The deadly upas tree of Wall Street
A large old tree grows at the edge of a body of water, with Albany, New York, on the right, and the U.S. Capitol on the left, in the background. Hanging from the branches are many coins with “$” and a few blossoms labeled “Bribes for Legislation, Bribes for Lawyers, Bribes for Judges, Bribes for Editors, [and] Bribes for Congress.” Telegraph lines are tangled in the branches, and the face of Jay Gould is formed by limbs and branches at center. The bodies of several people lay among the debris beneath the tree. Roscoe Conkling is slumped against a row of buildings. “Westbro[?]” has expired over the same row of buildings. A skull labeled “Jim Fisk” lies next to “Whitelaw Reid.” Ulysses S. Grant, at center, is labeled “Black Friday.” Beneath a railroad is the body of a woman labeled “Stockholder.” Against the trunk of the tree is a man labeled “Stockholder E.R.R.” who looks a little like Cornelius Vanderbilt, and on the right is Alonzo Cornell labeled “Blind Pool.” All appear to have succumbed to greed through the machinations of Jay Gould. Caption: “This tree … was said to be so exceedingly poisonous that no one could even approach it without certain death.” Zell’s Encyclopedia.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1882-08-30
