WHEN Gould left the Erie in 1872 he was again a man of
wealth. He had lost a fortune in the fall of 1869; he made an-
other in the winter of 1871-72. He was now in funds, and
could resume his activities in the business and speculative mar-
kets of the day. He was still in the brokerage business with Smith,
and with him he engaged in transactions involving the locking
up of currency with a view of affecting both the gold and the
securities markets. Little is known about Gould's operations in
these fields. ¹ He could not, however, long remain in action purely
as a trader. In that role he was not at his best. He found it essen-
tial to operate in the securities of a given company, and by par-
ticipating in its management to master the details of its business.
With such knowledge, he could trade against the general run of
traders.

His first spectacular success after the Erie epilogue, in trading
in securities from the inside, with the aid of those familiar with
the operations of the company, was in the Northwestern stock. ²
It took only a few weeks to find another, and his choice fell un-
erringly on the leader in the speculative markets of the day -- the
Pacific Mail. Gould thus for the first time entered the transcon-
tinental transportation industry. The Pacific Mail, long a pros-
perous company, had fallen from its high estate. Competition of
the transcontinental railroad had wrecked its earning power and
its stock had become a speculative football. Gould began to trade
in this stock in the fall of 1872. The existing management, led by
A. B. Stockwell, was tainted with fraud and dishonesty, and by
early 1873 the company was in a critical financial condition.

The annual election took place in May and here Gould showed
his hand. Though his name did not appear, his influence was
clear. C. J. Osborne, a newly elected member of the board, was
the senior partner in the brokerage firm of Osborne & Chapin, of

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