The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1867-09-27
A GAME MAN.
How a Fowl Fortuna swas, u ade-The
Chicken Millionaire Of Fulton

.
Success 10 hasiness is The criterion by
which a man il. smeasured; with the de-
mocracy of a meiica it makes bat little dit
ference wHcshess the foundations of for
tunate are LAID on hoop skirts, sewing ma
chimes, penny evening papers, the sale OF
tea. or checkers in Fulton market. The
dollars are what count, and the world,
upon this side of the Atlantic at least,
never stops to enquire about the rest A
man may make "a fortune on Wall street,
banking or specializing In stocks, and he is
received into good society, just as respect
able and respected as the best of them
and Why shouldn't he bet Banking is
HONORABLE So is, railroading, or selling
chickens in Fulton market.
1t is true that in New York fortunes are
often made in :; very strange manner
! There are several wealthy organ grinders
in town and it would almost puzzle a
| stranger to, count the magnificent hotels
which have been built on Broadway out of
the proceeds of pills and patent medicines.
| let us study for moment the philosophy
| of the lives of those who have been sue,
cessful ia business All men do not jump
into fortune al once, making a ten strike
the first time. This may sometimes be
done ON WallstTeet, but among majority,
! of mankind riches are accumulated by a
slow and sure process by attending stead
| lily and carefully to ones business (; by
avoiding excftements and risks, and by not
| being above working with one s own hands.
!. 1t is a we'll known fact that many of our
wealthiest citizens are among our hardest
workers Like the rest OF mankind, they
only get their board and clothes, for this is,
/ if you consider for a moment, all that a
/ =; n, 20 bln oP d,ract,,,, ffffs fstrf rFEt5
| q A retail store on Bowling Green would
+ not pay it's expenses, neither would a but
ter stand in the interior Of some Vermont
village TO do a successful business, one
must be located where there are people to
| do it with, and he must deal in something
which the masses want. 1t is doubtful if
a man ever made fortune selling tele
scopes; or century plants One of the
4 places in this city where the people, en-
ndsse, surge and tide through, is Fulton
market, and in the midst of that laybyTin-
fthian maze, of stalls stands and tables,
the famous Dir. A, d, Robbins keeps chick
en- stall. It is a very easy matter to find
his place of business-direct your steps
towards the center of the market, stun
bling over mass of utsavory pickle tubs,
pass by sound as of seraping tripe, medi-
tate between long rows of fresh slaughtered
sheep and calves, turn corner by some
golden cheeses as large as the new moon,
smell the aroma of the country and the
spring time in the rolls of yellow butter at
Fyour lett hand and the moment any good
game comes in sight, ask for Mr.. Robbins,
and although he deals in robins, yet out of
pity, or for some other reason, he calls them
I pigeons a3r-ser....t ",,~z.ss -e,-
I.es Mr. Robbins is much younger looking
man then one expects to find, when he has
been told that he has made couple million
! of dollars selling chickens He, is the
famous chicken millionaire, and although
so very rich he attends to his own business.
I He has been in the poultry business thirty
five years. thirty one of which have been
! beneath the leaky roof of Fulton market.
His stall is not large one, and yet lhe sells
upon an average two thousand chickens a
DAY the year though, which would equal
seven hundred and thirty thousand year.
| His business amounts to several hundred
thousand dollars year. There is a very
4 cosy little office in one corner OF his stall,
ornamented with full length portraits of
/ some of the wild game in which he deals,
which literally is not large enough to swing
cat in. On the marble topped counters
/ of Mr.. Robbins chicken arrangement may
1 be found ducks, geese, turkeys, English
sn;pe, woodcocks, prairie hens, English
/ pheasants, black grouse, wild pigeons, ven
ison, roasted pigs, sweet breads, ETC.
] Everything which has wings, that man is
fond of eating, can here be found, with
/ from twelve to twenty men to wait on Gus
TONERS, aud attend to the business. Besides
supplying the public, he has orders for
hotels, ships, restaurants, ETC., and Is, in
fact the lagest chicken dealerin the United
| States. Paws f
/ 7s' All parts of the country are laid under
contribution to supply his stalls with game.
Partpdges come from Maine. Massachu-
Sets Rhode. Island and Connecticut J;
1 grouse from New Jersey, Long Island and
the West the best canvas backs come from
! Havre de Grace, Sandusky, Ohio, and Mis-
sissippi;. the mallard ducks and wood
ducks---the only ducks that light on trees
black ducks and broad bills come from the
are the .favorite game with the people just
now woodcocks, chickens and cartridges
are. the best and most popular. ii.i'a.'
| Bridget is not always sent to market to
do the buying for the family, Many Amer
lean ladies attend to their. own household
! duties. Mrs. Ii. w. Beecher can often be
seen in, Fulton market, with her basket up
on her arm, purchasing chickens or wild
game of Mr.. Robbins the face of Mrs e.
S, Robbins, who took SO prominent part
! in the seidiers hospitals during the war, is
another one of those, familiar to the deni-
zens Of Fulton market.
h. Although Mr.. Robbins has accumulated
/ such vast fortune that we migh suppose
he could afford to retire, yet he prefers, and
does personally attend to his own business.
He has an elegant brown stone residence
/ On Remsen street, in Brooklyn, which is
valued at $780, 900, and the furniture in
| side of it is said to have cost a fabulous
sum. Going up a broad fight of stone,
steps, you pass beneath an arche1 doorway
into a vestibnle, where some deliberately
carved marble vases, standing almost as
! high as your head, attract attention. The
halls and drawing rooms of the house are
large and lofty, beautifully carved overhead
in panels, and fresceed. Mr. Robbins docs
not stop to take his breakfast at home, but
leaves his house for the market every morn,
ing between the hours of tour and five
O'Clock. Some Of his men get there as
LearIv as two a. CLOCK Ha ia an exuert