The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-12-16


scale. Again the marked turned just
to suit him, and he realized a big profit.
This was three years ago. He has been
repeating the transaction over and over
ever since, with steadily growing sums.
The year Of the presidential election he
is said to have cleared $3.50, 900 in fifteen
months. How true this Is there Is no
digious "blower." But however large
or small his profits, there can be no
doubt about the enormous size Of his
transactions. 1t is possible, though,
that his profits" We're often really loss
es, If he had ever stopped to balance
his books. but he never stopped, and
he had no books. He simply kept on
buying and borrowing; selling, buying
and borrowing; each time dealing in
bigger figures, till at last the amounts
inscribed on his checks, notes and
mortgages began to look strikingly like
gun club scores.
And such a boom as the register of
deeds office of this county had in chat
tel mortgages! Page after page of the
records is devoted to the Gillett deeds.
In January of this year the name of
G. G.. Gillett appears on this index 124
times. Frequently the amount involved
has been 4 10000, and over. Seldom has
it been under $40, 900.
After winning in a few of his deals
Gillett began to wear diamonds and ex-
pensive clothes. He would talk of buy
ing anything in the cattle line that was
to be bought. Money was no object to
him. He cut a swath like a Vanderbilt.
He kindly let his father-in-law n his
brothers-in-law and his brothers and {.
number of his neighbors in with him in
deals. And it must be said they made
money. Father-in-law Baumbaugh was
very skittish about the ~speculations at
first. but after he had hauled in 5000
or so clear profit last spring and vas
able to clear up all his obligations
against him n put money in the
bank, his doubts vanished. He trusted
his gifted son-in-law with everything
without question. He signed all the
papers he was asked to sign, and never
even read them. He was ure all was
right and he sat back waiting for his
dividends. What his signing has done
for him will be seen shortly.
What was true of the father-in-law
| became true of all of Gillett's relatives
and connections. He, let them all in.
And most of them are now in.
And Gillett became more Vanderbilt
like all the while. He got more dia-
monds. He used to carry a handful of
the gems loose in his pockets, and
while conversing with commission men
and others would take them out and
careiessly play with them as other men
play with keys or a handful of Jingle
money" It helped his credit, of course,
but people never thought of that in the
great days. The diamonds were only
one of the "king's" e~xtravagant fads.
Then Gillett developed the private car
habit, and soon he organized his ia
nous cowboy brass band of twenty
pieces. ~
CUTS A WIDE SWATH.
This aggregation he has taken with
him everywhere the past two years. He
took the whole outfit to the Fort Worth
stockmen's convention on a special
train and put up at the best hotel in
$5-a-day style, and the whole band was
with him,
The band he took with him on his
buying trips to Texas and the dash he
cut was wonderful to see-thinki Of a,
bediamonded buyer who took a full
brass band along with him! AS for
buying, he never haggled or beat his
man down.. "How much?'' he would
say, after looking %carelessly over a herd
Of 1900 cattle or 80. $50 much" the
owner would say. "Take 'em ALL the
king would answer. "Have 'em ready to
ship at such and such a time" And off
he would go. A little later he would
negotiate a nice oar or the stock Inc
pay for it. Buying was a joke to him.
And the same extravagant largeness
was shown in everything he did. He
bought harness and buggies by the
~half-dozen. He took life insurance by
the 800, 900. /
BY the way, this insuring was one Of
his especial fads. He is said to be the
most heavily insured man in Kansas.
He has now in force these policies.
New York Life, through its Kansas
City agent, 500, 900; Union Central.
through c.. c.. Wyandt Of this city.
500, 900; Northwestern Mutual Of Mil
waukee, through its Topeka agent, $75,-
900. On many of the policies the pre-
miums paid six years in advance.
When he disanneared he had 500. OOO