n the South. The only obstacle
was the shortage of convict labour! A convict negro _must_ work; the
free negro won't. Finally I bought some city lots in the town of
Amarillo--the most valuable lots I could find, right at the city's
pulse, the centre of business; in my judgment they would in all
probability always be at the centre, and that as the city grew so would
their value grow, and thus the unearned increment would be secured. I
bought these lots by sheer pressure; the owner did not want to sell, but
I made him name his own price, and closed the deal, to his astonishment.
It was a record price and secured me some ridicule. But the funniest
part has to come. In a little while I became dissatisfied with my deal,
and actually approached the seller and asked him if he would cancel it.
He too had regretted parting with the property, and to my relief
assented. Once more I spent nearly a year ranging about the whole
western country, looking into different propositions, and again I came
back to Amarillo, again was impressed with the desirability of the same
lots, and actually demanded of the still more astonished owner if he
would sell them to me. No! no! he did not want to part with them; and I
knew he spoke the truth. Again I forced him, and so hard that at last he
put on what he considered a prohibitory price, a much higher one than
before asked, but I snapped him up at once. The news soon got all over
town, it could not be kept quiet. Once more the supposed knowing ones
and "cute" business men eyed me askance, and no doubt thought me a
fool, or worse. Only one man approved of my action, but I valued his
opinion more than that of all the rest. This deal again made a stir
amongst the Real Estate offices, and lot values went soaring; and when I
had erected a handsome business block on the property a regular "boom"
set in. It gave the little town a lift and the people confidence. One
man was good enough to tell me that I had more "nerve" than anyone he
had ever met. Did he mean rashness? Well, my nerve simply came from
realizing what a fine outlook lay before the town. It seemed to me to be
bound to be a great distributing centre, also a railroad centre; that
the illimitable acreage of plains-lands was bound in time to be settled
on, and that thus the population would rapidly increase; which
anticipations have happily come true. My whole capital, and more, was
now sunk and disposed of. My mind at least in that respect was at