The sun., 1908-11-22
4 STRONG NAN OR CANADA
TALES THEY TELL or ID. D.
MANN, NATION BUILDER.
One or the Men Developing the New
Wheatnelds-Eiis Strength as a Young
Man-eelected Broadaxes for Weap.
ORs when Challenged by q Russian,

nation builders there Is perhaps no mora
J picturesque figure than d. D. Mann
railroad builder and developer Of new
territory. Many stories of his physical
prowess. business sagaoity and enter.
prise are told.
! II is related of him that as a boy 81
10 he visited town In Ontario where an
athletic tournament was In progress
The recognized champions Of the country
were giving an exhibition, and the young
red flannel shirt entered tho competi-
tion. In spite Of the laughter which bis
appearance provoked when he undertook
to contest for the honors with the properly
dressed professionals. be beat them all
In the heavyweight events.
Later when working In a sawmil on the
shores Of the Georgian Bay public sub
scription was started to have him sent
out Of town, as his favorite way Of showing
his physical exuberance was to catch
hold Of peaceful citizens and throw them
OF the dock into the water.
Early in life he became recognized as
one OF the best men that ever handled a
broadaxe in either the Canadian or the
Michigan lumber woods. One of his
first adventures as an employer of labor
was when he undertook to supply rail.
way ties in quantities to the Canadian
Pacific Railway.
With q gang Of men. Of which he was
the head newer and boss. he produced
one winter a large number of ties. As
spring approached he suddenly realized
that unless the ties were delivered before
the snow melted he would be unable to
get his pay foranother year.
Fastening to Winnipeg. he employed
number Of farmers and their teams to
help him swamp out the ties from the
woods. When the day for shipping the
horses arrived it was found that only one
ear was available. and that had been con-
tracted for by a rival. At least q week
would elapse before the Canadian Pacific
Railway would send an other train to the
district where his ties were waiting.
Being man Of fierce Dissemination, he
petty obstacle. He asked the station
master to bring up the car to the usual
place for loading horses. The station
master refused.
There was a fat Ear loaded with baled
hay next to the empty box car. Mr.. Mann
had his assistants throw down the bales
and pile them up against the platform
so that the horses could be driven up
them.
While the work was In progress a man
came along the platform leading horse
and started down toward the ground over
grabbed the stranger and hurled him
over tho ice and snow. He then put the
horse In the car. -.
With feverish haste the teams were en-
barked. AS the last horse was being put
in his hind legs slipped down between
his herculean strength, Mr.. Mann stopped
down. grasped the horse by the hind
quarters and with one lift freed the horse
from his difficulty and pushed him into
the car.
As be turned around and was hopping
he had hurled along the platform came up
and pleaded:
sPiease. mister, won't you let me lave
my horse? / belong to the other gang
and ] got on the platform by mistake:
You have one of my horses in there and
Now I am in a fix whore can't 60 with
either ono Of you"
Perhaps the most dramatic story OF
his life is that of his experience in Ottawa
when the Canadian Northern was seeking
from the railway committee the conoes-
sions that have made II possible to de-
yelop the mest northeriy parts Of the last
West. With many interests ,arrayed
against him MIR, Mann pleaded his cause
with such effect that he was confident
OF favorable vote. just as the vote was
about to be taken one of his lieutenants
came to him and wbispered:
@The city of Hull ia on fire and the
flames are sweeping across the river
II was at the end Of the session and Mr..
Mann knew that il the committee was
allowed to disperes without voting all
his work might be undone. Acting with
the same mental force az he has 50 often
shown physically, he dragged his as
Stand here ~eth me and ws won't let
any one get out Of the room or into it
until the vote 10 taken"
The lieutenant says that at that time
Mr.. Mann looked to him at least 10 feet
tall. A favorable vote was passed and
out and watch the fire.
Now for the broadaxe story. Some
years ago Mr.. Mann decided that con-
oession for railroad building in China
would be worth having. To secure it
he travelled to the Orient and few days
with people, he took part In a game OF
poker at one Of the clubs.
One OF the participants in the game was
a young Englishman who was somewhat
the worse for liquor, and az he did not
properly understand the game he made
a series Of annoying mistakes, at which
a Russian nobleman who was Of the
party became very angry. The Rus
sian began to protest violently. The
Englisbman, realizing that ne had done
something wrong, apologized. but the
Russian continued to growl.
Then MIR. Mann became angry and an
nounced that he was going TO get out Of
the game when he found himself with
men who could not accept an apology
offered. The next day he re-
oeiyed cartel for duel with the Russian
nobleman.
This was decidedly embarrassing and
he thought the matter over carefully.
Realizing that as the challenged party
he had the right to chooee the wesrons,
he sent back word that he would fight
with a weapon with which he had become
familiar in his youth, narnoiy a sixteen
pound broadaxe.
When the Russian nobleman had it
fully explained to him what would proba-
bly, happen IL he met this hurly giant In a
contest with a weapon to which the old
time battleaxe was toy, he announced
that he would fight with any civilized
weapon used from Timhuotu TO St Peters
burg, but he would be damn il he would
commit The suicide"
Afterward Mr.. Mann and the Russian
lobleman became good friends,
Wild Turkey In Oklahoma.
From The Tulsa Word.