THE LIFE AND VENTURES OF THE ORIGINAL JOHN JACOB ASTOR II L.GEBHARD THE LIFE AND VENTURES OF THE ORIGINAL JOHN JACOB ASTOR The Life and Ventures OF THE ORIGINAL JOHN JACOB ASTOR By ELIZABETH I/ GEBHARD 1353 Author of "The Parsonage Between Two Manors." WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BRYAN PRINTING COMPANY HUDSON, N. Y. 1915 COPYRIGHT, 1915 BY ELIZABETH L. GEBHARD b^ ] U J ACADEMY OF 1 PACIFIC COAST) HISTORY ' ~ -<^aJ TO THE BOYS WHO COURAGEOUSLY WORK THEIR OWN WAY THIS BOOK IS APPRECIATIVELY DEDICATED. FOREWORD John Jacob Astor was pre-eminently the opener of new paths, a breaker of trails. From his first tramp alone through the Black Forest of Baden, at sixteen, his life never lost this typical touch. In America, both shores of the Hudson, and the wilderness to the North- west knew his trail. The trees of the forests west of the Mississippi were blazed by his hunters and trap- pers; and his partners and agents planted through this vast region the flag of the American Fur Company. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were invisibly lined by the path of his vessels. His were the first American ships to habitually circle the globe, trading around the earth. With his far-sighted vision withdrawn from distant scenes, and centered on Manhattan Island, he led the way toward the upbuilding of the largest, and most important city in the new world. Emboldened by Walter Barrett, the racy writer of ' 'Old Merchants of New York/' who assures his read- ers, that "no man would enjoy the publication of the true facts concerning his life, more than Mr. Astor, himself, were he alive, ' ' I have not hesitated to give the initial steps in this great man's career, feeling that humble and arduous as they were, they held the key- note to his later successes. WTioever breaks for his fellows new and valuable XI FOREWORD paths, serves his countrymen and the generations which come after him in a peculiar manner. It haa been my endeavor to give some history of John Jacob Astor's service in this direction, in the pages which follow, as well as to offer some account of the personal character, aspirations and ideals, which governed this remarkable man. In compiling this history, the writer has gleaned in- formation from many sources. Letters and descrip- tions written from Waldorf, Germany, have made the little town very real. A Chronicle of the House of Wal- dorf ; The Journal of Rev. Johann Heinrich Helffrich, (A diary of his voyage across the Atlantic in 1771) ; The Records of the German Reformed Church in New York; and an article on John Jacob Astor, in Harper's, 1865, have all shed light on the German side of John Jacob Astor's life. Beside these, I have consulted: Old Merchants of New York, by Walter Barrett, Clerk; (Joseph A. Sco- ville) ; The Astor Genealogy, by Joel Munsell's Sons; The Todd Genealogy; National Encyclopedia o* American Biography; Historic Families of America, by Walter W. Spooner; Prominent Families of New York, edited by L. H. Weeks ; Famous Families of New York, by Margherita Arlina Hamm; John Jacob As- tor, by William Waldorf Astor, Pall Mall Magazine, XII FOREWORD 1899; Story of the Astor Family, by W. Chambers, Chambers' Journal; John Jacob Astor. by Julian Ralph, Chautauquan, 1891; The Astor Family in New York, Scribner's, 1876; The Astor Family, by W. S. Bridgman, Munsey's; The Astor Family, by Harold Parker, Munsey's; The Astor Fortune, by Burton J. Hendricks, McClure's Magazine; History of the City of New York, by Mrs. Martha J. Lamb ; Memorial His- tory of the City of New York, by James Grant Wilson ; Famous Americans of Recent Times, by James Parton ; New York, the Metropolis; When Old New York was Young, by Charles Hemstreet; In Olde New York, by Charles Burr Todd; Reminiscences, by Julia Ward Howe; The Early History of Saugerties, by Benjamin M. Brink; The Hudson River, by Bacon; Manual of the Reformed Church in America; Lamed 's History for Ready Reference; Life of Thomas Jefferson, by James Parton ; Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, by James Parton; Life of Washington Irving, by Pierre M. Irving; Clippings from the New York Times; Story of Astoria, by P. Koch, Magazine of American History; Astoria, by Archer Butler Hulbert, Chautauquan, 1904; The Cruise of the Tonquin, by C. F. Brady, Harper's Magazine; Astoria, by Washington Irving; Our Lost Opportunity on the Pacific, by C. M. Harvey, North American; The Vikings of the Pacific, XIII FOREWORD by A. C. Laut; Adventures on the Columbia River, by Ross Cox; Rocky Mountains Exploration, by Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL. D. ; Gabriel Franchere's Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America, 1811-1814; (English translation by J. V. Huntington) ; Adventures of the First Settlers 011 the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810- 1813, by Alexander Ross, edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. ; Breckenridge 's Journal Up the Missouri, 1811, edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL. D. ; Alexander Mackenzie 's Voyages, 1801 ; Journal of Daniel Harmon; The French in the Heart of America, by John Finley , in Scribner 's ; The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company, by George Bryce, M. A., LL. D. The Astor Library, by J. G. Cogswell, Lit- tell's Living Age; The Astor Library, by F. R. Saun- ders, Magazine of American History; Cogswell's Lifo arid Letters, by Anna Ticknor; The Astor Library, by P. Koch, Living Age; Early Means of Transportation by Land and Water, by Clara D. Patterson, American Monthly Magazine; Shoe and Canoe, by John J. Bigs- by, M. D. ; Travels in the Western Territories, by Zeb- ulan Pike; Original Journals of Lewis and Clark Ex- pedition, 1804-1806 ; A Letter to the Honorable Horace Mann, by Charles Astor Bristed; Journals of Alex- ander Henry and David Thompson, edited by Elliott Cones ; Diary of Philip Hone. XIV CONTENTS Chapter Page I A Pivotal Day 1 II The Forest Village on the Old Roman Road 7 III The Village School and the old Church Bells 14 IV Waiting Years 20 V John Helffrich's Journal 26 VI Leaving Home 35 VII England and America 41 VIII America 50 IX Beginning the Fur Business 58 X New York a Little City 66 XI Starting in Business for Himself 72 XII John Jacob Astor's Home and Family. . . 80 XIII Independence Day While It was New... 87 XIV Traversing the Wilderness 94 XV By Canoe Through the Great Lakes 105 XVI Extending the Fur Trade 119 XVII The East India Pass No. 68 127 XVIII A New Century 136 XIX A Vision that Crossed a Continent 146 XX The Voyage of the Tonquin 156 XXI Over the Rockies to Astoria 173 XXII Carrying Dispatches to Mr. Astor 194 xvir Contents XXIII England's Trophy 207 XXIV John Jacob Astor and the War of 1812. .228 XXV Landlord and Airlord 236 XXVI The Astor Family 248 XXVII The Astorhaus 255 XXVIII Homes and Neighbors 262 XXIX Literary Friends and Business Compan- ions 272 XXX Writing "Astoria" 281 XXXI Founding the Astor Library 292 XXXII Gathering the Threads Together 301 xvm LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page John Jacob Astor Frontispiece Waldorf 7 The Old Reformed Church at Waldorf 22 A Waldorf House 22 The Original Fur Press 74 Portage 112 Unloading 112 Entrance to the Columbia River 162 Astoria, on the Pacific Coast, 1812 192 The Picturesque Eden Farm 240 The Old Office of the Astor Estate 240 Hotel Astor 240 Longacre (Times) Square 244 The Astorhaus in Waldorf 258 The Astor House, 1836 268 The Astor House, 1912 268 The Burns Festival Banquet 270 John Jacob Astor 's Home on 88th Street 288 The Astor Library 296 Interior of the Astor Library 298 The Life and Ventures of the Original John Jacob Astor CHAPTER I. A PIVOTAL DAY. IT was Palm Sunday in Waldorf in the spring of 1777. A long line of boys and girls walked in pro cession down the village street toward the Protes- tant Church. The girls were in white, and the boys in their best suits. Above their heads, birds were sing ing, and within the fence