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In 1860 Harlem stock had sold as low as eight or nine dollars a share. In January 1863, when Vanderbilt got full control of the property, the stock had advanced to 30, and in July of the same year it had bounded to 92. In August, when the "corner" was effected, it went to the remarkable figure of 179.
It was put through a similar operation the succeeding year, and the stock, which sold in January below 90, was settled for in the following June at 285. Drew had been drawn into one of these transactions, and his losses reached nearly a million.
Vanderbilt's prospects with the Harlem property were seriously menaced by the competition of the Hudson River Railroad. He bought up the competing line, and thus destroyed the competition. He made this purchase when the stock was at par. He soon manifested his superior power in management and displayed his skill in the art of "watering", which he had invented. He had the stock advanced to 180 in a very short time.
Seeing his great success with these two properties, through his novel and unique methods of financiering, the managers of the New York Central, thinking that discretion was the better part of valor, and the perceiving that they could not hold out against the edicts of manifest destiny very long, offered their property to him almost at his own price, which he very cordially accepted, approving their good judgement and keen perception. He obtained full control of New York Central early in 1867. As soon as this trible amalgamation was complete he set his insatiable and avaricious heart upon Erie, and essayed to compass his designs and effect his purpose of reducing it to possession through the speculative machinery of Wall Street.
(....)
His first bold, flank movement was an attempt to "corner" Drew. He knew how to manipulate the courts almost as well as the Erie Ring did. Accordingly, he made use of the services of Frank Work to obtain an injunction from Judge Barnard, of Tweed Ring notoriety, restraining Drew from the payment of interest on 3 1/2 million bonds, pending an investigation of his accounts as treasurer of Erie. This was followed up in a few days by another application to the court for the treasurer's removal from office. These measures were resorted to by Vanderbilt to prevent the issue of this stock, into which these 3 1/2 million bonds were convertible, and thus enable him to get a "corner" in the stock with greater facility. He thus attempted to make the court instrumental in forcing Drew into a position where he would be obliged to commit financial suicide.

The Erie Ring had managed to get legally around what in reality was an over-issue of Erie stock and bonds in the following subtle manner:
There was a statute of New York which authorized any railroad to create and issue its own stock in exchange for the stock of any other road under lease to it. The Ring had obtained the Buffalo, Bradford & Pittsburg road, which was comparatively worthless, for carrying out this scheme. The Erie management then set about supplying themselves with the amount of Erie stock required, by leasing their own road to the road of which they were directors. They then created stock and issued it to themselves in exchange under the authority vested in them by law.
The nominal price of the road with which they worked this game of legerdemain was $250,000. They issued bonds in its name for two million dollars, payable to one of themselves as trustee.
Vanderbilt, before he could get a "corner" in Erie, had to place a limit to the issue of the stock. Otherwise he would have been throwing away millions, like pouring water into a sieve, in his attempt to make a "corner".
Drew was enjoined by the Commodore to return to the Treasury 68,000 shares of the capital stock of Erie. This was the amount that was said to remain in the unsettled transactions of the Erie corner of 1866. This was the sword of Damocles which Vanderbilt had suspended over Drew's devoted hand.
There were three competitors for possesion of Erie in the field. The Drew party, the Vanderbilt party, and the Boston,Hartford and Erie party. (...) Drew and Vanderbilt entered into a secret alliance to exclude the Boston party, who was Vanderbilt's ally. The new board was elected, leaving Drew out. This was a surprise to Wall Street, but a greater surprise was in store for it when a vacancy was created the next day, and Drew was re-elected to the Erie Board of Directors. The Street was confused and confounded, and at a loss to know how to act, and the Boston party was groping around to find out where it stood. Frank Works was elected to the Erie Board in the Vanderbilt interest. A pool was then formed to put up Erie, as it was in a very depressed condition. Drew was to manage the pool and manipulate the market.
The proposed plan for consolidation with the Vanderbilt interests failed becaue the Erie people said that the great railroad king would only consent to give them one-third of the earnings, while they contributed more than half to the pool. So, when this scheme collapsed, Vanderbilt went on the speculative war path, and determined to snatch Erie from the hands of the Ring in the way he had obtained Hudson. He began his operations about the middle of February, 1868, and pursued his policy in the courts for the purpose of limiting the apparently unlimited supply of Erie stock.
In the leasing process above referred to with the Buffalo, Bradford & Pittsburgh, the Erie clique added $140,000 a year to its income.
Mr. Work got an additional injunction to prevent Erie from issuing stock in addition to the 251,058 shares which had appeared in the previous report of the road, and forbidding a guarantee by Erie of the bonds of any other road, and Drew was further restrained from any transactions in Erie until he should return the 68,000 shares of capital stock to the treasury.
(....) When Vanderbilt thought he had everything fixed to force Drew to ruin himself by the return of these shares, which would enable Vanderbilt to effect his "corner", he was checkmated by a counter injunction issued in the interest of the Erie people by Judge Balcom,of Binghamton, which stayed all proceedings in Barnard's court.
Richard Schell then applied to Jduge Ingraham and got out another injunction in the interest of the Vanderbilt party, staying all proceedings before Judge Balcom. In the meantime the Erie directors were busy preparing their new issue of stock, despite the injunctions, in order that the bulls of the Vanderbilt party might be generously fed with Erie when the opportunity should arrive.

