The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-04
GRANTS GREATESTFIGHT
WHEN HE CONQUERED FOR-
TUNE WITH DEATH AT HIS ELBOW.
Interesting Stories of the Closing
Months OF His Life. Told by His
Confidential Secretary.
Copyright. 1897. by Franz C. carpenter)

never been published. 1t was not fought
during the bloody years between 1S61 and
1865. 1t was not waged during his stormy
administration in the White House, but IL
came during the last few months OF his
life, when bankrupted and made penniless
by the villain Ward. when racked with pain
and enfeebled by disease. he shook his fist
in the face OF death and wrote the book
which made his widow and his family
wealthy. No other good book has ever
been written under such circumstances.
Few books have ever been written which
read so well. The language is as simple
as that of Pilgrims Progress or Robin
son Crusoe.r and the story Is OF thrilling
interest from beginning TO end. To read IL
you would not think that much of il was
dictated in n voice not above a whisper.
and that the thought came forth from a
brain surrounded by nerves which were
ever twitching with agonized pain. Few
books have had so great a sale as that OF
Grants. Hundreds of thousands Of copies
were sold. and Mrs. Grant not long ago
told me that her royalties upon it have
amounted to more than half a million dol
lars. The book sells well to-day. and il
will be a standard book for all time TO
come.
Much Of the real story of this great work
L am able 10 tell YOU to-day. l give il in
the words of the man who Of all others out
side Of his own family i'm those last days
General Grant most trusted. His name il
y. +. Dawson. and he is now the conhden-
tial secretary of General Nelson 4. Miles.
He has had the confidence OF many great
men. and to-day he has the secret history
of a score of famous statesmen's lives
stored away i'm hds shorthand notes given
to him by the men themselves with the un-
Outstanding that the matter is not TO be
published until after their deaths. Gen
eral Grant" said he. never trusted men
by halves. When l first met him all 1 had
with which 10 win his conf
dence were my recommendations.
1 was employed in the War Depart
ment. and was asked by him 10 come
TO New York and go with him when he
MADE his trip TO Mexico. / was a COMPARE
tive stranger. but he trusted me implicitly.
He made me the cashier OF the party AT the
start, and put $4,000 into my hands to pay
the running expenses OF the trip. L have
never seen a nan who trusted those he
liked so much. He never for a moment
thought his friends would be unfaithful to
him, and if / had written a note for $4,000
and presented it to him in the shape OF a
letter l have no doubt he would have signed
it. He had never had a stenographer with
him on a trip before. and he said to me at
the time that he would not object to die
tating his "reminiscences to me-"
WHY THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN.
How did the general come TO write his
book?" l asked.
Il don't think he had any idea of it," re-
IL 4 na-r-r, ss.,-rsI g. 81. .Ff,sra
of Grant & Ward. This left him penniless
and he became very anxious to make
money. The Century people, you know. be-
gan the work of getting him to write They
asked him to write articles for the maya
zine. But General Grant was not at all
sure that he could write. He feared To at
tempt it. AT last he consented 10 write
four articles for them. 1 think he was to
get $500 apiece for them. They took so well
that it became more easy 10 persuade him
TO write his book. The Century Company
made him the first proposition, but Mark
Twain. who had known Grant, having met
him at dinners and elsewhere. made a bet
ter offer and got it,"
did Mark Twain make any money out
of it?' l asked.
Il don't see how it could be otherwise.
replied Mr.. Dawson. The publishers or
subscription books usually make enormous
profits. The book sold at first for $3.50 a
volume in cloth, or s. for the set. There
was an edition in morocco and tree calf
which sold for SO a set. and the probability
is that the publishers made two or three
times as much as General Grant out OF the
sales 1t is a question whether g = Web
ster & Co, who represented Mark Twain.
were good business men 1t was claimed at
the time that it was their work which sold
Grants book. The fact that they failed
since then shows that 1t was Grants book
that made their reputation and that helped
them rather than them helping Grant In
other words, he succeeded in spite OF
them"
Was General Grant really penniless at
the time of his failure
Yes" replied Mr.. Dawson. He lost
everything that he had. Everything he
owned in the world had been invested or
deposited with Grant * Ward"
How about that money that he got from
Vanderbilt
He got nothing from Vanderbilt after
the failure. He borrowed $4,000 Of him the
day before he failed, but every cent Of this
went 10 Ward and was swallowed up. I IN
derstand that all he had left at tho time
was about $50 in his pocket and Sl9o in cash
belonging to Mrs. Grant. His friends "a
once offered him their help. but it VAS some
time before he accepted anything, and what
he did take came from d comparative
stranger
How was that?'
..The offers Of assistance came from all
parts OF the country replied Mr.. Dawson.
Many poor men wrote that they could loan
him money. and among others he got one
very touching letter from Lansingburg. y.
Y. This came about four days after the
failure OF Grant * Ward. II was from a
man whom General Graf had never seen.
lie wrote the genera tnat ne had made
some money out OF his business ana that
he had saved y few thousand dollars. This
he said he would like to lend 10 lie gem
ersl in his extremity. He Enclosed a check
for $500. making II payable on account or
his share due Grant for services ending IN
April 1856. In his letter ne told the gen.
eral he could draw upon him FOR more until
his surplus was used up, and that he could
nav him when he got ready. lie told the
general he would lend him Sl.ooo at once for
his note at twelve months without interest.
with the ontion of renewing az the same
rate. This affected General Grant very
much. lie accepted the check and used Il.
After the government gave him his pension
he paid the money back as soon as he
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