palings one could see early spring blossoms, in the flower gardens for which the village was famous. John Jacob Astor walked in the boys' column till they reached the church door, and disappeared under the entrance, which read : * ' This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." John Jacob, in common with the other young people con firmed that day, had been taught to read and write, to The Original John Jacob Astor cipher as far as the "Rule of Three," to learn the cate- chism by heart, and sing the church hymns, according to the mandates of Valentine Jeune, their school teach- er, "so that the windows should rattle." In all these accomplishments the boy was proficient, and his teach- er felt a pardonable pride in him, not only in the ex- amination which took place within the church that morning, but also in those studies which did not come under the Rev. John Philip Steiner's eye. After the children had all been examined, the rite of confirmation was administered, and they partook of their first communion. It was a momentous occasion for all these young people. It meant the end of school life for many of them, and the beginning of larger things. As they came out into the noon sunshine after it was all over, one could see in their faces mingled relief and awe. Their fourteen-year-old mile-stone was passed, and in some of their countenances there was a look of eager expectancy toward the future. John Jacob's face held no such hopeful expression as he moved forward among the rest. When he had turned about, one saw that he was a stout, sinewy lad, with a well-developed forehead and deep-set eyes, and a firmness about the mouth and chin which balanced the patience in his glance. He also had his boyish dreams, but they were unlikely of fulfillment, so this time of elation to others, A Pivotal Day was but one more day of endurance to him. Confirmation Day always closed with festivity, and in the gathering of kinsfolk, many plans were laid for the future of the young graduates. Part of the boys and girls were to become servants; others wore to be apprenticed ; while a very few left the village school for seats of broader learning. Becoming an apprentice in a German town of those days, was like sending a boy to an individual tutor of mechanics. The expense of his education in his chosen field, or that which his parents had selected for him, varied according to the occupation. A master-carpen- ter or blacksmith charged his apprentice a premium of sixty or seventy dollars to teach him his trade, a cab- inet-maker asked one hundred, and it was useless for a boy to aspire to be the maker of musical instruments or clocks, unless his father was able, and willing, to pay at least two hundred dollars for his education in this special callling. This Palm Sunday saw John Jacob's final appeal to his father, in regard to his start in life. He did not want to be a servant or a common laborer, and his father had laid up no money toward apprenticing his youngest son to some master mechanic. In fact, Jacob Astor, John Jacob's father, had no wish for his son to follow any business but his own, which was that of a The Original John Jacob Astor butcher. He needed the boy, especially in the ap- proaching harvest, and it was not his way to make plans far ahead. To John Jacob's entreaties, he turned a deaf ear, and baffled and disappointed, the lad felt himself condemned to an occupation he hated, without present remuneration, or future hope. John Jacob's life during his first thirteen years had held much that was jarring and disappointing, and only a very scant amount of the usual joys of boyhood. Jacob Astor, as has been said, was a butcher by trade, and felt it to be a business that any man might em- brace with content, and even self-congratulation. As it was carried on in Waldorf, it contained certain emol- uments and pleasurable accompaniments dear to the elder Astor 's jovial soul. That which it lacked, he did not concern himself about. His happy-go-lucky dispo- sition did not trouble itself unduly with the vicissi tudes of life. Fresh meat was considered a luxury ID Waldorf and the vicinity. It was a custom for every farmer to provide a fatted pig or calf for the harvest- ing. As this joyful season approached, the village butcher traveled about the neighborhood, stopping a day or two at each farm to kill the waiting stock, and convert the meat into appetizing sausages, bacon, and salted beef. A reputation for ability in this direction, made the butcher a welcome guest at the merry-mak- A Pivotal Day ings, and Jacob Astor's life, through the six weeks of harvesting, was full of a certain type of homage, and successive weeks of conviviality. By far the larger part of the year, however, followed the harvest, and during this time Jacob Astor's business dropped to its lowest ebb, and the larder at home cor- responded with the decline in trade. These seasons of scarcity were relieved, occasionally, by the great church days Christmas, Palm Sunday, Easter, bap- tisms and weddings, or when a birthday overtook t member of some family, prosperous enough to make a feast, and call in Jacob Astor's services. John Jacob had accompanied his father since he was a child, on these annual tours through the neighborhood, but did not find in them an inspiring life work. Still, childhood under the most adverse conditions has many alleviations. There had been three other boys in the Astor household, George, Henry, and John Melchior, and while the four boys were home, and their mother lived, they all found times of enjoyment, and loyal interest in their native home and surroundings. But each of the older ones, in turn, had left his vil- lage homo to seek his fortune. The eldest boy was the first to go. He had made his way to London, where he had an uncle engaged in the business of making musi- cal instruments, under the firm name of Astor and The Original John Jacob Astor Broadhead. Henry Astor went next, across the ocean to the "New Land" beyond the sea, and lastly John Melchior found employment in Germany. Only little John Jacob was left, and he, as well as the older three, had inherited his mother's industrious and economical ways, and longed to use them in some profitable call- ing. That the mother of John Jacob was possessed of a strong character, marked capability, and sterling vir- tues, was amply shown in the starting of four sons, in the midst of untoward surroundings, toward success- ful and honorable manhood. Waldorf CHAPTER II. THE FOREST VILLAGE ON THE OLD ROMAN ROAD. WALDORF was one of seven " forest villages/' bordering an old military road of the Romans, which led from Spires to Italy. The names of the seven towns through which the old road passed, sug- gested a still earlier and Celtic origin. In 638 only a hunting castle stood upon the site of Waldorf. Later a number of dwellings were erected around the castle, and in 750 a church was built. In the middle ages the little town had been surrounded by a wall. John Jacob Astor was five years old when the for- est villages refused their share of the labor in recon- structing the Waldorf toll-bridge, claiming that the road was a public highway. Surely this road had earned the name of a public thoroughfare Ihrough suc- cessive centuries of service. In the years which fol- lowed the revolt regarding the toll-bridge, John Jacob often heard the ownership of the road, and obligations concerning familiar objects, discussed in this land grown hoary with age. The Original John Jacob Astor In such a region there was much to awaken a boy'q curiosity, and set his thoughts to speculating on those who had lived here before him. It is easy to imagine that the time-honored names, which the boy found al- ready attached to various places in and about the little town, had been the gathering places of generations of children; and that he, in turn, found that "the boys' path" led woodward way, that the "row of trees", the "middle stone", the "fire-hedge", and the "thorn hedge," referred