The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-04-08
An American Sinbad.


Mr., Peter Hevener, who represents
the Cochet and Landreau guano claims,
and who is accused of passing off hisown
son as the son of Cochet in order to en-
force that claim, is a typical specimen of
the adventurous American, who, like Sin
bad, the sailor, goes all over the world
to make money, and comes home to
tell about it. Thirty years ago he was in
San Francisco, not lucky, Disguised. dis
appointed. So he drifted to Australia
and started mill and stage coach
company, which, as it looks to him now,
was ''only a few thousands for six
months work andthat was too Slow
In 1852 he stepped over to Peru. There
was at that time but one railroad in
Peru, and, although ne didn't know a
thing about railroads, he was confident
he could fill contract for one; in fact
he ''never saw a piece of work he did
not feel equal to- The Peruvians had
no taste for business and admired man
with his big ideas. So he got contract
for a nine-mile railroad and 100000
reservoir. About this time he became
acquainted with Cochet and Landreau,
two French chemists, who had claims for
several hundred millions against the
Peruvian Government, for the discovery
OF guano. Cochet gave up the attempt
to collect his claims, and went back to
France; while Landreau remained and
worried the lives out of the Peruvian
officials, in demanding his 5000, 900.
He lived in room which had not been
cleaned for sixteen years. The den was
in an alley which, for fear of his papers
being stolen, he allowed no one to enter.
Cobwebs hung from the walls like
punches of Spanish moss, and stuffed
specimens of birds, animals and reptiles,
covered with dust, filing the interview
ing space. Hevener advanced him mon
ey and pushed his claims. 1t was hard
work. The officials were sick of the
sight of him, and probably became sick
OF the sight of Hevener also; but they
have never yet paid those claims.
Hevener, however, does not seem to
have been the kind of a man to wait
until Providence and the Peruvians found
it convenient to pay guano claims. If
he could not collect two or three hun
dred millions in few days, he was not
above turning an honest penny at what
lay nearest to him. Discovering that in
1919 some hard-pressed bandits preferred
driving pack of mules laden with half
million of silver headlong over a cliff
into the sea, rather than suffer it to be
captured by the troops, Hevener char
tered a boat and rugged machinery for
the purpose of recovering the treasure.
But instead of taking the silver out. he
himself was taken in. He found only
$4,000 worth of bars, and concluding
that the winds and waves had carried
mules and silver to an unknown distance
from the cliff, he gave up further search
after spending $4,000. However, the
next two years he did something really
worthy of himself in building railroads,
tunnels and bridges. He went and cot
his notebook for the year 1859 to show
to the reporter of the Philadelphia Times,
but was alittle disappointed that the total
paid him by the Peruvian Government
for that year did not foot up as much as
he thought it would. 1t only reached
| $1,530,000.
After this business Stacked I'M some-
what, and having nothing on hand but q
mill, the guano claims and little $780,
600 in nitrate, he set sail for New York,
bought $4,000 worth of machinery in
order to build the biggest saw-miil in
South America. While in New York he
heard that Governor Sanford, of Cali
tornia, was just beginning to ship kero-
sene oil to Peru, where they used moth
ing but candles, He could have kicked
himself for not thinking of oil years be-
fore However, he said: eff he takes
! oil | will take lamps" So, as freight