Gov. Pattison—Do I understand you to say that the stock which was exchanged had risen in a few days from $2 to $3 a share to par. Mr. Holmes said that was a fact, and then this question was put to him:
Q. In other words, Mr. Dillon had sworn on Jan. 17, 1880, that the stock had no financial value, and yet on Jan. 24 it was worth par. A. Yes.
This discloses another of Mr. Gould’s valuable secrets of the way to make money rapidly.
GOULD’S FIRST YACHTING EXPERIENCE.
There is a humorous story told of Mr. Gould’s first yachting experience, which was recently published in the Philadelphia Press, and its veracity vouched for by a living witness to the event. It is characteristic of Mr. Gould in some special respects, and runs as follows:
At the residence of a club man, whose reputation as a raconteur is nearly as great as that of his Burgundy, I noticed a pretty model of a jib and mainsail yacht. Replying to my admiring inquiry the club man explained:
“That is the model of a boat upon which were passed some of the sunniest hours of my life. She was owned by one of the Cruger family, of Cruger-on-the-Hudson, and has an added interest from the fact that upon her Jay Gould acquired his first yachting experience, and so eventful a one that I’ll bet he remembers it to this day.
“Crugers—one of the oldest and best known families in the State, intermarried as they are with other Knickerbockers like the Schuylers, Livingstons and Van Rensselaers—owned all the land in the neighborhood of the station subsequently named after them. A portion of this property consisted of a brick yard, which was rented to the son of old Schuyler Livingston. It was in 1853 or 1854, and Jay Gould had just failed in the tannery business in Pennsylvania.
“Young Livingston’s leased brick yard wasn’t paying, and he concluded that it needed a shrewd business man at its head. He advertised for a partner, and one day there appeared in response a small, dark gentleman, looking scrupulously neat in his black broadcloth. He gave his name as Jay Gould. Pending negotiations, Mr. Gould became the guest of the Crugers at the old mansion on the hill. Every effort was put forth to entertain him during his stay, the more as he seemed to regard favorably a partnership with their young friend.
“One day Mr. Cruger invited Gould to a sail to Newburgh, and got ready his yacht, of which that model is the reduction. Several of us youngsters were taken along to help work the boat. Eugene Cruger, a nephew of the yacht’s owner, was one of us. Peekskill was reached and the whole party went up to the hotel.