The record-union., 1893-09-25
BOUND TO CLIMB.
0ft-Repeated Story of Western Pluck
and Progress.
A Lawyer and a Banker Printed
Their Cards Before Seeing Their
Places of Business.

III the beginning Ol lu6 lTOuII0Is anu W
frontier in this connection is meant Kan
sas and adjacent territory, there was no
such thing as tide in the affairs of men.
It was hit or miss; the man who went
West took his life in one hand and slim
chances in the other. He was liable to
starve to death and be eaten by the coy
otes; he was liable to swing from the
branch of a tree, or he might become
leader in his section, as many OF them
did, who, by pluck and perseverance,
mixed with a little of that which men
call luck, staid, grew up with the coun-
try, and are now On the pinnacle.
George r. Peck, solicitor for the Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Fe road, is an ex-
ample of the class referred to. While
young man he went to Kansas, and Kan
sas at that day was decidedly uncertain
quantity. Peck was poor young man
who had everything to make. He had
selected the town Of independence as his
home. With a couple OF law books he
went there to practice his profession.
Except for its location on the map, Peck
knew nothing whatever Of Independence.
So far as he knew there was not a man
in that town but was a total stranger to
him,
He had been riding on a day train
great portion of a certain day without
speaking to anyone or without anyone
speaking to him. There wasn't much in
the scenery OF the country at that time
to entertain q traveller, and the daily
press and such literature as is now sold
on the trains were then unknown in that
section, so that Peck had nothing in that
line TO assist him in Willing away the
time. He broke the monotony OF bis
hvr xs-altY mr. fOrx rd n fba 0nl<-
ing car, and there sat down beside an
other traveller who appeared as lonesome
as himself. There was not the same
brotherhood between travellers in those
days as now. These two men travelled
Tor several hours before either spoke.
Finally the unknown man said to Peck
''Where are you going?"
independence" Peck replied.
Live THEREOF
''Going to live there" replied Peck.
Then there was another pause.
Having broken the ice, however, the
next conversation was little clearer.
know anybody IN Independence"
asked the stranger.
Not soul" said Peck. "Where are
you going?"
81 am going to Independence, too"
know anybody there" asked Peck.
mot a SOUL" said the stranger
Ever there before ?"
''Never."
Having progressed thus far there was
another pause. The stranger made the
next advance. "What business are Won
going into in Independence" he asked
Peck.
Peck had some cards in his pocket
which he had printed before leaving
home, and one Of them he handed to the
stranger. The card contained the in
formation that George II. Peck was an
OF -loxH in TpAavanAo-oo
The stranger had some cards in his
pocket which he had printed before leav-
ing for the West. One of them be handed
to Peck. 1t contained the information
that the stranger was banker in Inde-
pendence, kaS.
After he handed Peck the card he said,
1--WE want to handle your account"
Peck replied, 81 may want a banker,
but you certainly will need a lawyer
And thus the two men formed an ac-
quaintance. In a few days both were en-
barked in their respective lines of bust
ness. The banker knew nothing of Peck's
legal attachments or of his record. Pedi-
grees in those days didn't count for much
in that country. Peck knew nothing of
the banker. He didn't know that he had
enough money to start bank. He might
be engaged in the wildcat business. If
either had any suspicious of the other it
was kept dark.
Such meetings in an unknown and I'M
tried country beget confidence. For some
time the only business Peck had was such
as the bank gave him. He fulfilled the
advertisement in the country in that he
did his business with promptnesS and
dispatch. One day the banker told Peck
that he wanted him to go to the nearest
land office. He told the lawyer that the
office was located in a wooden town fifty
miles distant, and that there were no
of reaching tho T1lacn IN
on horseback. The business was one
which involved monetary considera-
ton, and owing to the uncertainty of
travel in that section the banker told Peck
that it would not be safe for him to carry
any more money than was actually neceS-
sary to provide food for himself and horse.
But he gave Peck letter of credit which
authorized the lawyer as attorney for the
bank to draw for whatever amount of
money he saw fit.
Thus equipped the lawyer hired horse
and started across the prairie. He
reached the Land Office after fatigue,
transacted the business satisfactorily,
and returned. On the letter of credit
given Peck be could have drawn a sufi-
cient amount to have stranded the new
banker at independence at one blow had
the lawyer been constructed on the same
principle as many who had come after
him. The incident here related is
OOOD4S I10 pI6SSUb llUl6 dS
showing Notwithstanding some of the
reckless things that have been charged
against the West in the last quarter of
century that section was peopled in the
beginning with an honest and trust
worthy class.
Clients were few and far between in
the days when Peck's sign swung in the
Kansas breeze. Not a single lawyer in
Independence in those days was able to
sustain himself by his practice alone.
The signs of attorneys at that time would
make humorous paragraphs if they ex-
listed to-day. One lawyer added to the
announcement that he was an attorney
the information that he was agent for a
certain sewing machine company. 1t
was not an unusual thing for others to be
engaged in insurance and real estate
business. Mr.. Peck recalls one sign in
particular which he noticed soon after
his arrival in independence, and which
afforded him amusement in some of the
lonely hours which he passed in his new
II IL.