The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-10-19

sistency, his masterfulness, soon made
him tho most successful lawyer of that
region. He dabbled in politics. held
offices, became power in the territory.
There was great deal of mining litiga-
ton. Claims worth hundreds Of thou
sands of dollars wero settled in court
The trials We're by jury. In some man
ner-Just how no one seems TO know-it
soon became notorious that if ~ man
wanted to win suit in court he had to
have Bill Stewart for his lawyer There
were plenty of other lawyers, but none
that could win every case they tackled,
as Stewart could. AS rule, there was
race between litigants to see which
should first reach Bill Stewards office
and retain him. To retain Stewart was
four-fifths Of the battle. He exercised
some magic spell over juries. Even the
judges were not free from his fascina-
tons.
OF course Lawyer Stewart charged
big fees. 1t often happened that in saw
ing mine for client he earned a larger
interest in the property than the client
himself had at the end Of the litigation.
Stewart grew rapidly rich.
All this was In Nevada, whittier he
h9g removed soon after going west.
When Nevada came in as state, he was
one of the first senators. Twelve years
he served and during that time invested
some of his wealth in Washington real
estate. In what was then the outskirts
of the city he built pretentious house,
known as Stewards CASTLE" and lived
i'll it for time. Then his speculations
tnrnnd ont ho11xy II
his luck" His fortune was gone. For
time he held himself up by the profits
of the famous Emma mine negotiation
in which the late Robert Schenck was
involved, and about which there were a
scandal and congressional investiga-
ton. But at the expiration of his sec
ond term he was nearly "broke" and re-
turned to Nevada.
The Comstock Lode.
A man like this cannot be kept down.
Once more "Sagebrush Bill Stewart"
as the miners called him, appeared in
the courts Of Nevada. He built flume,
acting as his own engineer, and the
flume still stands. He became interest
ed in the famous Comstock lode. He
won lawsuit after lawsuit and rapidly
acquired another fortune. Through all
his troubles he held on to the Washing
ton property, renting it to the Chinese
government for many years as lega-
ton house, the rental more than paying
the interest of the mortgage He held
on to other Washington real estate in
the northwestern part of the city, where
rapid rise i'll values has made him n for
tune in itself. Now he is remodelinr
the castle for his own occupancy. Il
stands in the heart Of the aristocratic
section of the capital.
Senator Stewart is a man of riant
frame and wonderful vitality. He is 6
feet Z III his stockings and has the shoul-
ders and lungs of III athlete. During all
his stormy career in the west he never
had personal difficulty with man.
though not through lack of courage.
Once he braved the fury of a mob that
was about to hang an Englishman ac
cused of theft. With score of guns
pointed at his head he commanded the
mob to listen to him and by his courage
won their attention and respect. He
summoned jury right OH the spot, him
self acted as judge, heard the evidence
and by his quick wit and court training
was able to point out the weakness of
the testimony against the culprit. The
Englishman's life was saved, and within
SIX hours the real thief was discovered
and hanged to cottonwood tree.
Silver and Horses
Stewart always wears a SLOUGH hat.
usually white, but sometimes black
Like Billy Malone, You may know him
as far as you can see him by his head
gear. He lives modestly, eschews So
ciety, sits up late at night with his books.
works all the time, wears out one private
secretary and then gets another. No
matter at what time he goes to bed. he
rises at 6, and if specially busy at i or
in summer. His hobby, aside from
silver, is horses, not runners OF trotters
but roadsters. With span of bays. n
light wagon and a cigar, he drives like
mad through the country roads. neither
snow nor mud stopping him.
Ii Bill Stewart were not Il hard headed
Scotchman, he would be in lunatic asy-
lum. For years he has thought, studied.
written, spoken of little else save silver.
If he starts a speech or private CONVEX
sation on any other topic, he is sure to
reach silver within five minutes, and
having once reached it he clings to it till
his audience has escaped. There is no
man i'll the country who knows the sill
YER question better than he unless il is
his colleague from Nevada-Senator
Jones-or Teller of Colorado.
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