The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-07
THE RISE OF KING
NOW a RHODE IsLAND BOT BEoAMB
A MILLIONAIRE IN TEXAN

MiIeA across 0u0 HAtb OeNNS
Of Theusands-Wew Rouae umpresses h'm'
Fron TIE 81. Louts Globe Democrat.
GALyrsroN. Oct. 2s.-'way back before the
war there came to Texas from tho wee State OF
Rhode Island o tall, raw.boned youth, who
wanted to mako his fortune. He was not yet
OF age, and his stature wac 90 unusual tnat IL
was not many days before he became known py
the sobriouot of 'Shanghai." Tho youthsS was
earnest, spninstakinR and willing to work. He
had nothing In tho world but good health, o
fair amount Of strength, q common eauoeuon
and the clothes that ho wore. To-day tnat TALL
raw.boned youth from little Rhody 10 perhaps
the richest man In Texas and the best-known
stockman In the world. Tho sobriquet OF tho
early days has stuck to him, and, although he
signs his namo "A. II. Pierce" nobody In Texas
ever refers to him except al shanghai Pierce.
Sixty-three winters have como and gone since
shanghai first saw the light OF day, but no u
as hearty and vigorous now and as earnest In
pursuing his work as II no wore under the two
Bcoro mark.
There is not o town Of any account In Texas
In which Shanghai" Pierce is not known. Tho
same may be said Of the Indian Territory and
Oklahoma, while. as for Kansas City, st. Louis
and Chicago. the stockmen Of those cities are
as well acquainted with him az If he had been
born and raised among them. He 10 . mighty
traveller, and, by reason Of his unusual size. he
10 marked among men. A man who has never
seen him.. but has heard him described. will un-
consciously recognize hin.
man. Most Of them are ~fanciful or have but q
grain Of Truth. but the plain. unvarnished lacts
about "Shanghai's" career. II once gathered.
would servo TOR tales OF adventure sufficient to
keep q writer busy, for many q day. But
self. and few Of those who know him well are
fully oosnizant OF the happenings In the days
before he became recognised as one Of the char
/ ri AMI nna nf thR hIu maj nj IN "a N
His friends say that when he came to Texas
he went to work on u farm, but lett in disgust
more than a whito man. 1t seems that the
farmer by whom he was employed owned sew.
only a negro named Pete and young Pierce
could ride. The animal was unusually frac.
1 uPon 4 Si@. ae Thi snS happened IarsS f near a tho 1aen res
house. The planter and his wife and q lot OF
attendants ran to the assistance Of Pete. The
vile, as soon as she saw the slaves body, ex-
claimed: oh, goodness, how unfortunete!
only been Shanghai, 1t wouldn't be so bad"
Shanghai tells this story himself, 80 1t L.
The young Rhode Islander was O natural
horseman, and his knowledge Of cattle was
S Sof@i Wh arift he IN INTO diy tns ea ,ett the bss RlSnser he hs
those days-this was In ls54-thero was little
else than oattio raised in Texas. shanghai
dured all the trials and hardships Of that wild
HE. Occasionally nowadays he tells of the
tlLucS NHcu u6 bltpJ Ou tuo Dltdk pTdlrlol IN mlu-
winter when It was 80 cold that rattlesnakes
crept into his blankets 70 get warm.
that the lanky fellow who rode 80 wen was not
only a remarkably good judge Of cattle, but
had considerable latent abiIity. There was q
to know Shanghai" and he employed The
young man {. travel through southern and
Grimes to New Orleans. and the merchant Is
~lhrewdness displayed By the young Yankee.
When the war came on the reputation Of "Shang-
= nae contract as q e0 was n SSs so With III hi ss'A to snppi iSn 4
Texas COMMAND with beet. Q was always, on
hand with a good supply Of beeves, and that
all advances and led the vanguard on retreats.
Immediately after the close Of the war
firm OF Allen d. Poole. He trayersed Texas for
three years as the representative OF the firm
S S@iTes orUV Where OF 's shey 3 were s shippsd ' to Re sS
Orleans. In 1859 this firm discontinued the
drew out sioo.6eo cash sS0 as his -s share Of a the
profits. He puttered around for a year buying
here and there, always making money. but in
him In In Kansas. He moved there and
embarked ssnd In business 1e ,S on E Large scale; Three
It was only by admirable business Judgment that
Shanghai" returned to Texas and has aSI made
his home hero ever since. He established a
ranch in Wharton county, got together a bunch
OF cattle. and began raising beeyes on his own
account. while Incidentally he did such trading
his capital grew larger no purchased Facts Of
land or added to his herd OF cattle. In those
times a yearling belonged to the man who
managed to get his brand on it first, and
Shanghai" like all the other cattlemen, was in
continual warfare, shanghai got mixed up
top; Those were the days that tried mems
souls-at least, G~attiemen's southland there is
no one but Will admit that Shanghai" had
courage equal to the gamest man in the state.
But despite feuds and petty w~arfares, despite
strictly to business. His 'T range wide atsd.q his
herds grew, and soon he loomed up as the big.
gest cattlemen In the State. He attended to all
his affairs himself, was continually on the go,
visited every section in which he had cattle,
took his steers to market at the right time,
and supervised every detail OF his scattered
business with a watchfulness and care that
were surprising to his competitors. Somehow
just right, whether it was in the time Tor selling
cattle or the selection OF land for grazing; His
went to market from Texas.
With his continued success Shanghai" began
TO have. moro money than he could conveniently
handle in his ordinary business. He loaned out
tinped doing 80 up to the present time.
yentory Of his belongings which was prepared
600 acres Of land. had $4,000 head Of cat
tle., had 100000 out at interest, and
h sis s RsGlPsF pos ssEs n9d up ,h so 8 sslSH SF09 Fh1s
and was prepared undershiss direction. Since
1884 he has had the three most prosperous years
in his career, and has added greatly to his
wealth. Cattle in 1894 were cheap. To-day
they are selling for the highest price reached
in thirty years. The lands which Mr.. Pierce
owned have appreciated in value. Not only
that, but he has picked up a large tract in the
Indian Territory and has established q ranch
t wn1ed s JTaSing fb 6y Inc Inc IA tay Wa n to mentioned OF 9d:i It
$4,000. 900.
There is no doubt that ,"shanghai's' educa-
ton has been more practical than poetic. In
illustration of this may tell q story about the
ono vacation that Mr.. Pierce 10 known to have
went abroad. He visited London and Paris
and Berlin and Vienna and Florence and Milan,
and the deuce only knows where. In Rome no
stood near the spot where Rienzi addressed the
Peters, he saw tho Vatican and the Quirinal,
and he ,gazed out, upon the seven hills. He
saw 1t all. And when no came back and one of
his friends asked him where he had visited,
Shanghai" told him all the places.
what did you think of Rome1' his friend
asked him.
n -. ,---t ~ .uv.n IL. 10 -.