The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1910-03-31
new news Of YESTERDAY
How Commodore Vanderbilt
Came by His CIutching Hands.
1t Was Not Avarice, But the Rowing
Of His Old Ferry Days That
Made His Fingers
Curve
BY e. ]. EDWARDS,

The late Samuel Barton, nephew of
Commodore Vanderbilt and the broker,
through whom the Commodore did
much of his business, was a yer,
liable treasure house of Vanderbilt
anecdotes; and for this hitherto I'M
published one of low the Commodore,
came by his clutching hands I have.
Mr.. Barton as my authority.
There was n personal peculiar
ity about the Commodore which all of;
us who in close association with
him from the time he began his rail-
way career noticed and often spoke to.
one another about" said Mr.. Barton.
"This was the way in which he held his
hands, the fingers and thumbs of each
being 30 extended and curved that
they constantly seemed to be about to
grasp something.
"This popularity was not due to
any stiffness or rheumatic trouble, as
we -all knew, for the Commodore's
fingers were very elastic and strong,
and so there came to be a general
impression among his daily associates
ever among his closest friends, in
fact-that this sort of clutching, grasp
ing way of holding his hands revealed
to the world the avaricious or greedy
nature of. the Commodore. This view
was strengthened by the belief on the
part of many persons that the desire
to get hold of something and keep it
was the ruling passion of the Commo-
dore's life.
81 knew better. 1 knew that he
cared for money principally because
OF its power and the Of achieve
ment that it gave, but l must confess
that the Commodore's clutching hands
puzzled us greatly, though whenever
l heard anyone say hat they reflected
his avaricious nature 1 felt sure that
the speaker was mistaken.
We'll, n day the Commodore was
in the t~reasurer's office of his rail;
road when Capt. Jake Vanderbilt, his
brother, came in. He was a quaint,
highly original character, very proud
of the Commodore, and not the least;
bit afraid of him, as were many of
the C~ommodore's business associates
Capt. Jake greeted his brother
with his customary salutation: How
are you, Corneel?'-and then threw
himself into a chair for a chat. The,
Commodore at that moment was TAX
ing up a bundle that may have con,
tanned bonds, when, of a sudden, Capt.
Jake leaned forward and commanded!
Hold out your hand, Cornell
"The Commodore, somewhat sur
prised, did so.
Capt. Jake looked at the extended
hand long and earnestly.
"'Corneel,' he said, finally, your
hands look just as they used to when
you were rowing a ferryboat between
Staten Island and New York city.
That is exactly the way you caught
hold of your oars
THE Commodore turned his fists
over and over, apparently discovering
for the first time the physical peculiar
ity that was in them. At last he said:
81 don't know but you're right,
Jake, l eve thought of it before. 1t
took a pretty good grip to pull that
boat, and suppose l got in the habit
of holding my hands all the time ex-
actly just as l would when 1 had hold
of the handles Of the oars. But they
are all ~right-they're better hands
than yours, jake and he moved his
fingers f1exibly to show the strength
and elasticity that were in them.
And SO, at last" added Mr.. Barton,
Il came to know for a certainty that
it wasn't avarice, but his old ferry
days instead that gave the Commodore
his lifelong clutching, grasping, miser-
like hands,"
Copyright, 1909, by E. j.. Edwards.)