The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-04-12


iirst-cIess musicianS' salaries.
COWBOY BAND WAS vocmERous.
rne bisfe ANA loot Of hls band an
np,pced the gOinss ana comings of the
eattl" king, ife carried the Dand around
20 political conventions and cattlcmen's
meetings Ia special train, and always
TOOK u With him when he went 10 Texas
Go bring up q new bunch OF cattle.
The arrival OF the cattle aing and his
COWBOY band was ak great an advent as
the circus. When the cowboy musicians
PLAYED 70 plense him he would scatter
hundreds of dollars among them. Ills
pockets We're always crammed with
money and loose diamonds.
He delighted In jingiing them while
talking and would frequently interrupt
The conversation 90 pull ont nstful and
Hash them in the hght. He Dragged on
al occasions of his bis possessions and
mir immense deals lie loved TO talk OF
MS solid mile of corncribs' and his
home mansion.
oases rse sSFsh az b, dsgiaiy ir was 9Se n 9, hs
sioner i,reidenthal said he talked too
much; That on train II he could not
md friends to .slk TO- b., would talk 70
one day he was travelling on a train
win the bank commissioner. IL happened
that ne WAS taking a number of dealers
down 60 one OF hts farms 10 bid on a lot
OF cattle.
TO the commissioner he pointed out
several of them as prospective big buy
those other fellows out there?'' and he
Indicated several men.
They're stool bidders. I'm salting
thein IN among the crowd so they'll run
up the bids on those rich dealers, and
make them pay sun prices. oh. 1 tell
you there's nothing like knowing how 90
max ma moiley IN cattle and I'm just the
II was this sort OF braggadocio that
s,pohed many or his later plans, as IL
did In this instance for the converse tion
was overheard by a nearby cattle deal
er. who warned his friends of tho trap
set for thom. They took revenge by
forming n secret pool to keep down high
prices In the bidding
LED A STRENUOUS LIFE.
IL cannot be denied that Clllett was a
hustler. lie would work on the ranch all
day, drive over 10 Herirgton during the
night, catch the train to- Kansas City To
spend the day making cattle sales, and
ready 10 90 out into the fields among
the stock al sunrise next day.
one nigh he started on this trip. IL
away, breaking loose from the buggy,
leaving Gillett and his brother swamped
~ the storm and mud, eight miles from
He brother asked him to wait TIL next
day and recover the team. lie left the
buggy, horses and brother 10 look after
themselves, and walked to the nearest
farmhouse. There he routed out the
farmer and hired him TO drive him 10
Town.
There was nothing but an old lumber
wagon TO he had. hut Gillett jumped i'm
and aft the ratified, through the pouring
rain. He missed his train. but he caught
u freight that took him 20 Mcfarland,
division point. whore he hired a loco
motive and overlook his train at Topeka.
The incident gave Gillett new idea
OF travel Thereafter he always hired "A
special locomotive when he wanted 10
reach a place IN q hurry
Glllett.s greatest business trait was his
ability to borrow money Az
ter his failure the commission men who
were loaded with his paper. frankly ad-
mittod that no must have hypnotized
them.
All OF them expected him TO ge 20 pieces
some day, but they figured on getting
some warning In the air and escaping
cover in time They never imagined that
he was doubling up ON his mortgages OF |
All kinds and was way out over his head |
In the financial stream
Just before the crash a friends said To |
MIN. You can't keep lp this sort OF |
thing. Aren't you afraid of a collapse"
PAID A 100000 NOTE.
GilIett laughed and said: mot a biz. |
CATION OF 100000 I didn't have cent |
at command hut I raised the money all /!
right | Travelled back and forth between |
Denver and Kansas City as fast AK spec |
al locomotives could carry me and got |
the money by the time IL was due
But there came "a day when all the /
AXE him over the ground fast enough To- /
out his tangled affairs.
The storm started by "A Kansas commits
sion house refusing 10 extend a loan of /
El25.OW on string OF Oklahoma cattle. |
which were not ready for market The |
news spread like tightening. A S40eo0 at
was clapped on a big bunch of
,attle by the Gillespie Commission com
lany.
The attachments showered in from Den
ier, 81. Louis, Omaha, ST. Joseph. and |
Western cities az fast as the wires could
AIRY them. Special trains hurried into
Kansas City and Woodbine, carrying hum
ireds OF worried creditors
And what a condition they found things |
m. Gilletts business interests were |
mailed beyond belief. He never kept |
my books, but carried the details of all
lis transactions In his head. and IL was
most .carlessly done, for he had fallen in
Q the habit OF using his assets a he saw
He mixed up punches OF mortgaged cat
le Sll they were in hopeless confusion-a
IoZen brands representing as many mort
yages being fed I'm one corral. |
ules and no regard 10 protecting socur-
ty
Some bands OF cattle carried mortgages
I've deep, making an aggregate or Sl35
aised on a steer valued at s35. And he
lad fully $4,000 head az the time.
Meanwhile Gillett. at the first sign OF
rouble made deed of trust of some
property To- his wife and dropped out OF
light And now, serene and self-confi- |
ent, he has reappeared.