Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/304

 f* 266 JOHN TDLSON GANOE ft'11 itHI ii Consequently on May 2, 1867, A. J. Cook assigned the contract to Elliott for a consideration of one dollar. 41 Elliott then proceeded to assign portions of the con- tract for which he received enough money to carry his pretenses still further, for on May 12, 1868, he was able to influence the company to grant another contract for the completion of the road which was about two hundred and ten miles more. Instead of the contract being made between A. J. Cook and the Oregon Central Railroad Company, it was made this time between A. J. Cook and Company and the Oregon Central Company. In assigning portions of the first contract, seven-twentieths of the con- tract has been assigned by Elliott to N. P. Perrine, a dir- ector of the California and Oregon Company. After this assignment, Perrine and Elliott formed a partnership under the name of A. J. Cook and Company for the pur- pose of fulfilling the contract. Thus it was that Elliott and Perrine that obtained the contract to complete the remaining two hundred and ten miles of the road. Another assignment in the first contract had been made to James P. Flint. Flint was a representative of Peabody, Flint and Company, contractors, and it was through this assignment of one-tenth of the contract that the construction was finally begun amidst great rejoicing May 15, 1868. The million dollars worth of stock that remained to Elliott from the two million he was to receive meant little to him so long as the road remained unbuilt* so he disposed of part of the stock amounting to $470,000 for $7,850 in coin and five hundred dollars in currency. This netted him a little more ready cash with which he could still make believe the construction was being backed by capitalists. On November 27,1867, the A. J. Cook Company entered into a supplemental agreement with the Oregon Central 41 O. C.R. R. vs. U. S., Vol.XIV, page 7369. '1-