ; I pass over the kind -words 
 you have -written ; have I not furnished a satisfactory mansion for 
 others' use ? Have I not fulfilled every promise I have made ? Is 
 there not a stability about your finances to-day (if not disturbed by 
 vultures) sufficient to afford you a comfortable income for the re- 
 mainder of your natural life ? You say you have never received a 
 dollar from any one but me, and you -will never have another from 
 me, until -want and misery bring you to my door, except, of course, 
 in fulfilment of my sacred promise, and the settlement of your bills 
 up to three weeks ago, at five minutes to eleven o'clock. 
 
 You need^iave no fear as to my sensitivenesi regarding your call- 
 ing on any one else for assistance, as I find the word " assistance " 
 underlined in your letter to make it more impressive on my mind. 
 That of all others is the point I would have you reach ; for in that 
 you would say, " Why, man, h'ow beautiful you are to look at, but 
 nothing to lean on !" And you may well imagine my surprise at 
 your selection of the element you have chosen to fill my places 
 (Stokes). I was shown to-day his diamonds, which had been sacri- 
 ficed to our people at one-half their value, and undoubtedly if this 
 were not so the money would have been turned over to you, that 
 you might feel contented as to the permanency of your affairs. You 
 will therefore excuse me if I decline your modest request for a still 
 further disbursement of $25,000. I very naturally feel that some 
 part of this amount might be used to release from the pound the 
 property of others in whose welfare the writer of this does not feel 
 unbounded interest. 
 
 You say that you hope that I will take the sense of your letter. 
 There is but one sense to be taken out of it, and that is an "epitaph," 
 to be cut on the stone at the head of the grave in which Miss Helen 
 Josephine Mansfield has buried her pride. Had she been the same 
 proud-spirited girl that she was when she stood side by side with 
 me the power behind the throne she would not have humbled 
 herself to ask a permanency of one whom she had so deeply wronged, 
 nor would she stoop to be indebted to him for a home which would 
 have furnished a haven of rest, pleasure and debauchery without 
 cost to those who had crossed his path and robbed him of the friend- 
 ship he once felt. The length of time since I had seen her and the 
 kind words she spoke left my mind ill prepared for the perusal of 
 your letter at that time, and it was not until after her departure, 
 when I was seated quietly alone, that I took in the full intent and 
 meaning of your letter, and felt that it was " robbery,'* and nothing 
 else. 
 
 Now, pin this letter with the other. The front of this is the back
 
 X THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEES. 
 
 
 
 of that, and you will have a telescopic view of yourself and your 
 character as you appear to me to-day ; and then I ask you to turn 
 back from pages of your life's history, counting each page one week 
 of your life, and see how I looked to thee then, and ask your own 
 guilty heart if you had not better let me alone ; and instead of try- 
 ing to answer this letter from your disorganized brain, or writing 
 from the dictation of -those around you to-day, simply take a piece 
 of paper and write on it the same as I do now, so far as we are now, 
 or ever may be. " Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Amen." 
 
 J. F., JR. 
 
 OCT. 19, 1870. 
 
 Madame : Enclosed I send you bill of Harris receipted, and I also 
 beg to hand you $126.29, being the honest proportion of the Bass- 
 ford bill which belongs to me to pay. I should have made the word 
 " honest " more definite, for had not Mr. Bassford to put the dates 
 to the bill, as he had received instructions from Miss Mansfield to 
 have the bill all under the date of June 8, 1870, although ($146.26) 
 the amount of the goods, as bought by you or your agent, was spent 
 at a much later date. I should not suppose you would care to place 
 yourself in the light that this bill puts you, knowing as I do the 
 instructions that you gave Mr. Bassford. I had supposed you 
 " honest," but I find that a trace of that virtue does not even cling 
 to you. I am, yours, J. F., JR. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, ERIE RAILWAY, 
 NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 1870. 
 
 Madam : You know I would not wrong you, and I would take 
 back all my acts when there could be a shadow of doubt that you 
 was right and I was wrong ; and let me speak of the other harsh 
 letters I have written. I wrote them because you had wronged me 
 positively, because you had placed between me and my life, my 
 hope and my happiness an eternal gulf, and I felt sore and revenge- 
 ful, and on those letters I am now the same. It would be idle for 
 me to write aught about them or about us. When I could talk to you 
 there, you did not listen. I presume it to be the same now. 
 
