But in the early fifties these very inconveniences fired the imagination of a young traveler who had bought a ticket on a night train between Buffalo and Westfield, and in his alert mind was inspired, as he tossed sleepless in his bunk, the first vision of a car that would revolutionize the railroad travel of the world and of a system that would present to the traveling public a mighty organization whose first purpose would be to contribute safety, convenience, luxury and a uniform and universal service from coast to coast. George Mortimer Pullman was born in Brockton, Chautauqua County, New York, March 3, 1831. His early schooling was limited to the country schoolhouse, and at the age of fourteen his education was completed and he obtained employment at a salary of $40 a year in a small store in Westfield, New York, that supplied the neighboring farmers with their simple necessities. But the occupation of a country storekeeper failed to fix the restless mind of the boy, and three years later he packed his few possessions and moved to Albion, New York, where an older brother had developed a cabinet-making business. [Illustration: Harpers Weekly MAY 28, 1859. CONVENIENCE OF THE NEW SLEEPING CARS. (_Timid Old Gent, who takes a berth in the Sleeping Car, listens._) BRAKEMAN. "Jim, do you think the Millcreek Bridge safe to-night?" CONDUCTOR. "If Joe cracks on the steam, I guess we'll get the Engine and Tender over all right. I'm going forward!"] Here Pullman found a wider field for his natural abilities, and at the same time acquired a knowledge of wood working and construction that was soon to afford the foundation for larger enterprises. During the ten years that followed there were times when the demands on the little shop of the Pullman brothers failed to afford sufficient occupation for the two young cabinet makers, and the younger brother, eager to improve his opportunities, began to accept outside contracts of various sorts. The state of New York had begun to widen the Erie Canal which passed through Albion. Clustered on its banks were numerous warehouses and other buildings, and the young man soon proved his ability to contract successfully for the necessary moving of these buildings back to the new banks of the canal. The venture was successful. An opportunity fortuitously created was seized, and not only was an increased livelihood secured, but the wider scope of this new activity gave the young man an increased confidence in himself on which to enlarge his future activities.