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HISTORY OF ASTORIA RAILROAD 235

C. W. Schofield, vice-president; E. M. Watson, treasurer; George Goss, chief engineer and manager; H. Goss, superin- tendent.

The new project did not follow the Reid route to Clatsop City. It rounded Smith Point, at Astoria, crossed Young's River and ascended Lewis and Clark River from Stavebolt Landing (Oregonian, April 21, 1892). Some 14,000 feet of trestle was constructed round Smith Point and up Young's Bay, costing $90,000 ; seventeen miles of grading was built up to Saddle Mountain ready for the rails, a tunnel was started in Saddle Mountain all this in the summer of 1892. Between 900 and 1,100 men were employed by the contractors (work described in Oregonian, August 21, 1892 ; September 26, 1892). The vigor of Schofield and Goss delighted the people of Astoria ; now at last the pet railroad was assured ; there could be no doubt ; the builders had much money, perhaps Gould's.

Suddenly, in September, 1892, construction stopped. There was no money. Goss disappeared over night, nobody knew whither. Contractors resorted to liens. To finish the road $1,500,000 was needed. The awakening was sudden and rude. The project went to ruin. Its remains still lie bleaching in the rain and sun.

The Astorians were shocked, but not dismayed. They went to work on their subsidy again to make it bigger than ever. They sent invitations broadcast over the land, to wouldbe rail- road builders, announcing their tempting offer. In the ensu- ing two years "promoters," "agents," "capitalists" of many stripes and of high and low degree hied to Astoria to capture the bounty prize. Like heroes of mythology, they offered themselves as candidates for the venture and the fair reward. The Astoria custodians of the county were now wise in their generation and turned off the fortune hunters one after an- other each time, however, giving a fair trial.

At this juncture a rival to Astoria sprang up Flavel "boomed" by S. H. Brown, Jr., L. B. Seeley, N. G. Read and E. L. Dwyer, who incorporated the Flavel Land & Develop- ment Company at Salem, September 1, 1892, to build a rail-