The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-08-16
A NAPOLEON OF RAILWAYS.


has just died at the age of 70 years, reads
necticut town among the poorest sur
roundings. His father was tinker, but
his earnings were so small that he could
not keep his family together, and Coils
was given to one OF the towns families.
AT ii he ran away from school IN a huff
over something that his teacher had
done which he did not like and never re-
turned. Then he went to work at the
first thing he could find to do, which
was farm work. He earned his board
and clothes and 81 a month, and as he
spent nothing he had accumulated at
the end of the year $S4. He then wenG
to New York and worked at whatever he
could find to do. At 81 he had saved
enough money to set up a store with
his brother, at Oneonta. Ostigo county,
New York. He made money and his
business developed into one Of the largest
in that region. When the gold excite
ment broke out In California, he set out
for that state by way of the isthmus.
He was delayed on the isthmus three
months awaiting transportation, and
during that time he tramped from one
side of it to the other, selling his wares,
and increasing the capital of 81 200 with
which he set out, to S., 300 Then he
went to San Francisco when misfor-
tune overlook him and he lost most all
the money he had. Nothing daunted he
went to Sacramento, where he set up o
store in a tent and distributed supplies
to the miners. He prospered and in 1854
he formed a co-partnersh1p with Mark
Hopkins, who was later destined to be
one of his partners in that gigantic en-
terprise which was to span the continent
with railroads. In 1861 he announced his
purpose of building a railroad across
the continent and began operations
Mark Hopkins, Leland Stamford, Charles
Croker and e. p. Croker Joined him.
Their enterprise was numerically
r1dieuled and caricatared from one end
of the country to the other. Even the
confidence of Huntington s associates
began to flag, but his indomitable will
kept them up. At last by herculean labor
he succeeded in building 80 miles of
railroad from Sacramento toward the
Nevada mines. Then the current changed
and set in his direction. The West was
soon atame for the project, monster pc
tltions were sent to Congress, and finally
government aid was secured. In char
acteristic fashion when the bill got
through Mr.. Huntington telegraphed to
his associates, 1--WE have drawn the ele-
plant, and I am now on my way to New
York to procure provisions wherewith to
feed the ravenous BEAST lie raised
81, SOC, 0OO in New York, and then got the
aid Of the State of California Neverthe-
less in a short time so enormous were the
expenditures that they soon found th @
treasury almost empty, Then the five
partners pledged all their private re-
sources to keep the work going They
managed to build the first 80 miles OF
the road by various devices, and then the
Congressional grant became due. From
that time they had no trouble. But Mr..
huntingdon railroad building did not
stop with the Central Pacific. Subse-
quently with his partners he built the
Southern Pacific system covering 1000
miles. Then alone he completed the
Chesapeake x Ohio road to Cincinnati,
and established at it's eastern terminus
the city of Newport News. He was also
the leader in the syndicate which COM
pleted the New Orleans, Louisville &
Texas railroad from Memphis to New
Orleans, and became the master of the
largest system Of railroads the world has
ever known. 1t spanned the continent
so completely that Mr.. Huntington could
ride in his own private car from New
port News, through New Orleans, and
San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, a
distance of 5000 miles. Mr.. Huntington
leaves a fortune variously estimated
from $50, 0OO, 200 to $50, 600, U00 His was
the dominating mind in the great syndi-
cate that spanned the continent with
railroads. OF large frame and powerful
build, he looked the man he was-a reso-
lutte, domineering, aggressive spirit who
knew no such word as fail.