The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 6, 1901, Page 5

THE SU DA.Y CALL. ll—llllllq e/ A with 0ld man Grimes foreman of th: ning about Sha: noticeable. Whe cattle his herd In- Possibly Shanghal gathering the 1 foremen. Po: o find the mave an unbranded cow i was a wonder in bore no brand of cattle tha or six years before the War of Rebellion Shanghai acted as foreman mes. Then, with Yankee thrift, he to buy cattle sn his own account. 24 his own private brand, and when me round-up time he used his private rand on a fair shaic of the m.vericks that were gathered 0Old man Grimes thought that the brand- ing of mavericks was too easy a game for his foreman, and he quarreled with The tall young Yankee had by t learned enough about the cattle bus! to shift for himself, and he parted company with nis gmployer and d out on his own account. red amazingly and was con- sidered quite rich at the time the war broke out. The war upset all of Shang- f writing o g Of cofun, s He couldn't dispose of ais s > with a threat of confiscation 28 » the one hand and conscrip- Sel H. Pleroe w e other he dezermined to make situation, so he entered t with the Confederate Gov- ment to supply one of the armies with However this may re say that Shanghal always s of cattle in nis herd and the suffered for fresh meat while he was with the army. The war left Shanghai penniless, but un- daunted. He returned to the prairie coun- along the Tres Palocios, gathered such cattle as he could find and started once more as a ranchman. It was slow work v for some years, but the tall young Yankee those davs and a cowboy's was patient and persevering. Land was of hards| Shanghal soon cheap and cattle were cheap. The range uff of which he fs madc. was illimitable, There were no fences. e with the b of the Mexi- The winte were mild, the cattle in- xas cowbdys, his judgment creased rapidly, and it cost little to live. was excellent and he was u: Cattlemen as a rule were The tall young Yankee was provident. While other cattlemen spent their money in gambling and riotous living young Plerce attended strictly to business. He rounded up his bunch at the proper time, overiooked no mavericks, kept his brand- ing irons hot and always took good cat- £ tie to marke profligate. In the early seventies it begun to be appreciated that Shanghal getting rich again. e to Texas. The coun of money or abundant credit. and was will was abje to =h the money. _mistake In these early days. Plerce ‘When other cattle- men got short of money and were forced to sell a portion of thelr herds Shanghal was always able to buy. for he had plenty man wanted to dispose of a tract of land 2 to gell cheaply Shanghai = So things went on year in and year out. Other cattlemen complained, but Shanz- hai Plerce prospered, and the longer he worked the richer he became. There is only one record of Shanghal making a 4 That was when he got the Kansas fever. He dls- posed - of all his Texas holdings, and with a lot of other South Texas -cattlemen migrated to Kansas. One year there sat- isfled him that he was in the wrong pew. He moved back to Texas, sadder and about $100,000 poorer. He says now that this one mistake made a difference of $1,000,000 to him, for the loss of $100,000 at that time cut him off frcm profits later that would have made up the larger sum. Once back cn the old ground Shanghal again made money. He had recovered all his losses within a few years and again was rich. When the range began to be fenced Shanghal was one of the first to see the necessity for owning land. He heught all that he could get in big strips and managed to get some of the choicest grazing lands in the low country between the Br: San Bernavd, Caney, Tres Pu lacios, Colorado, Guadaloupe and San An- tonio rivers. Not contert with this, he bought a”great’ranch'in the Indlan Ter- - vears ago when an inventory of y rty was made it Showed That was Lefore the big advance In cattle d betore thé land was considered of any ue except for grazing. Now the ap- pralsement on the same property would probably double the figu But Shanghal Pierce has not become a millionaire without many thrilling adven- tures, and he declares that the making of a fortune is simple and easy compared with the task of keeping it. Many a night he slept on the prairie only to awake the morning to find that rattlesnakes nad crépt into his blankets in the night to gét warm. Many a time he has faced death at the.pistol point, but he seems to bear a charmed life, and although he been shot at frequently and des- perate men have followed him with the Intention of murdering him, he has es- caped all the bullets that were intended for him. There Is one-story about Shanghai that he never cares to hear. It relates to a battle with cattle thieves. Shanghal was the leader of the pursuing party, and when, after a running fight, the thieves surrenidered it was discovered that the rcbbers were cowboys who had formerly worked on the ranches that had been depredated. The usual short, summary trial was held and the thieves were sentenced to be hanged. “Have you anything to say before you die?"” one of the cattle thieves was asked “Yes,” he replied. “Wt it a t “Well,” said the cattle thief, “I'm guilty and 1 guess 1 oueht to be hanged, but don’t let ‘Shang’ hang me. I never got the ftch for branding cattle until I went to work for him. Shanghai s of his enemie this story is a creation but whether it is true or false, 1t 1s generally belleved in the cow country. Once upon a time Shanghal had a close call n San Antonlo. He tells the story Liraself, and he calls it “‘Shanghal Plerce's Retreat.” “I gam2 to San Antonio with a bunch of cattlo,” saild he, “and I sold them at a 800G price. This was a tougher town then than it is now. The boys would come in from the range