The Washington herald., 1908-02-23

four years he had knocked about on the
deep before the mast and before the mast
he sailed around the Horn TO the Coast.
During the long journey thither the
skipper became fond of the lad. espe-
cially as he displayed great aptitude as a
sailor. III you'll stick by the ship and
go with her TO Calcutta" he said In
effect 10 Perkins, IN make you third
mate by the time we reach there"
1t was a tempting offer. but the gold
fever was raging in the boys brain. He
drew his wages. invested in a small ar
senal. and. in the company OF a shipmate,
set out 10 seek his fortune.
Oroville is about 80 miles from San
Francisco; Perkins walked II, with a
blanket pack on his back He had not
been swinging a miners pick very many
days before he arrived at the very sane
conclusion that the surest way 10 get
money is not TO dig il out of the ground.
Therefore, he hired himself out as a
grocer'S clerk and registered a deter
mination to get his riches by catering to
the wants of mining men.
Buys q FerrybOat.
About the time he had saved $500 to-
ward this end he met a ferryman whose
boat had brought up on a sand bar.
Said boatman talked picturesauely about
getting out OF rhe blankety-blank bust
ness. Perkins asked what he wanted for
the boat.
"A thousand" was the reply.
Perkins scratched his head, made Up
his mind that here was a good chance
70 turn an honest profit. and got an op-
tiOn for the day on the boat
Perkins first move was 10 draw his
savings ou0 OF the bank. His next was TO
start at one end Of the business street OF
Oroyille on a borrowing expedition. By
the time the other end was in sight he
had the other two hundred. and Just as
the sun went down he found himself the
owner of a very we'll stranded ferryboat.
During the next eight weeks or so Per-
kins put in his spare time cutting terra
firma from under his purchase. While
the boat was stranded the people found
out what a convenience il had been while
running When Perkins at last had Il
afloat again a good business came his
way, and he shortly found purchaser at
three times what the boat had cost him.
Buys Out a store.
II was partly with the proceeds Of this
shrewd deal that Perkins bought an in
terest in the store in which he clerked.
His next important business move was
to buy out the whole business; and when
he had made it turn in large profits he
went into milling. Since that day he has
been one OF the big br5iness men of the
Coast, his interest including banking,
mining. and steamships by the line.
Like Stewart and Jones, Perkins could
not keep out of the political game very
long. He dabbIed in It almost from the
H. l.
1858 his neighbors thought enough Of him
in political way TO send him TO the leg
islature as a senator. He quit this post
In 1876; three years later he was elevated
to the gubernatorial chair. This ne oc-
cupied until 1888; ten years later he was
appointed United States Senator to fill out
the uneXpired term OF Leland Stanford.
He has been a national toga wearer ever
since.
Perkins friends say that the events
in his career of which he is proudest
were his election in 1897 and again in
1903 to the Senate while he was absent
from the State attending TO his Con-
gressional duties" This quotation is
from the Congressional Directory: It is
the custom for Senator'S and Representa-
tives to prepare their own biographies
for the book. and II is the only state
ment IN the biography that comes any
where near Ike having a boastful ring
In it.
Strong Sense Of Humor.
Like the typical pioneer that he is.
Perkins has a strongly developed sense
'of humor. and his fund of laughable sto
ries OF hardship days is we'll nigh in
exhaustible. There is a no more demo-
cratic man in America in the millionaire
and over class. and as for his being
ashamed that ne was once a cabin boy.
why, bless you, there Is his Congressional
biography. which gives the name OF the
vessel in which Perkins first ran away TO
sea.
AS a toga-wearer Perkins has not made
a noise like a great legislator. Still, he
is well thought of in the Senate, his
advice is frequently sought by his col
leagues. especially on Western and Coast
questions. and In this way he sometimes
stamps national legislation with his views
Joaquin Miller Is so we'll known in al
most every hamlet of the land that II
seems hardly necessary to say anything
more about him than that he is still alive,