The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-10-04

years he had worked his way up TO the head
of one Of the greatest railroad corporations
in the world, and he then deliberately sat
down to plunder II. What mystic influence
was 1t that drew him to an Insignificant lit
tie man, between him and whom 1t would
seem there never could be anything in.
common7
This little man was Jay Oould-a name
destined to be heard in financial circles
throughout the world; name before which
Bulls and Bears should tremble In the
zenith Of their power; name to conjure
as with magician's spell, and which IN ito
day should represent vaster railroad in-
terest than any other man on this great
globe, among the living or the dead.
Nothing could be conceived more oppo-
site than these two men. Fisk was an
obese giant, turning the scale at 275 and
sometimes reaching near 800. Gould was
an attenuated anatomy, scarcely reaching
96 pounds and who considered himself cor
puIent at 100. Fisk was a debauchee, o
spendthrift and rake. Mr. Gould was d
pattern of conjugal confluence; he loved
his home, and when not engaged in making
money was generally to be found there.
Fisk loud mouthed braggart and q boast
or, telling everybody what he was going to
do. Gould seldom If ever spoke Of his af-
fairs and never trusted any one with the
secrets of his business. Fisk delighted in
good chums and good suppers, and was
never go happy as when surrounded by a
dozen harlots and few friends as loose as
himself; he indulged in those costly and
lavish feasts at which New York stood
aghast fourteen or fifteen years ago. The
fact was, that we were rushing headlong to
shame and degradation, when suddenly
the pistol Of Ed. Stokes awakened us from
our dream. What depth of infamy we
would have reached if it had not been for
that, God only knows, for in the wake Of
this notorious man were following thou
sands and thousands Of young men who were
led to believe that money was the "Open
Sesame" to every good thing. The Ninth
Regiment of War Veterans had disgraced
itself by making this poltroon its Colonel
"a man who had never seen battle and
knew NO more about the duties of a soldier
than horse. On the Fourth of July, be-
fore his death, Tammany Hall had received
him with open arms, and standing beside
the great Sycamore Tweed, Jim Fisk
made his first and last public speech, but
the pistol of Ed. Stokes dissolved the firm of
Fisk & Gould, and henceforth Gould, as the
Man of Destiny, was doomed to tread the
wine press alone.
For two mortal years Of agony Ed. Stokes
stood under the shadow Of the scafold.
Twice the sentence Of the courts was af-
frmed, and twice the gallows was erected
on which be was to swing. Once only e
few short hours seemed to intervene be-
tween him and shameful death. No
wonder that his hair turned vssta as snow
when he thought Of the priceless treasure
he had thrown away forever for harlot's
smile. But his lucky star was in the as
cendant. The Court Of Appeals gave him
a new trial. The grade of his crime was
changed from murder in the first degree
to the third. He served his term ont, made
another fortune in Leadville and returned
to New York. Many people, circumstaneed
as Ed. Stokes was, would have avoided OBJ
servation, bYt he did not; he sought it In
the most public place in the city, and took
the Hoffman House, just above the Fifth
Avenue Hotel. His first attempt at noto-
riety was his barroom. which was admitted
to be one of the most magnificent in the
city. Costly statuary, magnificent bronzes,
rare articles of vertu and ornaments, met
you at every turn, and finally New York
was amazed at the purchase Of q Bongerou
the price was said to be $4,000. Nosuch
picture had ever been seen in America be-
fore, and there are few such in the world
It is not such picture as one would like
to see in any public gallery (and I believe
it was denied place in the Grand Salon al
Paris), but it is a marvel Of art and has
drawn thousands of visitors to Ed. Stokes
bar. ALL the appointments are costly ani
rich, and it is the central place in town
where you can meet all the fast young men
fellows who drive their fast cracks or
Harlem Lane, antiquated rovers who take
their sherry and egg, and sporting meu
from all parts of The country who drop il
to chat and get the latest tips from Jay
See or Maud 8. When the Fifth Avenue
Hotel began its alterations, Ed. Stokes
| waited till they had finished and then wen
them one better. dropped into the Hof
man the other day and was struck with
| wonder at the change. Il is the headquar
| ters of the Democratic National Commit
| tee, but there is nothing Democratic abou
it. Gold, gold, gold, is around you every
everything else on scale Of lavish extrav
| agance, wonderful to behold. As far q
| display is concerned the Fifth Avenue Ho
| tel and every other town is distanced ant
| eclipsed. Who will be the next aspiran
for fame? know not, but in the midst o
all this bewildering beauty, Ed. Stoke
stalks about, spectre gloom seeming t.
hang on him like pail. Perhaps it is tn
shadow of the gallows, the memory o
envy him all his splendid surroundings.
The intense heat which made rs thin
| that the earth's crust was growing thinne
| and that possible volcano was under Nel
| York, has passed away. II was dreadful.
was calculated to exercise a wholesome in
fence on sinners, for they said if it is as he
as this here, what must it be in Gehann
--latest transla tom, but it did not. hear
more profanity in those five days than
usually hear in an everage three months
but q change has come, delightful and II
freshing, and now we are fairly launche
into the pleasant fall. Business is in
proving, notwithstanding the roar Of th
coming election.
Both parties are now fairly in the fel
and each day sees increased activity at tt
different headquarters. Tammany hs