The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-11-29
The Fall of GaIett.

| five commission houses of Kansas City
/ and St Joseph are in Abilene, Kansas,
! just north of Wichita, with their attor-
| neys, TO see what IS in signr- They ind
! IN the registerer's Office cattle paper
| amounting 10 $4,000 in his name, said 10
| punches through Nebraska. Kansas, Ok
| lahoma, and Texas. They find also about
$4,000 Of other cattle paper signed by his
/ father-in-law. J. 8. Baumbaush, and 9th
| ers associated with him in business. most
| of it being accommodation paper. The
| commission men have scores OF men lid
/ ing over the country hunting for cattle
| and trying to identify brands. Until all
| returns are made no one can tell how
many cattle there are, or how much of
the paper, if any, is duplicated. or more
| cattle named than actually existed.
| Gillett is the youngest son Of an English
man, who was one of Dickinson coun-
| tvs settlers. The father died ten years
ago. and Grant quickly spent his share
| of the considerable estate, which included
! the little town Of Woodbine. He then
became a Rock Island agent, and married
/ the operator. Through some irregularity
/ of dealing he left the county for a couple
| of years and after four years came back,
! secured a divorce. and settled down with
| his mother. Three years ago. at the age
| Of Is, he began TO speculate in cattle,
| shipping a few punches from Texas and
| selling them TO farmers. Cattle rose IN
! value rapidly and he extended his opera
| tons, becoming the leading handler of
| feeders in the West. The first year he
| shipped 1900 head and became a paboo
among stock men. He married the vii
| lage school-mistress. Alma Baumbaugh,
| and began to live in high style.
He refurnished the homestead magnifi-
| Gently, built the largest barn in the cOun-
| ", put in a system of water-works. and
/ had fifty to sixty men employed. Chain
| less bicycles were common. and he Orga-
nized a cowboy band, which, in uniform,
| he took on his cattle-buying expeditions
| to Fort Worth and 10 cattle conventions
everywhere. He dressed extensively and
became knows as the Cattle ling. The
/ governor of Kansas he took TO his ranch
/ on special train last spring. lie took
| a large party of friends to Fort Worth
III special car, and with his band pa
| Iaded the streets. When he wanted a
dance he had his band play for it and in
vited the town. The Christian church
| preacher, II. V. Scholes, now pastor OF
| the church, was leader OF his band at
| $50 per month. Often he gave him $50
| presents and kept all his players well
supplied with extras. Gillett started to
| keep a complete set of books, but soon
gave it up and kept his accounts in his
| head. IT is probable that he does not
| know how many cattle he had or where
! they all are. Last year he handled l0O
| coo head and this year 5000. OF late
| cattle have been slower sale and feed
| has been higher and some of his custom
ers, whose paper he Endorsed, could not
pay. He worked hard to keep his credit
good. In the spring he raised 100000 af-
| ter weeks steady riding between Kan
sas City and Denver and tided things
over to this fall. For weeks he has had
| paper falling due and has strained every
nerve to meet it.
Sometimes I have had $4,000 to raise
quick said he last week, land not a
! dollar on hand, but 1 can keep 1t up II
they will not go into court" When a
| $4,000 attachment was filed by the Gill
lespie Commission company on Friday the
| end came. a special train brought thirty
| thing is in his hands OF creditors. They
! are searching for cattle, but find hopeless
| confusion. Bunches of cattle have mixed
brands, and nothing but single counts can
ever disentangle the muddle. One in
stance of Gillett's deals was that in Fin
ney county some months ago. He bought
] 1880 head for SO and sold them for 81
| Immediately, simply to get the chance OF
| turning over the paper. The commission
!
| of his methods, but he continued to NEE:
| his paper, and only last week arranged
| TO bring up 5000 head from Texas. On
Monday he was at Abilene and drew out
! his bank balance, borrowed some money
and started south. He ate breakfast in
/ Fort Worth Thanksgiving and has not
/ been heard of since.
One of Gillett's manias was for life in
surance. He carried the second largest
/
! ing paid up. Last year he tool so 01o
in June $4,000, in August $4,000. and IN
! September $4,000. He said he would make
| IL half a million. On Monday he said to
! d local agent:
! Get me all the accident insurance you
can"
That is pretty big order was the
reply.
Il mean it," said he.
The agent applied for $50 90 to start on
| and Gillett paid the cash premium before
starting for Texas. Gillett insisted on his
| relatives and workmen obeying his orders
/ implicitly, regardless OF conditions. He
was imperious and a dictator by nature.
At times he had fifty buyers for cattla
/ at his ranch and he was almost surly in
dealing with them. He had buyers from
| all over three states and they waited on
| his pleasure. He would go into a herd
! of 5000 in Texas. take a glance at them
| and make an offer amounting 70 so go
/ without a minutes hesitation. Old cat
/ tlemen were amazed, but as the cattle
/ market was he came out all right. lie
/ was engaged in the largest deals ever
made in the West, buying at one time
/ $500 600 worth for shipment TO Oregon and
frequently running a dozen fun special
cattle trains from the exas ranches 70
/ his home. He rode in a Pullman and rs
/ band with him. II was a strange char
acteristic that he thought a great deal
/ of religion and encOurs sed his men TO
4 be decent. The tendency 10 swear on
I the ranch worried him. This IS how ne
/ Tepressed il. One day he called MS cow
boys in line and said: How many OF you
swear when the cattle Go not 90 right2'
/ Every one held I'D his hand. We'll -
said he, IN DO the swearing necessary
| on this ranch, and the first man 1 hear
using a cuss word Will have 70 GO" One
| OF his head herders swore AT a refTsc-
/ tory steer that afternoon and was dis
! charged. y told you I'd do the swearing. q"
/ exclaimed Gillett, and he did.
! Gllect has but a common school eiuca-
/ ton. but ne hired q steuograpaer for
awhile After that became too slow he
used the telegraph altogether. His tele-
graph bills have amounted % 81 40 IN the
/ last six months. He recently offered the
/ telephone company 500 II Il would run a
line 70 his ranch ana give him a long dis
/ lance communication with Kansas City
Gillett had a love for diamonds. and not
/ only wore expensive sparkiers on his am
/ pie shirtfron-. but carried fs~ for peck
1 e pieces. often startling his travel'ag
! companions by taking ont few and play
ing with them on the tram His wife
was 8 quiet country girl. ard his infant
son IS wondering what has become % the
head OF the family. The Nise refuses 70
/ see reporters or talk 10 Stranger