The Executive Committee of Erie resolved to issue bonds for improvements, extensions and steel rails. The bonds were convertible into stock at not less than 72 1/2. Five million of these were manifactured by the Erie paper mill and printing press, to be exchanged for Vanderbilt's good, solid cash.
A great difficulty presented itself at this juncture, which, even to the majority of clever speculators, would have been insurmountable. The genius of "Jim" Fisk was called in to cut the Gordian knot. The certificates of the new Erie shares were in the hands of the secretary of the company, but he was enjoined from issuing them. They had been made out on Saturday night. On Monday the secretary directed a messenger, in the Erie office in Weststreet, to take the books containing the certificates to the transfer office in Pine street. The messenger took the books and walked out. He was hardly a minute absent when he returned, apparently frightened, without the books. He stated that Mr. Fisk, who had been standing at the door, took the books from him and ran away with them!
The certificates were then where no injunction could molest them. The next day the convertible bonds were found upon the secretary's desk. In a day or two afterwards the certificates appeared in Wall Street. An order was obtained from Judge Gilbert enjoining all the previous orders of that legal luminary, Judge Barnard. Mr. Drew then threw 50,000 shares of Erie stock on the market. The boldness of the operation threw the Vanderbilt brokers off their guard, for it never struck them for a moment that Drew would risk contempt of court, and use the new issue of Erie in the face of an injunction, so they eagerly devoured the fresh bait before they got time to examine the quality of it or suspect its origin.

Erie had opened at 80, and advanced to 83. When the facts became knows the stock broke,and declined to 71; but under heavy purchases by the Vanderbilt party, soon recovered to 78. The "corner", however, was broken by the large blocks which Drew had thrown on the market, and Vanderbilt was signally defeated, and had a narrow escape from being completely swamped.
He had to obtain more cash in order to prevent default. Richard Schell was highly practical and shrewd to obtain loans on Erie after the banks had absolutely refused to lend, on account of the over-issue of stock. After this refusal, he made inquiry at the banks, and found that most of them had New York Cental stock. He then went to a bank and said:"If you don't lend the Commodore half a million on Erie at 50, he will put Central down to 50 tomorrow, and break half the houses on the Street. You know whether or not you will be among them." The threat was repeated, and, in almost every instance, had the desired effect, and the Commodore was supplied with the sinews of war, but he was only throwing away his ammunition. The Erie stock from the inexhaustable fountain of overissue was supplied to him without stint, and his attempts to "corner" the clique were absolutely futile.
Fisk was quoted to have said: "If this printing press don't break down, I'll be damned if I don't give the old hog all he wants of Erie."

