Meanwhile my railroad in Sonoma was being rushed ahead. I do not think it would have encountered opposition had I stuck to my original plans of a coast line through Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt. But my vision began to broaden. I knew of Beckwith Pass and the almost increditable fatuity that overlooked it in constructing the Central Pacific Railroad. I employed General W. S. Rosecrans and a corps of engineers and began a railroad survey westward from the pass, to connect with the Humboldt system. I guess this gave the Big Four the largest scare they received in many years. Instantly I found my enterprise blockaded with all kinds of petty obstructions. I had thirty miles of road graded and the ties strung. Peter Donahue had partly agreed to sell me the rails. Suddenly he withheld them from the market, and there were no more on the Pacific Coast. I had twenty miles of rail on the water from England. The vessel was detained at Valparaiso and at last sunk peacefully in the harbor. My agent, A. A. Cohen, always claimed the ship was scuttled. I ordered another large shipment from England. Then the railroad people tried another tack. They appealed to Ralston to subdue me. Ralston had been the friend of the Big Four in the trying construction days. They had promised him all sorts of things in return, among others a concession to build all their cars, for which he made great preparations. They plainly told him that if he did not constrain me, his estimable partner, to abandon my railroad projects, the concession would be canceled and he could expect nothing but war. Ralston laid the matter before me as a friend. He admitted that he had no right to influence my action, but said he was facing an enormous loss; that I could sell out at a large profit, and frankly asked me to strain a point. The matter once placed in that light, I yielded, with great reluctance. After some negotiations, I sold my railroad rights to Peter Donahue. These rights, only partially developed, constituted the bulk of his great fortune. That incident made a vast difference, not alone in my fortunes, but in the history of California. Left to myself, I would have had a railroad to Humboldt bay thirty-five years ago, and would now be the owner of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Also it is more than probable that my youthful energies would have carried another railroad eastward through Beckwith Pass. That would have made history, changed our Governors, United States Senators, bosses and the whole machinery of state. As for poor Ralston, he was gold-bricked. He never received the car concession at all. I cannot tell why, for I was out of the State when that scheme went up in smoke. The great building he had constructed for the purpose was converted into the West Coast Furniture Company’s plant, which was operated during his lifetime at a heavy loss.