Jump In Real Estate

One timp, the brakemau was telling me, the Fennsylvauia railroad company wanted a good site tor the Jocation of its great shops. lt found the place it wanted on the east side of the AUeghany mountains, on a beautiful plateau. That was just 40 years ago. There were not many people living on that plateau in 1840. One darini; pioneer and liis family were monarchs of the unbruken fuiest that covered it, and three log huts hidden away in the shadowy recesses of that forest were all theindications of civilizaüon to be found there. The railway company sent out an agent to. buy the whole plateau, with writien ibstructions to pay $10,000 if necessary. The agent carne, he found Uie pioneer, he put up at his unpreteutious log hut, he told him all the new stories from the citv. he wrougut lnm into a good humor, and thfi settler flhally made ready to sell at $6,000, cun8idering hitnself a made man at that. Jiut while lie, was talking business his good wife was straightening up the stranger's room. She í'ound a package of papers, womanly curiosity prompted her to open the unsealed envelope, she read tlie agent's instruetions. She called her husband into the kitclien in a very few moments, and she did what nine women of everv ten would dofortheir husbands; she made more money for him than he ever dreamed he would be worth; more than he ever eould have made if he hadn't a wife. When the settler returned he told the agent that real estáte had picked up a littls during the past ten minute?, and he could not think of taking less than $10,000 for the claim. There was notliing sise to be done; swearing wouldn't ielp the matter. The $10,000 was ?aid. Four thousand dollars of it bejelonged to the woman, but I never ïeard whether she got it or not. Ten vears later the Pennsylvania railroad jegan building its shops on the plateau, and now the city of Altoona has upward of 20,000 inhabitants, three or 'our newspapers, 17 churches, as many schools, and one convent, the largest railroad shops in America, and the ogan house, a hotel the size of llhode :sland. When I was there I slept in he northeast county of it, too, onlv 11