He decided, therefore, to
join in the attempt to get control of the Minnesota road and its
land-grant, and the famous group was complete. {136}

Once George Stephen had made up his mind, little time was ever lost.
He sailed for Europe and interviewed the Amsterdam committee in charge
of the Dutch bondholders' interests, Messrs Chouet, Weetjin and
Kirkhoven. They despaired of ever seeing their money back, and were
weary of being assessed by the receiver for funds to keep the road
together. Stephen left Amsterdam with an option in his pocket, given
for the sum of one guilder, agreeing to sell him the Dutch bonds for
something like the amount of the unpaid interest, and agreeing,
further, to wait until six months after reorganization for part of the
payment. The next step was to provide the cash required for immediate
necessities. About $300,000 was put up by the members of the group.[1]
Money was borrowed from the Bank of Montreal, $280,000 in the first
advance, and something under $700,000 in all, as Stephen stated to
inquiring shareholders at the bank's annual meeting in 1880. Money was
advanced to the receiver to complete the most necessary extensions,
those required to save the land-grant and that necessary to reach the
Canadian {137} border to join the government road being built south
from Winnipeg. The threatened forfeiture of the land-grant was thus
averted for a time. Then the bonds were purchased for $6,780,000, the
floating obligations and part of the stock were bought up, and the
mortgage which secured the bonds was foreclosed. The assets were
bought by the new company organized for the purpose, the St Paul,
Minneapolis and Manitoba, of which George Stephen was president, R. B.
Angus vice-president, and James J. Hill general manager. Thus in June
1879 the whole system, comprising six hundred and sixty-seven miles of
railway, of which five hundred and sixty-five were completed, and the
land-grant of two and a half million acres, came into the possession of
the little group.[2]

The after fortunes of the road, which ten years later expanded into the
Great Northern of to-day, do not concern us here. It is only necessary
to recount that the harvest reaped {138} by the adventurers[3] put the
tales of El Dorado to shame. A few days after control of the railway
had been assured, the grasshoppers had risen in flight, and Minnesota
knew them no more. Settlers swarmed in, the railroad platforms were
jamm