to places he would like to know, and that "behind the castle," and "the gypsy place" still held mysterious charms for the children of Waldorf, as they had for the children before them. What boy does not know all the paths that lead to the interesting objects in his neighborhood? The town had many acres of forest, tall beech and oak trees, hiring the young people to their cool depths on half h oil days. Among the trees was one that had a story of its own. It was called the Carl-Louis beech, since the Elector Carl-Louis, on a hunting trip, had once taken two young beeches, a black and a white, and twisted them together, till they had grown like one tree, and only showed a small opening near the ground. There were other matters of mystery further in the wood. Old walls, places where the walls were caved in. subterranean passages, well-pipes, remnants of 8 The Forest Village earthern jars with the name of the maker, "Victorin- us," upon them, and Roman coins of different sizes, all dated far back, some of them to the time of the Emperors. John Jacob and his brothers had delighted in the discovery of these relics of armies that had passed that way, and earlier peoples, who had inhabited their laud, as an American boy does to-day in the stone arrow heads of our own Indians. But over the three mounds in the town forest the most speculation ran rife. Were they old burial places! When did the people begin to call them "the three little hills!" To be sure there were more than three mounds, but there were three that rose high above the remainder of the fourteen hills, and between them all ran the forest road. These mounds gave favorable limits for a race, ele- vations from which to spy out a boy hiding from his comrades in the forest, opportunities for an embryo orator to address his audience, or a would-be general to order the march of his men down the very road the Romans had trod in the centuries past. In fact, thrs- mounds, with their crowns of trees, were among Waldorf's glories, and a gathering place for her boy- ish population, until the sun sank low and the shadows lengthened, and some lad with a more imaginative tem- perament than the rest, grew fluent in regard to tho The Original John Jacob Astor old warriors probably lying under their feet, when the groups would scatter, and the mounds be left in soli- tude, their silent curves forming dark landmarks under the stars. John Jacob had left his cold shivers over these "lit- tle hills" years behind him, and leagues away, when it was really proven that beneath the hard-beaten sand of one hill, a dense, hard, yellow clay formed a tomb, with- in which a woman's skeleton had lain for centuries. Two jewels were found upon her breast, and her hands and arms were stretched straight down at her sides. A larger mound contained a more capacious grave that of a warrior. A single-bladed knife lay diagonally across his body, one arm bent toward it, so keeping in touch with his trusty weapon, even in death. Two met- al buttons, adorned with rosettes of some white sub- stance resembling gypsum, lay near his feet, evidently having ornamented, or held together some foot cover- ing. At the belt and shoulder were other metal decora- tions, and a gold ear-ring near his left ear. Some fragments of vessels of a very primitive make, unglazed, with black and red stripes on the outside, lay scattered about the grave. A large bone of some ani- mal, probably placed there as a "dead man's meal" lay between his legs. Under the skeleton of this mighty man of long ago, had been placed various bones of 10 The Forest Village larger and smaller animals, all of which had passed through the consecrating fire of sacrifice, before the dis- tinguished person had been laid to rest upon them. Could the boys who played on the mounds in John Ja- cob's time, have known of the discoveries to be made under their feet, it is probable many a boyish hand would have made the earliest excavations. The Astor boys looked forward eagerly to the annual street fairs of Waldorf, which emptied the houses of the little town while they lasted, and turned both oH and young into the open air. At these times the nar- row streets, paved with stone from house to house, wpre almost impassable. Everything was offered for sale from cheap gewgaws to family Bibles. Waldorf, with its windows filled with flowering plants, and its Ion 2, sloping, red-tiled roofs, with tiny windows reaching to the peaks, made a picturesque background for these festive yearly sales. The events of the street fairs, and the purchases made then, were talked over for many a day afterward, certain articles of utility and orna- ment in the homes always dating back to some one of these annual celebrations. Some of the family Bibles bought at street fairs in. Germany reached America. Descendants of the Con- rad family of Philadelphia have in their possession a rare old family Bible bought at a Frankfort street fair, 11 The Original John Jacob Astor a translation of Martin Luther's, handsomely illumin- ated and illustrated. The book gives not only a record of the early ancestors of the family, but also the name of the vessel in which they sailed to America, and of the Captain and crew. The account of the passage includes the hymns sung, and prayers offered on the voyage. John Jacob sometimes carried grain to the old Thorn Mill with its four water wheels. Hovering around the mill, and watching the water dash over the wheels, paid for a hot walk with a heavy bag upon one's shoulder. It had been an ancient law that the town of Waldorf was to furnish a scale and provide a box alongside of the mill. In this box the miller was to keep a constant supply of flour. When the boy took grain to be ground he placed it on the scale, but he did not return with it the same day. According to the rule of the mill, he was to make a second trip for his flour on the third day after, finding it in the same place. If the town failed to keep a scale, then the mil lei- was to ride from door to door, while the grain was loaded on his wagon, and he in turn, was expected to n-turn it ground to its owner on the third day after. There were acres of vineyards, meadows, fields and Band-pits, flower-gardens and vegetable gardens, in Waldorf; and, forestalling the day when the waste lands should be watered by irrigation, Waldorf's 12 The Forest Village chronicler mentions among its blessings, " seventeen acres of brooks and ditches". John Jacob was accustomed to the holding of large estates by his neighbors. One manner of dividing these great farm holdings was by "marking stones," which occasionally bore the armorial design of the fam- ily who owned the estate. One of John Jacob Astor's own name, Felix Astor, is noted as leasing an estate for hunting purposes; while in 1741, "Mr. Astor, landlord of the Lion Inn" bought a "small lordly Manor," which formerly belonged to the vintage of Wersau. Records of the Astor family give evidence that John Jacob Astor's ancestors were French Huguenots, driv en like many of their kind, upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to find refuge in Germany. In the family history still further back, there had been brave Knights, who risked all, even life itself, in fighting ..L'ainst superior forces for a cherished ideal. The residence of the Astor family in Germany had begun three generations before the boy's time, and John Jacob's small world was filled with the traditions, events, and diversions of the "seven forest villages," which also afforded him his outlook on life. 13 CHAPTER III. THE VILLAGE SCHOOL AND THE OLD CHURCH BELLS. THE Rev. Johann Stumpf, who was the minister in charge of the Roman Catholic Church in Waldorf about the middle of the eighteenth cen- tury, was so impressed with the healthful climate, and material advantages of the town, that he put himself on record in a number of Latin verses, whose translation gives us some insight into the advantages John Jacob Astor gained by spending his boyhood days in Baden. "Walldorf, a