THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 157 

 j 



abandon all hope of operating the Erie Railway, and 

 that Messrs. Gould and Fisk were borne upon the 

 swelling tide of victory. The prosperous aspect of their 

 affairs encouraged these last-named gentlemen to yet 

 more vigorous offensive operations. The next attack 

 was upon Vanderbilt in person. On Saturday, the 5th 

 of December, only two days after Judge Sutherland and 

 Receiver Davies were disposed of, the indefatigable 

 Fisk waited on Commodore Vanderbilt, and, in the 

 name of the Erie Company, tendered him fifty thou- 

 sand shares of Erie common stock at 70.* As the 

 stock was then selling in Wall street at 40, the Com- 

 modore naturally declined to avail himself of this 

 liberal offer. He even went further, and, disregarding 



* Throughout these proceedings glimpses are from time to time 

 obtained of the more prominent characters in their undress, as it 

 were, which have in them a good many elements both of nature and 

 humor. The following description of the visit in which this tender 

 was made was subsequently given by Fisk on the witness stand : " I 

 went to his ( Vanderbilt 's) house 4 s it was a bad, stormy day, and I had 

 the shares in a carpet-bag ; I told the Commodore I had come to tender 

 50,000 shares of Erie, and wanted back the money which we had paid 

 for them and the bonds, and I made a separate demand for the 

 $1,000,000 which had been paid to cover his losses ; he said he had 

 nothing to do with the Erie now, and must consult his counsel ; . . 

 . . Mr. Shearman was with me ; the date I don't know ; it was about 

 eleven o'clock in the morning ; don't know the day, don't know the 

 month, don't know the year; I rode up with Shearman, holding the 

 carpet-bag tight between my legs ; I told him he was a small man and 

 not much protection ; this was dangerous property, you see, and might 

 blow up ; . . . . besides Mr. Shearman the driver went in with 

 the witnesses, and besides the Commodore I spoke with the servant 

 girl ; the Commodore was sitting on the bed with one shoe off and one 

 shoe on ; .... don't remember what more was said ; I remem- 

 ber the Commodore put on his other shoe ; I remember those shoes on 

 account of the buckles ; you see there were four buckles on that shoe, 

 and I know it passed through my mind that if such men wore that 

 kind of shoe I must get me a pair ; this passed through my mind, but 

 I did not speak of it to the Commodore ; I was very civil to him." 



