CHAPTER LVIII

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JAY GOULD.

His Birth and Early Education.—Clerk in a Country 619 Store.—He Invents a Mouse Trap.—Becomes a Civil Engineer and Surveys Delaware County.—Writes a Book and Sells it.—Gets a Partnership in a Pennsylvania Tannery and soon Buys his Partner Out.—He comes to New York to Sell his Leather, falls in Love with a Leather Merchant’s Daughter and Marries her.—Settles in the Metropolis and begins to Deal in Railroads.—Buys a Bankrupt Road from his Father-in-law, Reorganizes it and Sells it at a Considerable Profit.—Henceforth he makes his Money Dealing in Railroads.—His Method of Buying, Reorganizing and Selling Out at a Large Profit.—How he Managed Erie in connection with Fisk and Drew.—His Operations on Black Friday.—Checkmated by Commodore Vanderbilt and obliged to Settle.—He makes Millions out of Wabash and Kansas & Texas.—His Venture in Union Pacific.—His Construction Companies.—Organization of American Union Telegraph, and his Method of Absorbing and Getting Control of Western Union.—The Strike of the Telegraphers and his Great Encounter with the Knights of Labor and Trades Unionist.—Gould’s First Yachting Expedition.—An exceedingly Humorous Story of his early Experience on the Water.—His Status as a Factor in Railroad Management

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