market place of the Palatinate, A beautiful and nourishing place may God preserve Walldorf, An incomparable place, because no word rhymes with Walldorf. If the people of Waldorf f are called "Maerker", (Those who derive benefits from a common wood-lot) The people of Walldorf are thereby only lauded and praised. They listen to God and His word, And this is something that pleases God; 14 The Village School and Bells Everybody wants to live at the place having five "W's," And Walldorf is well-favored by God for this, For it has all the five "W's" together (Walt, Waiz, Wein, Wasser, Weid) Woods, wheat, wine, water, and hunting grounds. The people of Walldorf are happy people; God be praised, Walldorf has many gifts ; May God keep Walldorf in his grace, Through the merits of St. Peter, the patron-saint, As written, 2. Peter 1:15." The poet added to his verses the following explana- tion: "Johann Stumpf was pastor in Walldorf for twenty- five years, and in honor of Walldorf, and out of love for it, he has written the above verses in the famous year of war and death 1734." The seal of the town of Waldorf honored the oak tree, and further Latin verses dwelt upon this fact, in- cluding a touch of history. In translation they read : " 'What does the vow under the oak tree signify'! I ask the seal. The oak signifies the strength of the vow. Truly, he is a healthy person, who is as healthy as the oak tree ; There is scarcely a place as healthy as Walldorf. 15 The Original John Jacob Astor The air is agreeable to every gentleman, no matter what the condition of his body is. It is said that oaks attain an age of five hundred y^ars, Walldorf existed long before the city of Heidelberg. The age of Walldorf has been, and is, and will be like that of the oak; O, that the days of my life were so deeply rooted, and of such long duration ! See the archives of the church! See the court-records!" The Rev. Johann Stumpf 's satisfaction with his par- ish has given us a vivid picture of the superiority of John Jacob Astor 's native town. The school which John Jacob attended through hi& childhood, was founded by the Church, and was served alternately by Roman Catholic, Reformed, and Luth- eran school teachers, according as each party was dom inant in the state for the time. The boy was most fortunate in having Valentine Jeune, one of the beat of the pedagogues of that day, fall to his lot. The teacher of the village school was a French Protestant , like John Jacob's own ancestors. He had fled from his country during the reign of Louis XIV. Valentine Jeune was a progressive and sympathetic teacher, and bestowed a generous amount of personal attention up- on his scholars. Together with the Rev. John Philip 16 The Village School and Bells Steiner, the Protestant minister of Waldorf, he suc- ceeded in indelibly planting the doctrines of the Ref- ormation in the minds of his pupils, which principle* swayed John Jacob Astor's life to its close. The school was supported by the town, but every child added his mite, as he came each day laden with two sticks of wood. One of the objects that attracted John Jacob's atten- tion on the way to school, was the old bell-tower of the Roman Catholic Church. The lad's interest in the belli of his town was equal to that of all his kind. What boy does not climb a bell-tower before he has reached manhood? Who among them does not long to feel his hand on the bell-rope, and be responsible in his own strength and muscle, for the peals which ring out over the house-tops and die away in the valleys? John Jacob's attachment to the belli of Waldorf was intensified by the stories of the old men of the village, who made their clanging music the key-note of many a tale of the past. There were three bells in the old Roman Catholic Church tower when John Jacob was a boy. The heathen tribes had rung these same three bells, when they lived in this vicinity, before the Christian religion was introduced. The sweet sounds had floated over hills, and wound their way through grassy dells in honor of some pagan goddess, till they 17 The Original John Jacob Astor reached the groves and forests, the heaths and moun- tains where the early Germans loved to worship. It was easy to pass from the tales of the bells to the won- ders of the mythical past, and the boys half believed still in the elves and nixies, dwarfs and giants, which had pervaded the earth and air and water in the old heathen days. These bells had rung out paeans of rejoicing over the early Christian Gospel, and pealed for Roman Catholic dominion. Nearer to John Jacob's own time they had sounded brave notes for the Reformation. The three bells had not always kept each other com- pany, though one might have thought them welded to- gether by centuries of united action. During the thirty years' war, the two larger bells were taken to Philipps- burg by the enemy, and held in the arsenal there, to the grief of the villagers. During the war only the small bell was left in the tower to call the people to worship, or ring out the scant causes of rejoicing during these troublous years. The time came, however, when the captive bells were redeemed for one hundred florins, and brought back to Waldorf. Alas! the bell-tower had been struck by lightning and burned, while bereft of its music, so for many years the bells stood silent in the church, while a generation grew up who had never heard their sweet 18 The Village School and Bells chimes, and looked upon their silent forms as relics of the past, whose mission had been accomplished. But with the return of peace, a sense of safety, of recurring crops unspoiled by an alien army, and of dawning prosperity, turned the villagers* thoughts to- ward homely joys once more. They would rebuild th* old tower and hang the bells in their places. As in days gone by, they should be the key-note of the town's rejoicing. So it came about that John Jacob Astor was more fortunate than the children of the thirty years' war. or of the years immediately succeeding it. He grew up with the chimes of the old bells in his ears. He had heard them peal in times of rejoicing, and listened to them toll in times of grief. They were alive to him, as to every other boy in the village, with love of home and native land, with the sweep of enthusiasm, or the wail of woe. Their musical notes pulsed through his heart, and found there answering echoes. Waldorf was rich in history, pleasant in situation, healthful, and full of matters of interest to a boy, yet John Jacob Astor longed to leave it for a broader lifr, a wider horizon. 19 CHAPTER IV. WAITING YEARS. THE two years succeeding his fourteenth birth- day were somber cycles of time for young As- tor. It was a time when his thoughts ran riot, aims and aspirations and longings overtaking each other, and stretching out longing arms into the future. Life seemed full of boundless possibilities, always just beyond his reach. These visions haunted him night and day, tormenting him in proportion to his inability to take one step forward, or cherish one tangible hope. H^ felt like a prisoner in his own town, a captive in his own home. The life of the village ceased to interest him. Where once he had felt loyal pride in her institutions, now all seemed flat and tasteless. Nor was this state of mind produced entirely by disappointed ambition. The boy had much natural cause for depression. Within a few years his mother had died, and his father had married again. As an old chronicler puts it, the new wi?e "loved not Jacob or John Jacob." The wife and mother in this hap-hazard household had been its mainspring and inspiration. From bw 20 Waiting Years mother John Jacob had received most that made his life worth living. Her provident, industrious ways had caused their little to go as far as possible, and had sur- rounded her youngest son with a sense of warm- hearted affection, which created a home atmosphere, and in some measure made up to him for the scantily furnished larder. There had been little ones