and ‘shoot up’ the town regularly. There were lots of desperate characters, and life was held cheap. After I got my money for my bunch of steers I found that 1 was being ‘treed” by three men. They didn’t make any play during the day, but I knew that during the night they determined to murder me. I had enough money in my pile to tempt any one. I was comparatively a stranger in San Antonio, and had few friends here upon whom I could depénd. T didn’t know just what to do, but determined to meet the situation calmly. The first opportuu- ity that developed 1 rounded up the three men who were trailing me and invited them te drink. I acted like a good fellow with them for an hcur or more, getting them to drink all I could. Then I made an appointment with them for the even- ing, and telling them I had some business to attend to in the nature of collecting some more money due on my cattle I left them. 1 went over to a place where I knew a fellow had a thoroughbred horse. I priced the animal and got possession of him. Then I got aboard that thorough- bred-and I started out of town. Before I had gone a mile my three friends dis covered what I had done and they began to chase me. I mever took my leg down from that thoroughbred until the next morning. When I did dismount I was seventy-five miles away from San An- tonto. The three men who meant to rob me followed me r all _tnrough They kept to my trail and they got warm on it the next day, but not until they were well into the country where I be- longed. They were ambushed then.” *“What became of them.” Shanghal was asked. “Really, now, I can’t remember,” the big man replied. But Shanghal hasn’t had the better of all the adventures in which he has par- ticipated. He had an argument with an Indian Territory cowman named Miller a few years ago, and had it not been for the intervention of friends Miller would have killed Shanghal. Another time they met on a train and Miller invited Shang- hai to get off the train with him, ride out into the country a bit and have a duel with Winchesters. Shanghal told Miller he would see him later. He did se¢ him later. It was in the Tre- mont Hotel in Galveston two years ago. Miler was a witness in a suit brought by a banker named Sullivan of this ci against Pierce. Miller declared that he wasn't going to leave Galveston until he had Shanghaf’s scalp. Shanghal notified the chief of police and the chief sent two detectives—Murphy and Waters—to act as a bodyguard for the millionaire. Miller, who appeared to have some hu r sponded by hiring two of the groes in town to accompany him wherever he went. For three cr four days the two detectives ved with Shanghai night and day and the two negroes walked with Miller in and about {H& hotel. Both Mill and Pierce stopped at the same hotel and the bodyguard foyce was the joke of the town, There was no doubt about Miller mean- ing business. He went to Galveston with a regular arsenal, but the action of Shang- hal made it impossible for him to pick a quarre! with the cattle king. There was a time a few years ago when it seemed that Shanghaj Plerce was going to be the richest man 'in the Southwest. His cattle holdings were immense, and his lands were appreciating in value at a great rate. He had a large amount of money loaned out, and had big deposits in many banks. Then he began to branch out. He started a bank In Galveston, and *he became interested In the building of a railroad from Galveston to Beaumont. The bank enterprise did not prosper. A year or 50 ago the bank went into liquida- tion. It paid dollar for dollar, but it is an open secret that the undertaking cost Shanghal a quarter of a million dollars. That loss Is small- compar loss the cattle king susta Toad speculation. Th Gulf and state long until the $th it is thirty-eight m storm that devasta washed away thirty-two road, and it is almost the line will never §700,000. Plerce owned the majority of stock and bonds. The road never dividend and as a railroad 1s worth anything to-day. In addition to his losses in the banking and railroad ghal has within the last few involved In seem- litigation. D. Sulllvan of San io, formerly a minor partner of the cattle ki ng for an accounting, > ands of pages dozens of law- 1g troubles, the destruction of and the i r the big i ct Shanghal no longer the he startled he case now. at his voice, ones, would carry half he went to New York, to Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louls or any of the big cities and entered the office of a friend and began to talk crowds would congregate in the street, thinking a great row was going on inside, but now Shang- hat's voice, although still a roar, Is not endous volume of ' former Neither is his ambition as vault- Now he is content side speculations and n to his ranches and e lpves cattle and loves the plains istrated by two happenings during the two vacations—the only two he ever took in his life. Once he went to the Yel- ne Ps He looked at the sreat ins_the massive tr the water- nd {he marvejous creations of na- was his be dinary spe a mile. Whe of the tri times ing as In olden days. to close up his o s of the party sal wondertul?” ed the cattle ki wish to 1 the conductor would start this train for the prairies, so we can see something.” At the time of I went to Egglan France, Germany He was intensely Rome. A seeing tr art gall vacation he Scotland, to red until he got to to the Vatican and fter visiting the great ombs, Mr. Plerce anc carriag ‘l'\'\ i Shanghal to show deep Interest, and panions heard him : I bad no idea it was anything 1 “I thought Rom rnal ¢ its art treasures orical associa= tions and jts s memories, would arouse you.” said h “Wh alking asked Shangha “Weren't you?" “No," replled Shang what a great country here for cattle sing."” ; aying his would be out