Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-09
RICH BUT uNcuLTuREp.
One of tho Oddities Created by Successful Operation in Western Mining Schemes.

successful
 Operation in Western Mining Schemes.
 There is Q man in this city, says the Now York Telegram, whose peculiar career has been in harmony with his peculiar character. He was born in the south, has had some education, though he cannot be considered an educated man, and has lived in many parts of the world. He is one of those men whose indomitable will power makes success with them foreign conclusion. He is now about forty-five years of age, the possessor of a tremendous fortune, which he has made by speculating in western mines since 1875, when he lost a comparatively small fortune which he had inherited. This calamity, instead of depressing him as it would many men, seemed to bring out all the latent power in his nature. He went west inn mediately with his large family, lived with the greatest economy and was happy in the confidence of his ultimate success. This success came to him in a very short time. He found himself to be the possessor of an admirable judg- ment of the value of mines, and showed and close bargain. As one of his friends
 
 money by squeezing it out of others. He would, by taking advantage of a mans embarrassed financial situation, get all his property out of him, and then, with fine magnanimity, present his victim with fifty dollars as gift A few years after his advent in the west he found himself millionaire. As soon as the discovery was made it dawned upon him that the west was too small place for him. So he came to New York expecting to take the town by storm. But, strange as it may seem, 1 he has not succeeded in this ambition. On the contrary, there are few people who know that he lives in this big city He, the possessor of two millions, is l thrown into the shade by scores of New Workers, each of whom possesses | many millions more. But he is well content. His experience in New York has taught him to affect & contempt for 1 wealth, though he still continues to ac- cumulate 1t. Money" he says, with a fine scorn which is very amusing to those who know him, money Is not worth striving for. There are other things in the world of greater impor. tance than mere pelf." He is particu- larly fond of making this remark to those persons with whom he has l business relations. He certainly con. 1 vinces them that there is no use in ! striving for money with him, for in the 1 struggle for it he is sure to win. This, however, is only one of his many aphor- isms. He loves to pose as philoso- | pher and to scatter bits of wisdom around him, some of which have a | strangely familiar sound, as though they had been said before by some one else. He is also very religious, and he invariably throws the cloak of his re- ligion over his little prevarications and hard business dealings. His life in the wild west seems to have inspired him with an intense desire to be a gentle man and to surround himself with gen tlemen, and his efforts thus far have re- suited in some curious episodes. His rude speeches to his guests at table arc | the talk of those who havo met him, l and his peculiar manners have already | inspired one novel writer to put him in a story. He has an intense admiration l for Napoleon, whom he takes for his model, and initiates in manner which | gives delight to those who can appre- ciate it. Altogether, he is a most curious example of civilization which is rap idly dying out, of the type which is neither boor nor gentleman, but cross between the two, the result of state of social transition which produces in him mixture of natural vulgarity only | imperfectly concealed by a veneer oF | spurious refinement.