added to the family in these later years, but there was no increase in the ex- chequer. So unhappy was life in his own home, that rather than sleep in his own bed, young Astor often spent the night with a friend, preferring to rise before daylight, in order to appear at his own door, ready to assist his father at the accustomed hour. During these years he formed the habit of absenting himself from the social gatherings of friends, and in his hours of leisure went away to brood by himself. There were doubtless many reasons why it was not easy for him to join in the village festivities, and pos sibly in these seasons of loneliness, his thoughts fle-I across the seas, anil for a time he forgot the adverse conditions about him. Letters were not frequent in those days, but when they came, they bore momentous news family stories covering long periods, tales of thrilling adventure, and accounts of how the world was making history. John 21 The Original John Jacob Astor Jacob boasted in after years, that he had once walked forty-five miles to get a letter that had come from a brother in England or America. It was thought that the news of Burgoyne's surrender lighted a spark in the boy's mind, that burned secretly brighter and brighter, till he at last left his German home. A spark of hope from any favorable source was in- valuable to him just at this time, for there were still two long years before him, full of patient effort to as- sist his father in the business he so disliked, and also to fulfill home duties in such a way as to conciliate his step-mother. One of these home duties was the care of the little sisters who had come with baby gladness into this depressing home. Though all beside failed the boy, though there was no one at this important period of his life whose thought was bent either on his happiness or advance- ment, the baby sisters were like stars of promise of good things to come. The warm, affectionate nature of the lonely lad went out to his little charges, and the feeling of a soft baby hand in his hardened boyish palm, struck straight to his heart, melting the bitter feelings which his environment engendered. He could always be trusted to care for the children. It has been seen that occasional letters came to the Astor family from England and America. There was 22 THE OLD REFORMED CHURCH AT WALDORF A WALDORF HOUSE WITH ITS HIGH PEAKED ROOF Photographs Taken by the Rev. John G. Gebhard, D. D. Waiting Years also another source of information regarding the "New Land," which kept its memory bright in John Jacob's heart. The year the boy was born, July 17th, 1763, the Rev. John Frederick Gebhard, the old pastor of the Re- formed Church of Waldorf, died, and the Rev. Philip Steiner succeeded him. The old pastor had baptised the three older Astor boys, and for years counted th^ Astor family among his parishioners. After his death, his widow stayed on at Waldorf for some years, with her children. Her eldest son, John Gabriel Gebhard, was thirteen years John Jacob Astor 's senior, so when he left Waldorf for a college course in Heidelberg University, John Jacob was but a little fellow of five years old. Heidelberg was only about eight miles from Wal- dorf, and John Gebhard came and went to and from his mother's home, on holidays and at other convenient times. A college student always brings a touch of the college life back with him to his home town, and Hei- delberg was rich in interest over and above the usual university student's stories. Young as he was, John Jacob's eyes would open wide at the tale of the great tun in the cellar of the Schloss, on which the students were wont to climb. A barrel thirty-six feet long, and twenty -four feet high would 23 The Original John Jacob Astor hold many a student upon its curved outer surface, as well as forty-nine thousand gallons within. It had only been built about a dozen years when John Jacot was born, so it was still a great and recent wonder to the young people of that day. A Waldorf boy would glory in the magnificence of Heidelberg Castle, rather than listen to tales of imagi- nary grandeur. It had been struck by lightning when John Jacob was a baby, and by this time had become one of the grandest ruins in Germany. After his course at Heidelberg, young Gebhard studied theology for a season in the University of Utrecht, and there he met John Henry Livingston, from America, a most able young man, and an earnest stu- dent. Naturally, word of the young American theo- logian of good family reached Waldorf, and the trip across the ocean seemed the more possible, because the ocean was being crossed both ways. When elohn Jacob was eight years old, their old pas- tor's son set sail for America. His mother was almost heart-broken, yet laid no hand upon him to detain him, giving her best to the service of God. The heart of his father's old congregation was with the young minister in his momentous undertaking, and equally with the mother in this great separation. John Jacob was not 24 Waiting Years likely to forget that day, or the wave of sympathy that swept the village. The going of the Eev. John Gabriel Gebhard to America was the more note-worthy, since he went in company with two other young men, John Helffrich and John Helffenstein, half-brothers, who had also been students of the University of Heidelberg. The three Johns were going to preach the Gospel in the "New Land," not a foreign land in the usual Ian guage of missions, but to carry the good tidings of sa'- vation from the birthland of the Reformation to the "New Land," whose population was growing rapidly, but whose clergymen were few. They all signed them- selves, as was common at that period, "V. D. M. " Min isters, or Servants of the Word of God. John Helffrich kept a journal of the voyage, whose main points doubtless were retold to the Helffrich and Gebhard homes, and were shared by friends in the na- tive towns of all three young men. 25 CHAPTER V. JOHN HELFFRICH'S JOURNAL. THE type of information that came back to the waiting youths in the old world, who longed to make the great venture and cross the seas, is to be found in John Helff rich's journal. The three young ministers set sail from Amsterdam on September 6th, 1771, "at nine o'clock in the morn- ing," as Helff rich accurately states. At twelve the same day they stuck fast on a bar, and needed a ship of lighter tonnage to tow them off. The second day they ran into so severe a storm that all fires were put out, and the Captain's baby was fed upon soup cooked over a lighted tallow candle. Their initial troubles were not yet over, for they collided with a ship, which struck them "once real hard before they had left the danger- ous Zuyder Zee." A touch of humor ensues as the young Domine sets down: "Sept. 16th. Arrived at the harbor of New Castle. Sept. 17th. We went on shore with the 'Cha laise.' Here we were constantly followed by a crowd of people. They kissed the baby. We were expected to kiss theirs." 