The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-29
YARNS ABOUT GOULD.
INCIDENTS SHOWING cHARAcTeRis-
TICS OF THE FlNANCiER.

That Whisky Was q Bad Surveyor.
There was nothing he detested moro
than newspaper notoriety. He used to
dodge reporters, and only one of them,
rs far rs known, ever fairly outwitted
him. Fred Skiff, the city editor of the
Denver Tribune, detailed reporter after
reporter to interview Mr.. Gould during
ono of his visits to Colorado, but each
brought back word that the little rail
cad king would not DO seen and had
tt".ed sentinels all along the hotel COR
e. o.; to drive intruders away. So SkifP
~,;- to do the job himself. He hunted
Is friendly Pullman car conductor
: rrowed his uniform Then he
~ / into the hotel and up the stairs.
.ook a-here," said he 10 the first
.,nel he met, what does Mr.. Gould
propose to do about that car? 1 must
know right away, for if he isn't going
to use it tomorrow I've got to take it
back to Chicago"
The sentry knew nothing about the
car, of course and advised Skiff to SEQ
Gould about it himself. So Skiff success
fully ran the gantlet of the half dozen
lackeys, growing all the time about the
bother of being compelled to attend to
other peoples business. Judge Usher,
one of Gould's attorneys, who was in
consultation with his client when the
bogus sleeping car conductor was shown
In, Immediately recognized Skiff, hav-
Ing known him back i'll Kansas.
when did you get out of the news
paper business?' inquired the astonish-
ed lawyer. II amt out of it, - replied
Skiff, "but had to put on this disguise
In order to get i'll here to interview Mr.
Could
"Young man, said Mr.. Gould stern
ly, eff you're n reporter, you can take
yourself right out of the room, for am
not to be interviewed.
Skiff argued the point and not being
invited to be seated coolly sat down on
the floor.
"Unless you put me out, said he,
81 shall stay here till you tell me what
your plans are. -
This audacity pleased Gould He
looked at Usher, and seeing the lawyer
ohuckling heartily broke out into loud
laugh.
well, what do you want to know"
he said finally in the tone OF man who
is wealicd with Directing
Slliff knew he had triumphed He
produced his notebook, drew up to the
table ut which Gould sat and set indus
triously to work putting out questions
and noting the replies. The result vas
reliable forecast of tho immense rail
road enterprise i'll which Gould subsc-
quently embarked, and of which the
public would not otherwise have been
forewarncd.
Less happy was the fate of the Chi
cago reporter who followed Gould by
rail down into Indiana and finally over
hauled his special car and knocked at
the door. Mr.. Gould responded in per-
son, and the reporter held up his card
30 that his victim could read it through
the glass window.
1.-The Chicago Bugle wants your opin-
ion, +" he shouted, ON the question of
refunding the per cents
Mr.. Gould regarded him through the
glass with such a frigid expression that
the interviewer has shivered at the mere
memory of it ever since, but finally
opened tho door Oh Il crack and asked:
Young man, do you want me?"
Yes, sir. l want to interview YOU
ON tho subject Off,
Mr.. Gould began to shut the door.
"On the subject of tho deviln yelled
the indignant reporter as he saw all his
hopes fading away.
Young man, >" said Mr. Gould, open
ing the door once more an inch or two.
"on that subject you had better sec jim
Keene. He's got all the points and is
anxious to give them away to spite old
Floodr
Gould always believed that the secret
of his ability to overcome others III any
contest Of wits was his temperate habit
of life He never tasted whisky but once.
In the days when he was surveyor in
O small way and was mapping Il county
OH the practical line of getting lodgings
and meals Of the farmers in exchange
for marking correct sundials on their
doorsteps he became tired one hot,
dusty afternoon. He came to country
tavern In his pocket was cent piece.
1t suddenly struck him that as a mcdi-
cine to relieve faintucss he ought TO buy Il
glass of whisky with his nickel. Twas
ignorant of bar usage, " he said once in
describing the incident to a friend, land
so when glass and a bottle were set
before me | filled the tumbler chock
full. The bartender made no protest,
and swallowed the big horn. Then
went my way, trundling my whcclbar-
row like measure of distances and occa-
slonally taking the bearings with sen
tant. Never i'll my life had my work
gone off half SO blithesomely, and for
awhile l felt as though making map of
the starry heavens instead of q very