The record-union., 1898-04-03


knowledge of human nature which has
been of incalculabie benefit to him.
OF course he succeeded. He was too
big and strong physically to be snub-
bed; he was too bright and keen men
tally to be worsted in trade, and he
was too invariably good-natured. too
good a story .teller.. too delightful a
companion not to be courted, even by
his debtors His humor was typically
American and included fondness for
practical jokes. A pretty good illustra-
ton of this occurred some eight or ten
years ago in the far Northwest in Brit
ish Columbia. A party consisting of
ten railroad men, of whom the writer
was one. was on a visit to a coal mine
in the forests of Vancouver Island, ten
miles distant from the coast. Ten sad
die horses had been engaged to meet
the expedition at the boat landing. but
when the members of the party arrived
there after sharp row across the bay
at sunrise ii was discovered that only
one horse was. at hand The disap-
pointment meant something, for the
way lay through a primeval forest. fill
ed with swamp and snow and obstruct-
ed by fallen logs. All stood waiting
and shivering in the keen morning air,
but nc more, horses arrived. Finally
MI Huntington said. with great sober
ness: .t,
We'll, Boys, this looks bad for u.s.
All acquiesced But" he added,
1--WE seen worse
We listened eagerly, for his eye had
frightened, and we felt sure that his
genius for problems had discerned tine
solution. He. eontinueda
I've been in a good many tight
places in my life, but I never let the
| lack Of horse keep me from going
anywhere ifIGreally had made up my
mind to it,,
With that ne quietly mounted the
single horse at hand and without a
glance at his companions started up the
trail The railroad men took the joke
without a word, and that ten-mile
tramp and the mountainous appetites
that distinguished the, completion of it
were things to be remembered long af-
| terWard.
| At 81 young Huntington went into
partnership with his brother at Oneon-
ta N Y, where he remained until
| 1913, when the California gold fever
swept over the country like a tidal
wave, enguifing in it's excitement
multitudes of venturesome spirits.
| Huntington was importuned to join a
| company organized for an expedition
to the Pacific Coast, but refused: He
preferred to go independently. He saw
! in his minds eye the flowing in of the
| gold as his neighbors did, but he saw
more; for to his clear perception the
channels through which the gold would
| flow most freely We're not the sluice-
ways of the miners, but their needs.
He we'll comprehended that where
camps light he located towns must
spring up and provisions, lumber and
lhnufnerablef Articles of hardware
| would be required. More distinctly
/ than all else he realized that where
Gold is king, as in mining country,
extravaganza and good prices make up
his court He left home a merchant,
1 and he remained one.y r 4 S.ta.i-
| During his detention on the isthmus
for three months, waiting for a north
bound ship, he occupied the time, spent
by many others in amusement and dis
/ sipation, in buying and selling mer-
chandise, and continued in perfect
health, while many sickened and died.
He walked twenty-four times across
/ the isthmus, and his experiences at
this time are interesting and full of
humor. He had started with 81, 200,
| but he landed in California with So
| coo, and was able to give to some of
his companions, who had enjoyed them
/ selves after their. own fashion instead
/ of his, the money they wanted for a
/ good, square. meal in celebration of
/ their arrival, while he himself dined on
crackers and cheese Certainly it must
have seemed to him the very irony of
! generosity.
| When the career of Mr.. Huntington
! in California is reached one is con-
fronted with the utter impossiblity of
] doing justice to it, for there are num-
| berless anecdotes of this portion of
| his life extant, and they reveal in a
most interesting way the causes and
! rea sons of his rapid rise to wealth in
the hardware business that he estab-
Hshed in Sacramento.
AS lumber in California in 1910 cost
a dollar a foot. Mr.. Huntington's first
store was big tent, the roof and
sides, of which were made out Of old
| sails. Other tents We're added, until
finally it took five to hold his stock
|, ., Young as he was, he soon gained
! the sobriquet of old Huntingdon in
compliment of his sagacity. When men
had goods to sell and it Seemed impos-
sible to find a buyer it was common
!. saying; go to old Huntington, He'll
always make an Offer
Mr.. Huntington's maxim of trade was
this: Anything that can be bought for
less than the cost of production that
is not perishable and that is an arti-
Gle in general use, is worth buying and
holding. An anecdote will illustrate
this. He once bought "a lot of bar
steel at time when there was no
manufacturing in California. Nobody
wanted it and the owner was glad to
get rid of it at a cent pound For
four years he stored it in his back
yard under old sails; but when quartz
was at last reached everybody wanted
steel. and he sold the major part of it
at dollar pound and his logged
patience had it's reward.
In due time Mr.. Huntington and
Mark Hopkins became partners and
never were two men better fitted for
such union A few years of asso-
i citation made them rich, but the wheel
of fortune was steadily bringing near
er to them the opportunity of great
! achievement ~
J The political clouds from which finally
burst the storm of 1861 had been gath
ering for many eyars, and the vital i'm
portance of a railroad TO connect the
Hast with California, particularly in a
time of war. was the theme of constant
discussion in and outside of Congress.
st this epoch Mr.. Huntington's career
we reach the point where his local rep
! utation began it's development into j
fame which was to make him known