26 John Helffrich's Journal Almost every other entry tells of wind and storm, violent rocking of the ship, no sleep and a second colli- sion. On Sunday, the 6th of October, "in company with a large number of ships" they "sailed with the tide out of the harbor into the North Sea." So terri- ble was the storm, young Helffrich states, "that the sails were furled, the top masts were taken down, the helm was lashed and the ship was given over to the mercy of the wind and waves. The waves came rolling mountain high; soon we were in the heights; soon in the depths; soon on one side; soon on the other, the waves beating into the cabin." Many chickens and ducks were lost, and the passengers felt it was fortunate that their ship was a strong one. "It was terrible to hear the roaring of the wind and the waves. When the waves struck the vessel, they sounded like the thunder and roar of cannons, and we committed ourselves" altogether to the Divine Provi- dence." The distance they should have covered in three days had taken fourteen, but at last on the morning of Oc- tober 21st they sighted France and England, and en- tered the English Channel without further mishap. Here they discovered that more than one hundred ships had been wrecked during the recent storms. For a time there were quieter days, then on Novem- 27 The Original John Jacob Astor ber 9th, once more they were in the teeth of a gale, the passengers in the haste and danger helping to furl the sails. Twice they were struck by whirlwinds, breaking the cabin windows, drenching Mr. Gebhard, and caus ing his companions to betake themselves quickly to the tops of chests and trunks. Their fears were increased by the Captain's orders to load their guns. The only guns available at the mo- ment were two, a double-barrel and a single-barrel, the possessions of Dr. Doll, a cousin of Mr. Helff rich's. The danger proved to be from "a water-spout tower- ing up to the sky," endangering their vessel should it descend upon them. The method of dispersing these water-spouts was by separating the air by shooting off guns. The young theologian was not content with the German name alone, but gave in this instance, and va- rious other cases, the Latin for the phenomena seen. A diversion was caused a few days later by the Cap- tain, pilot, cabin boy and three sailors diving into the ocean and taking a swim, evidently doing some spe- cial stunts for the benefit of the passengers, as they "swam on back, and side, and stomach, stood up in the water, and even turned somersaults.'' On the West Sea (the Atlantic) they encountered another great storm, and "the cook was swept away from his fire-place and almost washed overboard." 28 John Helffrich's Journal They had now been on the ocean more than two months and food was getting scarce. Their last pig but one was killed on the 27th of November. For eight days they had had no veal, only bacon and pease. All the flour they had tried to save was spoiled by the rats, and John Helffrich exclaims, "What shall b^- come of us ! But God will help. ' ' A passenger and a sailor were let down the ship's side for a swim, but did not go far, for they found themselves near a school of man-eating fishes. They had a little skirmish with a French ship, whose Captain called upon them to run up their flag, and threatened them with his loaded cannon. The Captain of the German ship assured his passengers, had the French Captain fired, "he would have taken his wind from him, grappled with his ship and settled the mat- ter in a hand-to-hand fight." But the French vessel, fortunately, went on its way, with nothing worse in the way of hostile demonstration than threats. Twice ghostly signs were heard and seen. "Once at evening, while the sails wvre being turned, the Captain, the pilot, and a German sailor heard, on the middle mast under which they stood, a mournful voice, as though a dying person repeated the words, '0, yes,' three times, the last very weakly." On another night a sailor saw a woman clad in white on the fore-deck. 29 The Original John Jacob Astor December brought more storms. "Part of the fore- mast was broken, and much cordage was torn." The center of the middle -mast was cracked, and the ship's "cut- water" (prow) was broken. The food was also growing less and less palatable. A pleasant event a week later, was the catching of their first fish on a hook, a dolphin weighing forty or fifty pounds. The " half -starved ship's load" found the food most appetizing. In the stomach of the dolphin was a flying fish. A young whale also sported about the ship, whose length was about forty feet. He was gray above and green underneath. Later, they ran into a great school of man-eating fishes, as far as eye could reach. Christmas day was unhappily emphasized by in- creased hunger ard thirst. On that day they began to divide the water, two and one-half cups apiece. Out of this portion each person was expected to give a part for his tea and soup. Added to this was a small glass of wine. Their thirst, increased by the salt and putrid meat, of which they were scarce- ly allowed enough to keep soul and body together, was almost unendurable. A few pease were left which they had twice a week. A common variety of food was a soup made of chopped cold meat, biscuit and water. They were really suffering by this time, and still 30 John Helffrich's Journal ten days from New York if all went well. Soon after this they hailed a ship from Boston, bound for the south on a whaling expedition, and their Captain found he had only missed his bearings by a few miles all through the voyage. Passing another water-spoui on January 31st, th^y "prayed devoutly that God might keep it from them." Young Helffrich sets down on this last night of the old year: "To-night at seven o'clock, twelve o'clock at home, we wished the friends a "Happy New Year!" During the first week of the new year they encoun- tered a fierce storm, and "the waves frequently swept the fore-deck." A final disaster was the washing over- board of the last pig. The storm tore the top-sail, but, by good fortune, drove them toward land. The last three entries after their long, stormy voy- age, are briefly full of the happiness of successful con- summation. "Jan. 13th. This morning we saw the shores of New Jersey. At eight o'clock this evening we saw the light of a tower on the shore. It is lighted every evening to guide the ships. We ran hard by a sand-bank at twelve o'clock this night, and to our great joy, cast our anchor in the harbor." "Jan. 14th. In the morning at eight o'clock we en- tered the harbor, and at two o'clock we were on the land in America." The following sentence closes this brief but vivid ac- count of a long and hazardous sea voyage. 31 The Original John Jacob Astor "Thou, God, hast helped us through the storm and tempest. Help us also in that which we here propose to do." The substance of such a diary, sent home to Wal- dorf in the guise of a letter, furnished conversation over the counters, and in the fields, and by the fire- sides, for many a day, and a boy with his heart set on adventure, would thrill with the wonders and dangers of the deep, held back in the dark hours of the night by awe of storm and hunger, mutiny and man-eating fishes; pressed forward in the daylight, by the fierce charm of the sea, and the wonders of distant shores. John Jacob Astor fed on every scrap of news regard- ing the "New Land" which came to him, forgetting while the dream lasted, his own inability to take a step toward it. Life's vision was large in those days, even though the daily environment was cramped and strained. John Helffrich, who wrote his journal of a four- months' voyage, said little regarding himself and his companions, being absorbed in the wonders unfolding before him. Waldorf, watching in the account for news of their young townsman, would find it only in the scant references to numerous times when John Gebhard stayed long on the deck in the teeth of a com- ing storm, or clung to the cabin window which com- manded a circumscribed outlook upon the raging ele- 32 John Helffrich's Journal ments, and so, over and over again, evidently to his companions ' enjoyment, got a thorough wetting with sea water. The two Johns, who were brothers, seem to have been of a more cautious temperament, taking their stations near trunks and chests which farnislx"! high ground in time of deluge. After a long interval, Waldorf learned that John Gebhard had sought out John Henry Livingston on his arrival in America, being glad to grasp a familiar hand, and that their old pastor's son had been ap- pointed to the churches of Whitpain and Worcester in Pennsylvania. John Helffenstein found a charge at Germantown, in the same State; while John Hdffrich became the capable and self-sacrificing over-shepherd of a group of churches, including Kurtztown, DeLange, Weissenberg, Lowhill. and Heidelberg, in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. A few years afterward word reached Waldorf, that their yimng townsman had become the pastor of the