The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-23
HIS WIFE WON HIS MONEY.
She Disguised Eerself and Broke Hin
at Baden-Sadeu.
Fr0n the Palade - TIme.

49, ~ Lille, jan 4F.-1Lc fcltIhO4e II.
1. Simmons, who lives near Rochester,
was in Titusville this week renewing old
acquaintance and rev.ving "reminiscences
OF Oil Creek. Mr. Simmons went through
the oil excitement Of 1886, and some Of
tne un"ritten history Of these days as given
py MN Is exceedingly interesting.
hese OIL Greek fats between Titusville
ana Oll City" said Ar. Simmons, always
sugges: 70 me great gambling table. l
came 70 Oil City when had TO reach the
Town by stage over the wors road. lthi k,
that horses ever Travelled. We had eight
horses to stage coach, in which were eight
passengers-a Passenger for each horse
ana 1t was about all the animals could do to
draw US through the awful mud. In places
1t was over the axletree aud when we
reacted the town We found it worse than
anywhere else. There was something dis
couraglng about this mud, and had mind
70 take the back track home to Trenton, n.
J., but Joined party going up the creek
next day. The big wells and the wonder
ful scenes Of activity fascinated me, and l
remained
II had less than 500. and my first ven
ture was TO open little cigar store here IN
Iltusvllle. l toink | was located in q little
t"o-by-four room somewhere near the
present city building. am tobacconist
~ ~ HNC ot-A kUOo SOItEAlt4AlE dDOAL the
cigar business, but never knew Of q trade
that demanded such fIe goods as the
pushing, struggling crowds that dav and
night flllsd tie streets Of Titus lie. Every
ones pockets seemed lined with money, and
nlne-tenths If the people were Coal Oil
Johnnys' in subdued form 1t was a posi-
tive ofense to aska man less than p cents
Tor cent cigar, and l made money
rapidly. When l got $500 tgether that I
Aidpff mad tp J,
OF my customers and we took lease near
what was later known as the Octave Dis
trict'
II don't know much about the oil bust
ness, and my partner, a man named Rad
cliff Dobson, from Philadelphia, knew less,
but the tickle goddess was kind to US. 4
org gusher came in not far from our tract
and we got no rest til. we sold out. We had
little more than garden patch of ground,
but we sold our lease for 800, 900 cash. 1t
WAS Boston company that bought US out.
They put down well and got dry hole,
and were the sickest crowd you ever saw.
They put down other wells on the lease and
got some oil, but | don't think they ever
got quarter Of their money back.
ION in those days ranged in price all the
way from % cents barrel UP to Sl2 a bar
rel. Dobson and divided about $500, 900
in less than ten months and then dissolved
pcA SlIl ~ ne CAlL JUN ~ L4i6QSly PIMA
and married young lady who also had a
fortune, and they went to Europe on a wed
ding tour. He was an inyeterate gambler,
and | learned afterward that she had a
mania in that direction herself
Zone day received foreign letter post
marked Baden Baden. It was a hastily
written note from Mrs Dobson, inclosing
a draft for 81 900 and asking me to come to
Bsden-B Baden at once. | was doing little
b,,A I g..
things and in two days after receiving the
letter was on the ocean bound to Baden
Baden. Arrived there, l found my old
friend and partner, D BISON. in deplorable
state. He had taken to drinking heavily
and playing with great recklessness. In
six mont IS he had wrecked himself phYsi-
callv and lost his entire fortune, amounting
in all to $3.50, 900 / found him confined to
his bed in hotel and his mind bordering
on madnees.
Then Mrs. Dobson told me a strange
story and, moreover, produced corrobo-
rative evidence of the truth of it. She
was a large, black-eyed woman, and al
though just trifle masculine in the fea-
lures, was strikingly handsome and q
woman of uncommon business Qualifica-
tions. She had studied for the lyric stage,
and had sung in several public concerts, but
inheriting a fortune. she abandoned the
story was most peculiar. After coming 10
Baden-Bade1 with her husband he became
slave to liquor, aud. being a reckless gam
bier with plenty of money, was soon a
habitue of the gambling rooms and losing
large sums nightly. At times he would
not appear at home for a week. and always
intoxicated.
ITO save her husband and his fortune
Mrs. DObsOn had to resort to a magnificent
IL.
self, and set out to win her husbands money
at the gaming table She cut off her beau
tiful hair to help along her disguise and
arrayiHg herself in the outfit of a Badel-
Baden sport she frequented the gambling
rooms and played against her husband at
every opportunity. Dobson was a "high
roller" and paid his losses like a thorough
bred, and one night when he was especially
maudlin, Mrs. Dobson went home with
$50, 900 Of his money. In three months she
won his last cent, something like Sl50,000
and produced her bank book to show me
where she had it deposited.
"Poor Dobson knew that he had lost his
money, but never suspected that his wife
won it and had it safe in bank. He had be-
come very brutal toward her in his drunken
frenzy, and o ce or twice had threa ened
her life. She knew | had some influence
over him, and had sent for me to help re-
store him to his proper senses and get him
back TO the United States. l got Dobson
weaned from the bottle, ald wien he was
in a proper frame of mind told him the
story that his wife hal told me- 1t pro-
duced a remarkable change in him. He
went to his wife, who was then i'll from
over exertiOn and anxiety, asked her for
giveness, and promised in the most earnest
manner to make amends for his past short.
comlngs. He seemed 70 be the most con-
tented man in Bzden-Baden, but two weeks
later, while in a public park, he fired a
pistol shot into his brain and died aim st
instantly