 The entire connection is like a dream to me, a fearful dream, from 
 which I have awoke, and, while dreaming, supposed my soul had 
 gone out ; and the awakening tells me I am saved, and, from the 
 embers of the late fire, there smoulders no spirit of revenge toward 
 you, for you acted right, and the wrong only came to me from you 
 "because you did not act sooner, and I would not believe that any 
 power on earth would make any question of money influence me or 
 come between me and the holy feeling I once had for you. I sent 
 John to Bassford's, and they told him what I said, or he told me so, 
 that you left word that the dates of the bill should not be changed. 
 But what does it matter whether it is so or not ? I cannot feel that 
 you would do it, and something says to me, this was one of the
 
 THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEES. XI 
 
 things she was not like. So I pass it by, and if the letters of last 
 night or to-day are not like me you can wash the bad act out from 
 your memory, and leave but the one idea that I want to do my 
 duty and fulfil every unsettled relic. At least in my heart rests no 
 remorse, for the memory is too deeply seated, and I would cherish 
 all that is good about you, and forget forever the bad. Of late you 
 have thought different from me (this may be imaginary on my part), 
 for which I think you give me all the credit you can. 
 
 We have parted forever. Now, let us make the memory of the 
 past as bright and beautiful as we can ; for on my side there is so 
 little to cherish that I cling to it with great tenacity, and hope 
 from time to time to wear it off. You know full well how I have 
 suffered. Once you knew me better than any one on earth. To-day 
 you know me less. It is the proper light for you to stand in. It is 
 all you desire on your side. It is all you deserve on mine. 
 
 This letter should remain and be read only by you. Should you 
 see fit to answer it the answer will be the same way kept by me. 
 There has been a fetorm. The ship, a noble steamer, has gone down. 
 The storm is over and the sea is smooth again. 
 
 Little ships should keep near shore ; 
 Oeater ships can venture more. 
 
 " My ship is small and poorly officered." 
 
 I am yours, ever, &c., &c,, J. F., JB. 
 
 P. S. I would have liked to have answered your letter in full, 
 but, as you say, I have not a well balanced brain, and I know I 
 could not do justice to a letter of that kind, so refrain, and content 
 to let the sentiments of it " know and fret me." 
 
 Oct. 25, 1870. 
 
 "Why should I write you again ? Shall I ever reach the end ? 
 There comes another and another chapter, until I get weary with 
 the entire affair. I would forget it, and no doubt you would the 
 the same. The mistake yesterday was almost the mistake of a life 
 time for me. Who supposed for an instant that you would ever 
 cross my path again in a spirit of submission and with a contrite 
 spirit. You have done that you should be sorry for, and I the same 
 in permitting it. This cannot be, and I shall write you the final 
 letter, and I shall see you no more. I told you that much yesterday 
 evening, and still I write it to you again. Yes, for the reason I 
 treated you falsely last night, and I left you with a different impres- 
 sion, and I would put that right. You acted so differently from 
 your nature that I forgive you, and even went so far as to bring my 
 mind to bear how I could take you back again. First, the devil 
 stood behind, and my better reason gave way for the moment, and I 
 came away, telling you I would see you no more. When your better 
 character comes in contact with mine we are so much alike that 
 much of what is said, like that last night, had better been unsaid. 
 
 All now looks bright and beautiful, and my better nature trembles 
 at ideas that were expressed last night. But that I should have left
 
 THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTEES. 
 
 on your mind an idea that you could control me is erroneous. There 
 are truths in this affair, and they must be spoken. You have gone 
 from one element and have taken another (Stokes), and for you to 
 turn back, either when you are situated that way, or when even you 
 could say that element had gone, should make no d^ erence to me. 
 It was you that took the step, and you should and shall suffer the 
 consequences. Supposing the part you took last night and yesterday 
 afternoon was one of truth, if not, and I [Here this letter is 
 
 torn]. 
 
 Again, if you was not dealing from your heart in what took place, 
 and I hope it was not true, then there are no consequences and no 
 suffering for you to endure. Why, it has been many a long year 
 since I could say to myself that I had committed such a folly. To 
 find another like yesterday would bring me back almost to child- 
 hood. To imagine that I should have again crossed your threshold, 
 and crossed it, too, deliberately, knowing that the same facts existed 
 that had given me all my trouble, and made me this sorrow why, 
 it is devilish. 
 