German Reformed Church m New York, and John Jacob Astor saw a second link of comradeship in the land of his vision. Some phase of its unreality dropped away with each youth who crossed the ocean, and re- mained near the well-known seaport of New York. Through Benjamin Franklin's kind mediation, let- 33 The Original John Jacob Astor ters came and went safely to and from the little town and America across the sea. 34 CHAPTER VI. LEAVING HOME. WHEN young Astor was sixteen, his slowly ma- tured plans reached a climax. He had waited two years for muscle to harden and manhood to develop. Now his decision was made. Without money, and without knowing a word of English, John Jacob Astor resolved to go to America. Since there was no hope of financial aid to smooth his passage thither, he set his sagacious head to laying a path for his feet. His plan was to work his way to London, and there spend as long a period as necessary, earning and saving money, and learning the English language. One of the stories that had floated back from the "New Land" to the old homes, had for its import, the fact that immigrants were viewed in the light of prey on foreign shores, that one needed to be very wise and sharp on his own account, not to be cheated. How could a country lad of Baden hope to compete fairly in such a game, unless he understood the English language, and had some financial backing to make him independ- ent of would-be deceivers? These benefits John Jacob 35 The Original John Jacob Astor Astor decided to make his own, before he lifted Irs foot from the shores of the old world. Naturally, Jacob Astor tried to hold his last son from leaving home, but when he could no longer move the boy to his way of thinking, he gave a reluctant con- sent to his departure. Waldorf was nearly three hundred miles from the sea-port in Holland, from which young Astor would take ship for England, but the little town was aho close to the great Black Forest, where large quantities of timber were cut. Instead of being floated, this tim- ber was rowed down the Rhine by sixty or eighty men to a raft. These men were paid generous wages as the work was hard. John Jacob Astor by this time . was a stout, strong youth, very well set up, though a little under size. He felt he couid compete successfully with the average oarsman on the Rhine, and in this way earn the money to take him to London. He set out from home on foot upon the eventful morning, with a bundle of clothes hung from a stick over one shoulder, and about two dollars in his pocket- He meant to walk to the river only a few miles dis- tant. Saying good-bye, at last, wasn't exactly easy, much as he had longed for the day of departure to come. The privations of life in Waldorf grew small 36 Leaving Home in his eyes, and natural affection for home and kin- dred threatened to turn his going into a sad event, rather than a joyous release. His friends watched him out of town, down the road to the Rhine, one more boy leaving his native village to be swallowed up by the great world, or to lift hit In -ad above the rest and be heard from again. Valentine Jeune belonged to the class of school t far hers of whom Martin Luther's was an honored ex- ample. Luther's teacher was accustomed, when he en- tered the school room, to bow first to the boys in the room, and next to the girls. "For in these boys before me," he said, "I see the future burgomasters, lawyers, doctors, merchants and theologians of Germany, and in the girls the mothers of great men." Young Astor's old teacher came to say good-bye with the rest, and as the boy was lost to sight, he turned to those near him, and said: "I am not afraid for John Jacob; he'll get through the world. Ho has a clear howl, and everything right behind the ears." The composed, intelligent look in the boy's eyes, ns he bade his friends good-bye in manly fashion, bore out his teacher's opinion. Then Waldorf went back to its store-keeping and farming, its browing and baking, its home-making and 37 The Original John Jacob Astor teaching, and its raising of boys, and John Jacob As- tor strode on toward the Rhine. The road over which he walked was cultivated on either side. Early vegetables were putting out green shoots, and the wealth of clover and beautiful wild flowers made a pleasing path for his feet. After a lit- tle he passed men and women working in the fields. Loaded carts went by drawn by cows, and children eyed him as they walked along. Each of his fellow countrymen wished him "Guten Morgen," but John Astor hardly heard them. His eyes were full of tears, and his heart thumped till it seemed to fill his throat. His feelings, which he had proudly held in check as he left his home town, had swept back to overwhelm him. When he reached a secluded place, he sat down un- der a tree near the road, the red-tiled roofs of Waldorf still in sight in the distance. In spite of the hardships of his boyhood, all that had been dear and uplifting and kindly returned to his remembrance, and met there the current of outgoing aspiration, the flood-tide of hope for the future. The largeness of life took pos- session of him, and laid hold of the heart of his young manhood. He found himself, under the tree on the Rhine road, and there he made three resolutions: "To 38 Leaving Home be honest, and industrious, and not to gamble.'' After that he went on with fresh courage. The young traveler found other adventurers at the water's edge, also ready to earn their passage to Eng- land, as oarsmen on the rafts, for it was a favorite method of covering this part of the journey. Rowing the great logs was hard work, but each oarsman had his hope and his destination. Most of the workers were young, and all were full of large expectations. Altogether they had a merry time of it, cheering their toil with jokes and songs by night and day. John Jacob entered into the new occupation with enthusiasm, glad of all the muscle he had gained and toughened carrying heavy baskets for his father Food was supplied them on the journey, and the stop- offs to build camp fires in the forest, with their promise of hot food and drink, were looked forward to as happy oases in the trip. On the fourteenth day after leaving home, young As- tor found himself at a Dutch sea-port (probably Am- sterdam) with ten dollars in his pockets, a larger sum of money than he had ever possessed before. He took passage for London, where he landed a few days later, totally unfamiliar with place or language, but fortu- nate in having an older brother to pave the way for him. Though John Jacob and his brother George had 39 The Original John Jacob Astor not seen each other for years, they met with true Ger- man warmth, and George Astor assisted his younger brother to procure employment, probably in the flute and piano manufactory of Astor and Broadwood. 