Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/346

 interest regarding him. The paper indeed was not his friend, but we have had much from his friends, and this opinion probably agrees with that of more persons than does any other:

"Look back upon his wonderful career. As sometimes an assassin is tracked by his footsteps in the snow or by the drops of crimson that have fallen from his fingers, dripping with the life blood of his victim, so the life of Jay Gould can be traced by the dark, deep stains it has left on the records of his time. We see him leaving his father's farm a penniless but determined lad, clerking in a country store by day and studying mathematics at night. We follow him as he becomes a map-maker and goes forth to survey his own and adjoining counties. We see him hungry and unable to purchase a meal, kneeling down by the roadside and repeating his sister's prayer. We see him strike his first bargain. We see him win the confidence of Zadock Pratt, the tanner. We follow him into the forests of Pennsylvania and hear the sound of his ax as he fells the first tree for a great tannery. We see him scheming for the control of the property and finally forcing out of the concern the man who had set him up in the business. We follow him in his partnership with Leupp, the old-fashioned and honorable merchant, of New York, and see him again scheming to gain control of the entire business. We see him entering, even at this early day, into wild speculations that involved his partner and threatened him with ruin. We hear the click of the pistol with which Leupp in his