 I told you that I had passed the realm where I had forgiven you 
 all the sorrow you had made me, and that I would not murmur ; I 
 would not find fault with all that I saw. I would fain tear your 
 image from my mind, and I will. Why, I thought all night last 
 night and all day to-day of your saying, " I would rather be a toad," 
 &c., &c. Was that written to apply to me ? I should say so. Yes. 
 Who knows what you would not conceive ? No one but yourself. 
 And I must weigh you carefully, for I have nothing but a great 
 character to deal with, and I must meet things carefully. You 
 might suppose you could love two, and perhaps more elements, and 
 make them hover near you. Certainly you did last night, and, for 
 shame, I was one of them. But it will never occur again. 
 
 For once let us be honest. You went that road because it looks 
 smooth and pleasant, and mine looked ragged and worn. Now, a 
 mistake cannot be found out too soon. Travel further along, and 
 don't try to turn so soon. I can see you now, as you were last night 
 when you talked of this man (Stokes) ; and do not deceive yourself 
 you love him. Yesterday there was nothing but the breaking up of 
 strong pride and the giving way of willfulness. Cling to that one. 
 Leave me alone, for in me you have nothing left. Why ask me to 
 weaken yourself with him ? All this you must study ; but I pledge 
 you to-night that I will not countenance even your impression on 
 my mind until the door is closed behind him forever. For what you 
 can gain from me you probably cannot afford to do that ; so let me 
 advise you nourish hnn and be careful. Nothing is so bad for you 
 as changes. He loves you ; you love him. 
 
 You have caused me all the misery you could. Cling to him. Be 
 careful what you do, for he will be watchful. How well he knows 
 you cheated me. He will look for the same. And now, as I know 
 precisely how you stand from your own lips, I will treat him differ-
 
 THE ENJOINED LOVE LETIEES. XIII 
 
 ently. Although you would not protect him, I will. While he is 
 there, and until his memory is buried forever, never approach me, 
 for I shall send you away unseen. Ever be careful that you do not 
 have the feeling that you can come back to me, for there is a wide 
 gulf between you and me. I would not hold a false hope out to 
 you. I shall not trouble you more in this letter. You have the only 
 idea I can express to you. You know when you can see me again, if 
 ever. The risk for you is too great. Loving and suited as you are, 
 cling to him for the present, and when you nature grows tired 01 
 that throw him off. And so along until it is time for you to be 
 " put in your little bed" forever, you must rest contented. Don't 
 begin plotting to-morrow. Take to-morrow for thought, and be 
 governed by this letter, for the writer has much of your destiny in 
 his hands. 
 
 Despite the estrangement, Josie could not bear to let such a man 
 slip away from her. She continued to ask favors and keep herself 
 before him by various means. 
 
 NOVEMBER, 1, 1870. 
 
 Miss Mansfield : I have taken the steps for the corn doctress' re- 
 moval to a southern clime, where her business should be better, as 
 vegetables of that class thrive more rapidly there than on our bleak 
 shores. I presume it will take from two, or say four days, before I 
 get the passes, when they will be sent to you. Should she call on 
 you say to her to come back in four days and you will have them 
 for her. I sent you a package by Maggie for what you desired on 
 Saturday evening, with a little surplus over for trimmings, which I 
 hope you received. I am of your opinion regarding not only Dr. 
 Pape, but all of the doctors. You are well; let nature take its 
 course. You are in too good health to tamper with a constitution 
 as good as yours. This is important for your consideration. 
 
 Yours truly, JAMES. 
 
 NOVEMBER 10, 1870. 
 
 Enclosed find $300. Please use. I am very- sorry we could not 
 have arrived at a more satisfactory conclusion last night. I did all 
 I could, and the same feeling prevails o'er me now. With careful 
 and watchful manner you should look at all our affairs. You should 
 make no mistake. You told me I should hear from you when you 
 came to a conclusion. Therefore I wait upon your early reply, and 
 until then I must of course pursue the same course I have for the 
 last six weeks. I hope we shall mutually understand each other, 
 for the thing could be made, as should be made, satisfactory to you. 
 I am yours, JAMES. 
 
 Josie received $1,000 with this memorandum : 
 
 Erie Railway Company, Treasurer's Office, November 7, 1870, 
 receiving desk -$500. 
 
 WM. H. B.
 
 XIY THE ENJOI5ED LOTE 1ETTEES. 
 
 Erie Railway Company, Treasurer's Office, November 19, 1870, 
 receiving desk $500. 
 WM. H. B. 
 Please acknowledge receipt JAMES. 
 
 NOVEMBER 11, 1870. 
 
