River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-04-01
IRON NERVE AND
HORSE SENSE MADE
LUCKY" BALDWIN

He was regularly married three L1m0S,
but his irregular relations were
numerous. These relations, generally
with young women still in their teens,
brought him often into the courts and
twice subjected him to pistol fire.
One woman, who pretended to be
his niece, Verona Baldwin, tried pot
shot at the old man in the Baldwin
hotel one night and a bullet hit him in
the wrist. She declared that he had
promised marriage and then refused
to keep his word. The case was
hushed up and the woman got pen
sion.
In another case, brought by Lena
Ashley, also for breach of promise, her
sister shot at Baldwin in the court
room, but the bullets went wild and
the girl was overpowered. In the last
breach of promise case brought against
him Baldwin actually pleaded that the
girl should have known his general
reputation and not have trusted his
promises.
A Queer Funeral.
bdIuWlu was DIS OIISludl III AIo
funeral as in his life. He provided in
his will that no religious services
should be held, but that an orchestra
should render at the cemetery operate
pieces as well as two musical COM
positions by his favorite daughter
This programme was carried out in
full except that the numbers from LA
Boheme" were omitted, perhaps as too
frivolous for a funeral But the
Miserere of "Trovatore" and the grand
march from Aida" were rendered, as
well as HandePs Largo" There were
no signs of grief at the funeral. Most
Of those present were old-time friends
of Baldwin who snapped reminis-
cences and told curious tales. Two of
these old friends as they came up to
take look at the thin set face of the
dead gave the best summary of his
character. Game and fighting to the
last" said one.
Never asked anything, never gave
anything. Paid for everything he got,
but wouldn't be held up!" That was
the eulogy Of the other.
Lucky BaldWn's Two Sides.
Lucky Baldwin's nature was a pc
culiar mixture of parsimony and open
handedness; but these two traits did
not crop out in him spontaneously.
He was what might be called streaky
individual.
For months at stretch he would
exhibit lavishness of personal eX-
penditure that daZzled even the top
nOtchers among the high rollers and
big spenders of the coast. He would
respond to every touch without q MUIR
muir.
When these prodigal fits were upon
him he would gamble like a Charles
James Fox, often winding up after
continued days and nights of play by
walloping San Francisco's leading
faro banks to standstill. Although
never q deep drinker he would while
thus in the spending mood stand at
the far end of his famous Baldwin
hotel bar and order basket after
basket of champagne to be served to
casual bar patrons, men he had never
seen before.
From such money tossing orgies
Balwin would all of a sudden and with
out notice or warning become a tight
wad of the first order, a closeroll from
whom a dollar couldn't be extracted
by any other method except the use
of dynamite. 1t wasn't that his bundle
was given out. 1t was simply that it
pletely after a high spending fiesta
and suddenly to turn into a man with
the mucilaginous mitt and the sol
dered fist.
Penurious to an Extreme.
While in this state of mind he
would promptly turn his back even
upon his closest friend who in tenn
porary straits for money asked him
for a small temporary lift. He'd cut
out the gambling completely, let his
horses run for the purses and for
Sweeney, and hang on to a two-bit
piece so long that the eagle on the
coin would begin to moult. Then,
after a period of this sort of penurious-
ness, presto! Lucky would get his
spending habits on again all of sud
den and once more he'd proceed to
make Coal Oil Johnny and Death
Valley Scotty look like pikers.
A very sedate New York travelling
jewelry salesman who didn't use to be
so sedate tells a story to illustrate
Baldwin's varying moods as to the
spending end of it.
Nearly twenty years ago the jewelry
salesman, then travelling for Maiden
Lane diamond house, went up against
San Francisco faro bank and got
himself cleaned down beneath the
pelt. He was up against it. He had
his tens of thousands of dollars worth
of samples, but he was too honest a
man to think of hypothecating any of
his firms stuff in order to get himself
out of the mess.
!: \; & y = !; \; = 3 q = z !.
But this time help came. a rope was