The corner proved a boomerang to Vanderbilt. In his wrath he again applied to the courts. As the result, the Erie clique were oblieged to fly and take refuge in Jersey City. Drew crossed the ferry heavily loaded with a big carpet bag, which contained $ 7,000,000, which had recently changed hands from Vanderbilt to himself in the cornering operation.
Gould and Fisk decamped by different routes. When the party had taken refuge in "Fort" Taylor (Taylor's Hotel, NJ), safe from the laws of New York, they determined that no papers should be served upon them, and gave strict orders to the host that they would not receive anything in the shape of letters or nothes. Communications of all kinds were prohibited except through persons well known to the clique, and the waiters at the hotle were strictly enjoined to observe this rule, on pain of being discharged.(....)
[Vanderbilt, however,succeeded to get a note to Drew with the help of one of the hotel's waiters]. Drew was enraged, sent for the host, and the waiter was instantly dischared, only to enter Vanderbilt's service, according to agreement, at much higher remuneration. The note of the Commodore, however, had the desired effect. [The note read: "Drew: I'm sick of the whole damned business. Come and see me. signed Van Derbilt" ]. Though the friends of Drew attempted to frighten him from going by arousing his suspicions of being kidnapped, he came over to New York on the following Sunday and had an interview with the Commodore. The matter was fixed up between them, and while Gould and Fisk were fighting Vanderbilt tooth and nail at Albany, and Gould was arrested and arraigned for contempt of court and other high crimes and misdemeanors in the eyes of the Vanderbilt lawyers, Drew was left unmolested to pursue the even tenor of his way.

About the middle of April Drew emergedfrom his retreat in Jersey City, and appeared openly in Wall Street, apparently without any fear for arrest. Other members of the Erie clique had gone through the fromality of purging thier contempt of court, but had not made their peace with the Commodore, and things went foward without any special interruption or exictement unitl July, when a settlement was made with Vanderbilt.
It was agred that the Commodore should be relieved of 50,000 shares of Erie stock at 70, for which he was to receive $ 2,500,000in cash, and $ 1,250,000 in bonds of the Boston, Hartford & Erie at 80. It was further stipulated that he was to receive $ 1,000,000 for the privilige of calling on him at any time within four months for the remaining 50,000 shares of Erie at 70. He was allotted two seats in the Erie Board of Directors. All suits between the two high contending parties were to be dismissed and all offenses whatsoever relating to the case, in the language of the law, were to be condoned.

Drew was left to enjoy his share of the fruits of the "corner" which netted seven millions, except that he had to pay into the Erie treasury the trifling item of $ 540,000 in discharge of interest and all claims or causes of action which might be presented against him by the Erie Company. The Erie Railway fell to the lot of Gould and Fisk as their share of the spoils growing out of the entente cordiale.
Drew retired from Wall Street in the same way that Gould has so often retired since that time, except that Daniel Drew had probably an honest intention so far as it was possible for him to have such a conception of leaving the Street forever, but it would seem that he had not the power to do so. Once in Wall Street, always in Wall Street. After a few months of absence, he returned to the Street, and he found the scene greatly changed. His two pupils had shown themselves to be such apt scholars, that in the interim they had exceeded the wildest dreams of avarice that ever their able preceptor had conjured up or inculcated. In four months Gould and Fisk had inflated the captial stock of Erie from 34 millions to 57 millions. No doubt, Uncle Daniel was astounded at their progress, and his feelings can be better imagined than described when, in the presence of this marvellous increase of wealth, he reflected that he was no longer treasuerer of Erie, and had neither lot nor part in its unprecedented prosperity.

(from Henry Clews' Twenty-eight years in Wall Street, Ch. XV "Drew and Vanderbilt", Ch. XVI "Drew and the Erie corners" and Matthew Josephon's The Robber Barons)