 Enclosed you will find the order on Miss Guthrie, which have 
 Etta or you present anddt will be all right. Mr. Comer gave them 
 an order n6t to deliver anything only on my written order to stop 
 the " opera bouffers ;" but present this enclosed order and it will be 
 all right. Mrs. Reher was here this morning and I gave her trans- 
 portation for self and Michael to Charlestown by steamer. 
 
 Enclosed you will find box at theatre in order to get the same, as 
 it was sold. I have convinced myself that I desire you and yours 
 to come. 
 
 Please answer the note, that I may know you are to come. 
 
 Yours, truly, JAMES. 
 
 NOVEMBER 12, 1870. 
 
 Enclosed find the letters. I was not aware Miss Jordan was to 
 come until I saw her pass the gatekeeper ; but that is nothing as- 
 tonishing, as she is one of our regular customers. Of course I did 
 not send her the box, for she is not in a mood that I presume such 
 civilities would be received from Fisk, Jr. I am glad you was 
 pleased. I would have been glad to have you seen " Les Petit 
 Faust." 'At the " Duchesse" we used old clothes and scenery, while 
 in " Faust" all was new. "We play " Faust" this afternoon. Shall 
 I send you a box ? And on Monday night we give the world " our 
 diamond," " Les Brigands," all new. 
 
 Surely the world is machinery. Am I keeping up with it ? is the 
 question. Yours truly, JAMES. 
 
 NOVEMBER 14, 1870. 
 
 Dear Dotty : Do you really wish to see a " brigand" at your house 
 to-night ? If so, what hour, or from what hour and how late should 
 I call ? For I might be able to come at 8, or perhaps not until 10. 
 Say what hour, and how kite is your limit after the time you first say. 
 
 NOVEMBER 15, 1870. 
 
 Enclosed find box for to-night. Should you find you cannot use 
 it, send it back to me later. Do you feel as I said you would this 
 morning ? The box, of course, is for whoever you may invite. 
 
 Yours ever, JAMES. 
 
 NOVEMBER 16, 18 . 
 
 Dear Dotty : Don't feel that way. Go riding, and to-night, darling, 
 I will take you to rest. I shall go out at half past 3, and you can 
 safely look ahead, darling, for rest. It will come, and we shall be 
 happy again. Yours truly, JAMES.
 
 THE ENJOINED LOYE LETTEBS. XV 
 
 THE LAST LETTERS. 
 
 NOV. 18, 1870. 
 
 Shall go to the race to-day, and this evening I am engaged uniil 
 late, and I am afraid you would get tired waiting for the ring of the 
 bell or the ring of the door. So I will not ask you to wait my 
 coming unless it be your wish, in which case I will come as early as 
 I can. Yours, &c. 
 
 Enclosed find the Leidunnor Ball. Yours truly, J. F.,JK. 
 
 MONDAY MORNING. 
 Not time to come up. J. F., JR. 
 
 Apocryphal. From the Tribune, Nov. 25. 
 ERIE RAILWAY COMPANY. 
 
 JAY GOULD, President. JAMES FISK, JR., Treas. 
 Office of the Company, New York, , 
 
 Dear Dolly : To-night we play " Les Briggans." It is too jolly. 
 When you past me at the gait last night without looking at me my 
 heart was pirsed. JAS. FISK, JR. 
 
 JOSIE'S LAST BROADSIDE. 
 
 James FisJc, Jr. Sir : You and your minions of the Erie Railway 
 Company are endeavoring to circulate that I am attempting to extort 
 money from you by threatened publication of your private letters to 
 me. You know how shamefully false this is, and yet you encourage 
 and aid it. Had this been my intention, I had a whoje trunk full of 
 your interesting letters, some of which I would blush to say I had 
 received. If you were not wholly devoid of all decency and shame, 
 you would do differently, knowing, as you do, that when your own 
 notes to my orders are brought into the courts, your letters acknowl- 
 edging your indebtedness to me, you will appear all the more 
 contemptible and cowardly. You are no sooner apprised of my 
 proceedings against you than I am served with an injunction order 
 requiring me to surrender up all the letters you wrote me and pro- 
 hibiting me from talking about them. This, indeed, looks to me 
 like a " Field" movement worthy the great and distinguished Erie 
 lawyer. Do you, in your sane moments, imagine that I will quietly 
 submit to the deliberate and wicked perjury in swearing to these 
 injunction papers ? (and to the credit of New York, I am glad to say 
 you were obliged to get them in Brooklyn). Unfortunately for 
 yourself, I know too well the many crimes you have perpetrated. 
 Was it not only recently you bought over my servants, a negro boy, 
 Richard E. King, also my cook, and bribed them to perjure them- 
 selves to aid you in your villainy ? I have the sworn proof of what 
 I tell you, and more. You surely recollect the fated Black Friday 
 the gold brokers you gave orders to to buy gold, and then repudi- 
 ated the same, because, as you said, they had no witnesses to your
 
