Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-06-10
MENIER'S ANTICOSTI.
A FRENCtlMAN OWNS AN ISLAND OF
TWO MILLION ACRES.

lions of dollars in manufacturing.
Henri, always a quiet youth of studi-
GUS habits. and intelligent beyond his
years, was called upon to take charge
of the fathers vast interests at 1S.
He literally walked in one day from
a schoolroom to the private Office of
business measuring in capacity and
Importance more than one hundred
million francs. At 10 he had mastered
the details. at 20 he began to enlarge
the plant. at rs he had practically
doubled the output, at so his name was
household word in four continents,
at 35 his fortune had reached the
enormous figure of 200,000.000 francs,
and at AZ this man in whom practical
science, a philosophical disposition
and commercial shrewdness struggled
for the mastery, bought the island of
Anticosti.
THE act was typical of the man.
He was approached one day by an
Englishman named Kendrick, who an
nounced that he had an island to sell.
"'Where is it?' asked Menier.
cat the mouth of the st. Lawrence
river was the reply.
"'Ah, Anticosti?'
"The Englishman nodded.
"'The price,?
Zone hundred and twenty-five
thousand dollars
Henri Menier had paid double that
sum for a steam yacht. The amount
was a trife, not one months income,
and for sole ownership of an island
which he new contained more than
two million acres of land, it was really
ridiculous.
1.-The title is absolutely Clean re-
marked Kendrick. We can prove it
from the time the island was granted
to one Joliet in 1927 by the king of
France
"'Why do you wish to sell it,?
"'Because it is an elephant upon
our hands, was the frank reply. I
am the secretary of a company called
the Island of Anticosti Company limi-
ted. The company bought the island
in 1889 from the former owners, who
had failed to make it pay, and now we
wish to get rid of it. The price is
small
MI. MeHlST lully dSiGeu Wllu Lue
latter statement. but his business in
stinct would not permit him to close
a bargain without due investigation.
The purchase of an orange, or a horse,
or a locomotive for the private rail
way on his country estate, receives
equal consideration.
"'Return tomorrow he said, briefly.
I will look into the matter
"Then he began to absorb informa-
tion regarding this strange island which
had so unexpectedly crossed the hori-
zon of his daily life. He found the
details interesting to the degree of
fascination. He learned that Anti
costi was a great bulk of land 1876
miles long and 40 miles broad, lying
at the mouth of the ST. Lawrence
river, and that it had for it's nearest
neighbors Labrador and Newfoundland
and Halifax, names which conjured up
visions of icebergs and dreary soli-
tudes.
"On the following day Kendrick visi-
ted him; he said, briefly, L am unde-
cided. | will send a commission of
three to investigate and report. Until
then we will wait
ut was simply the business shrewd-
ness of the man, the shrewdness that
had made him king among financiers
at %, and a multi millionaire at 80.
With him the golden crown worn by
Croesus would have had to bear weight
and test before franc was invested in
1t.
"Tt is only e25,0OO, persisted
Kendrick. "A simple sum of $125,c00.
The wood on the island is worth more
than that
"T will send commission replied
Menier, imperturbably. If you do not
care to wait
"Kendrjck waited
"A commission of three men select
ed by Menier set out at once. and in
due course or time an enthusiastic
cable message reached Paris. Then
the commission returned and supple
mented the message with more enthus-
iastic comments and reports.
Its a wonderful place. said the
three. The soil is fertile. the fishing in
valuable; the spruce forests covering
the island are almost ample enough
to supply the world with paper pulp
In brief, the reports gave Anticosti the
very best character.
His business instincts satisfied,
Menier closed the bargain at once, and
became the sole owner of a spot of
land great enough and rich enough to
form the realm of king."-H. H.
Lewis, in Ainslee's Magazine.