Evening journal., 1912-06-13
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Accident That Led to
Fortune
By Holland.

DI h0iIhnu@
"The early history Of California
contains almost countless records Of
the strange chances or curious acci-
dents which lifted men from poverty
to wealth and sometimes to great po-
litical influence" the late John
Franklin Miller who was Senator from
California in the eighties Of the last
century once said to me
almost all Of the fortunes which
were made in gold mining were based
upon accident or chance" continued
Senator Miller. who died in 1886, "and
many are the interesting stories to be
told in connection Herewith. But I
sometimes think that one of the most
interesting of all the stories that can
be told concerning the upbuilding OF
fortunes in California is that asso-
ciated with the accident which gave
Peter Donohue his wealth and name
'Donohue was q Scotch-1rishman
by birth. He came TO the United States
while youth and learned the machin-
lists trade in Pennsylvania. AS "A
lourneyman machinist. he helped
build the engines with which an Amer
ican-built Peruvian gunboat was
equipped. The Peruvians who superin-
tended the building Of the boat for
their government took fancy 10 the
genial Donohue, and when the war
vessel was completed and ready to
sail, they employed him TO go TO Peru
and teach the Peruvian machiniats
how to run the engines
1T was while DonOhue was I'm Peru
that he heard OF the gold discoveries
IN California. 1c got very much OK
cited concerning them. and at the first
opportunity took a vessel from Calao
for San Francisco He had very little
money. but he pictured to himself the
manner IN which he was going TO
prospect for gold. and he had no doubt
that If he We're patient he would strike
it rich
"On his way to California. Donohue
was stricken with coast fever The
officers Of the vessel put him ashore
on a. convenient island and left him
practically for dead Donohue. how
ever didn't die, but he had to acknowl-
edge 10 himself that his gold mining
visions seemingly were dead
But one day there limped into the
islands one miserable harbor steam
er whose machinery had broken down.
It was so badly dilapidated that the
vessel was barely able to make the
harbor
"Donohue went aboard the vessel
and offered practically all the money
he had if the captain would take him
to San Francisco
j doubt if we ever get to San
Francisco. said the captain. Anyhow,
we can't get there until | send word
to the owners Of this boat to have
them send out some machinist's men
who viii repair our engines
What is the matter with the en-
ginesY Donohue asked
= don't know was the reply.
VIII you let me look at them?
Donohue asked I helped build a gun
boat for Peru two years ago, so I
know something about engines
Young man said the captain, II
you viii fix the engines so that ] can
run the boat to San Francisco, I'll
take you rs passenger for nothing
and III guarantee that you VIII have
thousand dollars when you reach
San Francisco
Done said Donohue.
"He did repair the engines. almost
single handed, and when he got TO
San Francisco the captain was as
good as his word Donohoe landed
with a draft for thousand dollars in
his pocket.
"A-fow months in the gold diggings
we're enough for him Then he began
as a small machinist in San Francis
co.
I'm the fall Of the year OF the battle
between the Monitor and the Merri-
mac tho government wanted moni
tor built in a shipyard at San Fran
cisco for service upon the Pacific
coast It planned to send marine en-
eineers and other experts TO San
Francisco for this purpose. But while
it was getting ready to do this some
one told the Navy Department about
Donohue, beginning with the incident
of the ships engines he had repaired
almost single-handed years before in
the harbor OF little Pacific Ocean Is
land So, one day there came to Don
/ ohue a letter from Washington asking
him IL he would undertake to build a
monitor for the government In reply
he said that if the government would
send him the specifications and plans,
/ he would build mentor within four
months That he did and the boat he
built was named the Comanche.
THE achievement at once gave Dom
ohuc coast wide reputation. II made
I him the creator OF the Union Iron
Works, now the largest concern Of its
/ kind on the coast II caused capital 10
turn his way and he gave San Fran
cisco it's first street railway and first
4 gas plant And he built two railroads
running out of San Francisco. one 10
the north, the other to the south. Don
ohues Is the largest fortune yet made
in California that has not come from
gold mining"
The Union Iron Works, that Peter
Donohue founded, years after his
death. i'm 1887 became famous all over
the country as the builder Of some Of
The country's great warships notably
tho hattloship Oregon
Copyright. 1912 by b. j. Edwards.
All rights reserved.
Tomorrow Mr. Edwards will tell o.
"The famous orator Who Couldn't
Help Speaking Poetry