The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-05-29
His Career Is One of the
Real Romances of This
Country.
WAS A MAsTERFUL MAN
And Believed Firmly That
the Man in the Ranks ;
F Has a Chance.
lRu AsaonIated prnsn L

I ASSQGluleu fTeSHI
ST. PAUL, Mimi, May 29.-James
]. Hill. railroad builder. capitalist
and most widely.known figure OF the
northwest, died at his Summit avenue
residence at $3.50 this morning as the
result Of an infection due to bowel
trouble.
Mr.. Hill was unconscious for nearly
IL hours before he died. DR.. Her.
man NJ. Biggs and DR.. Stanley Seager
together with members Of the immedi.
ate Hill family were at bedside when
the end came.
James ]. Hill discovered "the bread.
basket Of the world" in the Great
Northwest: he led in its development
from a wilderness into what now conf
2rises six wealthy states dotted with
100000 farms; and he blazed a trail
for transportation which reached even.
tually from Buffalo to Asia, with Il
total mileage of rail and steamship
facilities that would nearly gird.e the
earth.
That but roughly spans the story
Of his achievement.
Near Guelph, in Ontario, where
James J. Hill was born in 1888, the
son OF an Irish.C Canadian farmer who
died when the boy was Is, there stands
tree stump labelled: 1.-THE last tree
chopped by James J. Hill" pr.
II marked the lads resolution TO 60
to the United States. He had been
prompted by an old incident. Accord.
Ing to the story that Is told, strange
traveller had stopped at the Hill farm
to take dinner, and left his horse at
the gate. Young Hill saw the animal
was tired and he carried 1t a pail OF
water. The stranger was pleased with
the lads thoughtfulness, and as he
drove off he: tossed him newspaper
from the United States, and called
out gravely.
go there, young man. That country
needs youngsters of your spirit"
Hill read the paper carefully. IT
contained glowing accounts of oppor.
tunities in the States. He resolved to
investigate for himself. 1t was the next
morning that lie chopped his last tree.
AS a mere roustabout lad OF IS, he
turned from Maine to Minnesota.
When, in 1886, he dlsembarked from a
Mississippi river packet at st. Paul
that place was a frontier town OF g..
900 inhabitants, AT the sign OF W. ].
Bass & Co., agents for. the Dubuque
& st. Paul Packet company, he found
Job as both stevedore and clerk.
In the fifteen years that followed he
seized every opportunity to study the
whole problem Of river, transportation.
He gathered no end Of experience and
little capital with which he launch.
ed his own firm, OF Hill, Criss & Co.,
which promptly, displayed Its initia.
tive by bringing the first load OF coal
that had ever been seen in that sec.
tion with st. Paul and the Manitoba
with a fiat-bottomed steamer he es.
tablished the first regular communica.
tion with st. Paul and he Manitoba
ports Of the fertile Red River Valley.
AT about that time st. Paul was hay.
Ing Its first experiment In railroad
building. Eighty. miles had been laid
to st. Cloud, 316 miles to Brecken.
ridge, both Of which terminals were
at the southern end OF ths Red River
Valley, and there were about 100 miles
OF track which began nowhere and
ended in that ssle indefinite spot"
This venture ran up debt Of S33..