Chapter 3 #2
Under this he began to write the various things he needed to do to ensure she had what was needed.
He would speak to a lawyer tomorrow. Over his years of working for the Union Pacific as Rowland Knowles, Eugene had amassed quite a large amount of money.
He had found a way early on to skim a steady portion of money from the railroad using various accounting tricks he’d learned over the years.
There was more than one scheme in operation at any given time, just as there was more than one bank where he placed his savings.
All along the Union Pacific line, he had found places to set up his accounts and hide his money.
Now he would need to arrange for that money to go to his mother.
There was more than enough to take care of her until her death, even if she lived another twenty years.
That’s all he and his brothers had ever really cared about.
Seeing to their widowed mother’s needs and best interests had turned them into criminals and had cost his brothers their lives.
Their mother had been widowed at a young age with three rambunctious boys to care for.
She had no other family to help her, and Eugene had watched her grow old before her time.
She made only one demand on them: They must finish school.
She wouldn’t brook any conversation about leaving early to work full-time and ease her burden.
They honored her wishes, and upon graduating, Eugene had even taken some additional courses in bookkeeping and found he excelled at the task.
He soon took on a job and continued his training until he was placed in charge of accounting at a large factory.
That job was where he first experimented with ways to manipulate the books and keep extra portions of money for himself.
As soon as his brothers were old enough, Eugene got them hired on at the same factory, and together they were able to set their mother up comfortably so that she didn’t have to work anymore.
He paused in his writing to remember his two younger brothers.
Calvin and Amos had been all for the plan when he had figured out a way to make money during the war and avoid military service.
Neither he nor his brothers desired to fight.
Who would care for their widowed mother and make sure she had enough money to live if they were killed in battle?
Who would be there to comfort her in her grief?
The Astor brothers were adamant that she come first. After all, she’d put them first after their father died.
Their father had taught them to avoid the law and the public record.
“The less the government knows about you,” their father always said, “the better time you’ll have of it.
” He hadn’t really approved of his sons being in public school, but it was one battle he couldn’t win with their mother.
Still, they never lived in one place long, moving around to avoid complications.
So when the draft went out in the early years of the war, the Astor brothers weren’t on anyone’s list. This only served to benefit them all the more as time passed, and the idea of bounty jumping became more and more appealing.
Bounties were given to sign up to fight.
At first, they were only issued after service was completed.
Unfortunately, too many men died and the appeal for enlistment came to a halt.
The government finally switched things around and issued payment up front in order to help families who would bid their husbands, sons, and fathers farewell.
This was when bounty jumping became popular.
A man could sign up for service, receive his bounty, and then desert.
In big cities this was a fairly simple arrangement.
After all, many a man was unknown to all save God.
Amos gave it a try first. He and Calvin had heard about it from their friends.
By the time Eugene had a chance to further investigate the matter, Amos had already done the deed.
Several times, in fact. He’d gone into New York City and joined a recruitment celebration going on in the five boroughs.
He’d come home with hundreds in bounty money.
It was impossible for any of them to ignore such a haul.
Eugene had figured they’d do it for a short time, then stop.
And they had rules. They wouldn’t enlist in Philadelphia.
They’d never use their own names, and there was to be no drinking or celebrating.
They would go and enlist, claim their bounties, then silently slip away and put as many miles between them and the city as possible.
They would also keep meticulous lists of where and when they enlisted.
Eugene felt certain this would prevent any possibility of getting caught.
However, a great many other men had the same idea, and the government became aware of the situation and hired the Pinkertons to chase down the thieves.
Many of the bounty jumpers were caught. They hadn’t been as cautious as Eugene demanded.
But even with all their careful planning, the Pinkertons soon caught up with the Astor boys.
First Calvin and then Amos. Both resisted and fought against incarceration and died for their efforts.
Eugene was livid. They’d done nothing worthy of death.
By the time the Pinkerton agent caught up to him, Eugene’s anger had taken charge.
Eugene could still see the face of that child as he cradled his father and wept.
Eugene hadn’t meant to kill the man. He was only going to wound him, but now he was dead, and his son was a witness.
He could identify Eugene. The thought of murdering the boy in cold blood was an abomination, and he quickly put it aside.
He wasn’t a killer, and yet he’d just killed.
Eugene could still remember the feel of the gun in his hand. Still smell the blood of the Pinkerton. Hear the sobs of his son. He was haunted by his actions that day. It was the only regret he had in life.
Killing hadn’t been on their agenda, and even though Eugene held the government and the Pinkertons responsible for his brothers’ deaths, he knew they, too, were as much to blame.
Had they simply given up and gone quietly, there might have been a chance of escape at a later time.
Eugene could have helped them. Guards could have been bribed. They didn’t have to die.
A sigh escaped his lips. They had chosen their end, and he had chosen his.
Well, in part. He certainly hadn’t chosen a brain tumor.
But at sixty, he’d had a good long life.
His intelligence had allowed him to amass a tidy amount of money.
He wasn’t wealthy by robber baron standards, but he was comfortable.
At least he had been. Now the dizziness and blurred vision came regularly and made it impossible to keep figures straight and perform his job.
He’d retired his position just three weeks earlier, receiving a lifetime pass on the Union Pacific and a plaque for his twenty years of service.
And of course the money he’d embezzled over the years.
Money they would never find no matter how many audits took place. Of this, Eugene was absolutely certain.
He looked at the paper once again. He had to make sure that his mother would have everything she needed.
She would be heartbroken to know he was dying, but perhaps with the help of some of his friends, she’d need never know.
He made himself a note to contact one of the men who’d helped him over the years.
He would write a series of letters and get cash to send with each one.
He could package these up and send them to his friend with the request that the letters go out once a month.
Of course, it would be nice to know how his mother was doing. He had explained to her in the letters why they couldn’t communicate, but in his heart he knew how it must have devastated her. No amount of financial support could ease her loneliness.
Guilt heaped on top of guilt. Eugene had never wanted life to turn out this way. Never. He hadn’t wanted to be a criminal. The bounties seemed like a harmless way to get extra money. No one person suffered for their thievery. Only the government came up short.
But he had killed Harrison Duval, and he could never make that right.