 XVI THE ENJOINED LOVE LETTERS. 
 
 transactions. There was one I recollect in particular, a son of 
 Abraham, who had the courage to swear out an attachment against 
 the Grand Opera House for what was justly due him, and how you 
 and Jay Gould ruined the poor victim by breaking up his business, 
 and having him arrested and imprisoned for perjury. And at the 
 time you premeditated this crime, you well knew he held your 
 written order to buy gold, and you were the perjurers. You are 
 aware, in the papers you served on me, you swore to what was 
 wicked and false, for -it was only a few days previous thereto you 
 sent Mr. Hubbell to offer me inducements to give you an order on 
 Peter B. Sweeny for my original affidavit and your letters to me, 
 which documents Sweeny got possession of, as they compromised 
 him and other Tammany magnates in the division of the Erie Rail- 
 way plunder. But I positively refused to give the required order. 
 Knowing your doings as I do, do you wonder I object to you and 
 your minions practicing the same upon me ? 
 
 It is an everlasting shame and disgrace that you should compel one 
 who has grown up with you from nothing to the now great Erie 
 Impressario to go to the courts for a vindication of her rights, which 
 you refuse to adjust for reasons you -too well know. It is only four 
 years ago since you revealed to me your scheme for stealing the Erie 
 books ; how you fled with them to Jersey City, and I remained there 
 with you nine long weeks ; how, when you were buying the Legis- 
 lature, the many anxious nights I passed with you at the telegraph 
 wire, when you told me it was either a Fisk palace in New York or 
 a stone palace at Sing Sing, and, if the latter, would I take a cottage 
 outside its walls, that my presence would make your rusty irons 
 garlands of roses, and the very stones you would have to hammer 
 and crack appear softer under my influence. You secured your Erie 
 palace, and now use your whole force of Erie officials to slander and 
 injure me. It is, indeed, heroic, and worthy the hero of the mem- 
 orable 12th of July last. 
 
 I write you this letter to forever contradict all the malicious, 
 wicked abuses yon have caused to be circulated, and at the same 
 time fully state that I am willing to leave all matters in dispute and 
 difference and forever settle any further controversy to our re- 
 spective counsel, Samuel G- Courtney, Luther R. Marsh, and 
 William A. Beach. If they cannot agree, I am willing William M. 
 Evarts shall decide between them. However, I only make this pro- 
 posal to place myself in the proper light and spirit. 
 
 If you feel your power with the courts still supreme, and Tam- 
 many, though shaken, still able to protect you, pursue your own in- 
 clination. The reward will be yours. 
 
 I am, with what respect you are best able to judge, 
 
 HELEN JOSEPHINE MANSFIELD.
 
 COLONEL FISK'S 
 MONUMENT. 
 
 THE marble monument 
 erected to Colonel 
 James Fisk, Jr.,. by his 
 widow, in the cemetery at 
 Brattleboro, Vt., was un- 
 vailed on Decoration Day. 
 The Veteran Association 
 of the Ninth Regiment, with 
 the famous band, the offi- 
 cers and about one hun- 
 dred members, all under 
 command of Major Fuller, 
 left New York City the day 
 previous, and were present 
 at the ceremony. The 
 monument was made in 
 Italy, of the choicest mar- 
 ble, and cost, with the 
 solid marble fence-posts 
 and steps, about $33,000. 
 The base itself weighs 
 five tons. Upon it rests 
 the body of the monument, 
 on the four corners of 
 which are life -size figures 
 of Victory, History, Music 
 and Science. One side 
 
 bears an admired likeness in relief of the deceased 
 Colonel. At the base of the plinth which rests on 
 this pedestal is a 'grouping of immortelles, while 
 further up are garlands of laurel with ends tied in 
 the centre of each side of the shaft. After ap- 
 propriate addresses, the monument was elegantly 
 decorated with natural flowers, the band meanwhile 
 playing suitable airs.
 
 b 
 
 36 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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