St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-01-25
BY t. NJ. NEwsoN.
ANOTHER LINK BROKEN.

d2Ftcte AA<1A-
ANOTHER LINK BROKEN.
Presley, Mrs. Ramsey, Jim Thompson,
and now Belland, all subjects of our Pen
Pictures, have passed into the unseen land
since we commenced our series, little over
year ago.
HENRY M'KENTY.
An odd genius was Henry McKentyl
Small, wiry. active, genial, perseveriug,
pushing, public spirited generous, sensitive,
proud, everlastingly quick at a bargain, he
seemed to be driven by a forty-horse steam
power engine, and in the prime of his life
he used the capacity of the machine for all
it was worth. His ideas were broad and lib
eral, and he had nerve and courage
to carry them to COM etion.
his genius as real estate man had ample
opportunity for free scope, and he led off in
this special department as the great warrior
of his profession. He was pre-eminently
king! He was an original, bold, startling,
aggressive land operator, not confined to the
limits of a city, or village, but reaching out
for 'broad acres,'' on broad platform, with
broad and liberal views of business, and he
headed the column, until he went down in
the trying times of 1878. McKenty was
truly character In early life little wild,
he came west not only to retrieve what he
had lost, but to gain in the affection Of one
be subsequently called-wife. He won both,
hut tba Db how
INCIDENTS.
'Mac! have no money, but I'll take a
lot of you for watchp' said the writer in
1853 agreed" said the smiling land OPP
orator. 81 have lot in Mankato; give me
your watch and I will give you your deed !"
And the bargain was closed. The watch
was worth $50, the lot $40. We
held the property for about twenty-five years,
when we found it was part of an uncouth
stone quarry, and some way or other we bad
lost sight of the matter, until recently, when
we discovered the identical lot to be valu-
able piece of real estatel We guess we have
Macs deed get; we are going to look it up!
Possibly we've struck oil.
''FIvE PER CENT. PER MONTH"
In 1858 little brisk-appearing citizen
asked Dr. Mann if he had come to the city
to loan money, If so he could get him five
per cent! That's nothing" said the Doc
tor; II can get five per cent. In Philadel-
phia.'' ''Oh!'' said the little
gentleman, II mean FIVE per cent. per
month, and good paper at that!" "Oh hol
anal Yesr' said the Doctor, and few days
after he loaned number of little sums and
they were all paid buck with the liberal five
Der cent. interest. One morning this little
risky mau wanted to sell the Doctor lot,
and succeeded in doing so, when, towards
night he came back and said
''See here, DR.. will give you one hun
1red dollars advance on that lot
sold YOU" aud of course the
Doctor took 1t, and repeated the transac.
action several times after. This little, active,
ousy, pleasant man, was Henry McKenty.
CONSCIENTIOUS INTEREST
Pennock Pusey was brought up under
Quaker influences, and when McKenty told
him he would give him three and half per
cent. per month for the use Of his money, he
declined the offer, honestly believing in those
days that it would be wrong for him to do so,
but before the end of the war Pussy
got bravely over this twinge of con-
science and we should now be afraid to offer
aim two and one-half per cent. per month
Mac compromised on less rate of interest;
received the money; bought ''broad acres'T
for $l.25 per acre, and IN less than a year
after Pusey purchased some of this same
property at 80 so per acre, and Mae made IS
per cent. on his investment That cured
Puscy OF any further consceD tious scrupes
respecting the loaning of money ON a good
rate Of interest! and especially as he sold
this same land afterwards to DAlrymple for
SIS per acre
MCKENTY's PROFITS.
In 1854 Mac entered several thousand
acres of prairie land in Washington county,
at 81 % per acre. in 1855 be sold the same
land for 50 per acre. and cleared 300 per
cent, or 1913, 900! He Immediately entered
again, and again, other land, always In
'broad acres" and came out with tremen-
dous profits. The great depression Of 1878
carried land down, and with 1t many honest,
sagacious honorable men, and they never
recovered from the disaster.
THAT BROKEN GLASS.
A year or two after the financial crash Of
of 1857, McKenty began TO feel the effects OF
hard times, and occasionally would not be in
condition to pay his little debts as promptly
aud literally as formerly. On this point he
was extremely sensitive. Coming down Third
street one day, the writer observed both of
the large glasses in his Office door broken all
to pieces. Entering We found the smiling
land operator. aud looking around, inquired
what was the matteri ''Ohl nothing, nothing
much. sir; only big dog, sir, went through
thot window, sir BAD dog, siri bal d "
siTl'' and Mae smiled as serenely az though
be had just come in possession Of great
fortune. We left him smiling, when we
learned few doors below, that sort of pug
ustiOus individual by the name Of II. Z. Ba-
ker, generally called He Baker, had dunned
Mac for q little bill and In seeking 10 press
his claims In a somewhat aggravated man
ner, Mac seized him quickly in the founda-
lion Of bis psntslOons, and pitched
bin headlong through the window on the
sidewalk, and ever after that when any aiu-
sion vas made to the broken window, be
would curl his lip aud exclaim-''a dog, sir!
nothing bat dog, sir! d-o-gr'
THAT ROCKING CHART
Times continued bad. McKenty still kept
bis office on the corner Of Cedar and Third
streets, but one could zee that he was 6nan-
cially worried. The same old pleasant smile
played about his features, and the same old
hopeful tone Of voice greeted his aequaint-
snces. yet TO one who knew him well, there was u
tinre of sadness which elected the secret
sympathy Of all bis old and well tried friends.
KnowiDg that he must be in need II money.
We said 70 bin one ray.-''Mac! ] VIII give
YOU s. for that ancient rocking chair =; p,,int-
ing TO an old-fsshiOned rocker, with the hair
sat all out and the springs con sideraoly
smashed. 'No. sir; you can't have il, sir,
az that price, sir; too much, sir; too much,
sir; viii take 81, sir, for that chsir, sir, s..
sirl'' aud we paid him the money, and we
shalI nerrr forgct lhe ieAr as Z. uaihered 10