40 CHAPTER VII. ENGLAND AND AMERICA. DURING the next four years, John Jacob Astoi became what American boys to-day call a " dig- ger." He was not afraid or ashamed of hard work of any kind, but gilded it always with dreams of success ahead. It was the means to a desired end. and nothing was too great a task if il helped him to move toward his ideal. A Lutheran clergyman of Baden, writing of John Jacob Astor at this time, assures his readers that young Astor brought to London, "A pious, true and godly spirit, a clear understanding, a sound youthful elbo\v grease, and the wish to put it to good use." The path to success is divided by mile-stones of pos- sible attainment. During his life in London .John Jacob Astor kept three aims before him, or rather four ; to earn and save money, to learn the Knjrlish language v and to obtain all the information he could about America. In entering upon this course of action, h? found himself handicapped in having no trade, his wages in consequence being very small. Though he was at work at five in the morning, and labored with 41 The Original John Jacob Astor all his might through the day, saving every penny pos- sible, it was nearly four years before he could think of crossing the ocean. These were years, however, full of tangible benefits outside of earning money. The boy was gaining experi- ence in many ways. Learning the English language was not as difficult as he had anticipated. Spending his days in a work-shop with English mechanics, and hav- ing few German friends, he was almost forced to the use of the new tongue. In six weeks he had progressed so far, that he could make himself understood along necessary lines of communication. Before he left Lon- don he could speak the English language easily, though keeping the German accent of the Fatherland. Obtaining trustworthy information about America was more difficult. Maps, geographies and books of travel were scarce, and these few contained many er- roneous statements. A home-keeping Englishman of that day, looked upon America as composed of a group of rebellious colonies, making a great ado over a pal- try tax, and as markedly disloyal to the mother coun- try. The persuasive eloquence and generous champion- ing of America and her people by Fox and Pitt, Burke and Sheridan in the House of Commons, may have oc- casionally filtered in sparkling sentences through the work-shops of England, reaching the one in which 42 England and America John Jacob worked; but his main source of informa- tion lay in casual meetings with men who had crossed the Atlantic, or with those who re-told the stories of the voyagers. Naturally many of these tales were of a grotesque character, and unreliable to build upon for future action. At rare intervals Henry Astor wrote from New York one of his infrequent letters. He was already established as a butcher in a small way, wheeling home his pur- chases of sheep and calves from the Bull's Head, in a wheel-barrow, and ready to laud America's possibili- ties to his younger brother. By September, 1783, John Jacob Astor was possessed of a good suit of clothes cut in the English fashion, and about seventy-five dollars in money, the total result of four years' hard work, strenuous endeavor, and the closest economy. It was during this month that news reached London, that Dr. Franklin and his associates, after two years of negotiations, had signed the treaty which settled the independence of the United States. Dr. Franklin was fond of predicting that when the independence of America became an accomplished fact, many young men of intelligence, fortune, and family, would seek the shores of the New World in search of the broad careers it would offer. 43 The Original John Jacob Astor He did not suspect that a German youth, hardly more than a boy, was waiting the final move in the Treaty of Peace, in a London work-shop, resolved to grasp one of these careers, which the New World held out for those who knew how to take them. By November, 1783, John Jacob Astor was ready to set sail for Baltimore. He was now twenty years old, and prepared to take the next step in his life plan. His capital for such a venture was small, but he ex- pended it with a wise caution which suggested a clear business head. A third of his savings he invested in seven flutes. Carrying these with him, he one day approached Cap- tain John Whetten who at the time was mate aboard his ship, saying he wished to immigrate to America, and asking for a steerage passage. The mate was pleased with the young German 's appearance, and after some little conversation, advised John Astor to sail on another vessel then in port, which would probably of- fer him a more comfortable berth. Young Astor took Whetten 's advise, and engaged passage in a ship commanded by Captain Jacob Stout, a most popular English Captain, who enjoyed telling in after years, that he first brought over John Jacob Astor to America. The young immigrant paid twenty- five dollars for his passage, preferring the sailor's fare 44 England and America of salt beef and biscuit to a larger outlay of money. The remainder of his capital, about twenty-five dollars, arried with him in the form of money. The joy that welled up in his heart as he felt the planks of the ship beneath his feet, which was to carry him to the land of his heart's desire, lifted him into a new world. Tin- bustle jill about him. the smell of tar and briny water, the orders of Captain and mate, t lu- ll ustling of sailors, and expectant passengers, the creaking of the ship, all became a part of his thrills of joy in havinir really started his journey to America. But his time of rejoicing soon passed into days and nights of anxiety. The voyage proved to be as long and tempestuous, as that of the three Johns from his own neighborhood years before. November gales and De- cember storms tried the little craft to its limit, and gave John Astor many uncomfortable days and sleep- less nights. Still the days brought much of interest to the young voyager, besides their vicissitudes. Walking on the quar ter deck, near the main hatch, he sometimes overheard the talk of officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, who wen- aboard. These scraps of conversation, seasoned with adventure, naturally whetted his appetite for more. They reaehed Chesapeake Bay in January, 1784, but 45 The Original John Jacob Astor found it full of floating ice as far as eye could reach. The winter storms drove the ship crunching in between the ice cakes till it seemed as if she would be broken to pieces. On one occasion of great danger, young Astor appeared on deck dressed in his new Eng- lish suit, answering the surprise of his fellow passen- gers with the remark, that if he escaped with his life he would save his best clothes, and if he lost his life, his clothes would be of no further use to him. When they were within one day of port, the wind died down, the cold increased, and in the morning they found themselves hard-locked in a sea of ice. For two months they were ice-bound, and presumably young Astor exchanged his highly valued suit of clothes for one less prized. Provisions gave out, and the passengers were only relieved when the ice extended to the shore, and be- came strong enough for safety in passing to other ships, and to the land. Many of the passengers were venturesome enough to start shoreward over the rough, uneven surface. Picking their way landward, in the face of the biting wind, sometimes with the sunshine on their backs, often with the fine ice crystals cutting their faces, they at length reached shore, and journeyed by land to their destinations. This method of traveling was not within the means 46 England and America of young Astor, and he was obliged to remain by the ship. Two months are a long time to wait, with good for- tune possibly turning her favors in other directions, since the would-be venturer is not at hand. However, both ice-locked ships and frozen harbors sometimes hold fortune in their grasp, and John Jacob Astor ' preparation for the new life was not hindered by these seeming obstacles. Among the passengers in the same plight with him- self, was a German with whom young Astor had made acquaintance during the voyage. Speaking the same tongue drew them together, and each confided to the other much of his past history, and future hopes. The stranger had also been an immigrant to America a few years before. He had bought furs from the Indians and boatmen coming to New York from the river villages. At length he had gathered together quite a little capi- tal, all of which he invested in skins, and took them himself to England, where he sold them at a large profit. The proceeds he invested in toys and trinkets, with which to continue the trade on his return. Day by day, as they waited for the ice to break up, the two young men discussed the fur trade, his fellow passenger, after strongly advising John Jacob Astor to take up the business, initiating him in many of its important points. He told him of the respective prices 47 The Original John Jacob Astor of skins in America and London; instructed him where to buy, how to preserve, pack, and transport the pel- tries, lie