ABSTRACT
Young Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt never dreamed of applying for a license, or of keeping out of New York Harbor. Drew cut his own rates again, then sat back waiting for the Commodore to buy his nuisance line. The Commodore did, too, and paid handsomely to get Drew off the river, just as the North River crowd paid Vanderbilt to cease and desist. The gold rush to California opened new vistas to the imagination of the Commodore. Russia was more hospitable, and the party was made welcome by the Grand Duke Constantine, who placed a carriage of the Emperor at their disposal, from which the Commodore viewed the palace of Peterhof. The Commodore bought heavily and was soon elected president of Accessory Transit. The Civil War also took one of the Commodore's sons, George, who had been trained at West Point and served on the frontier.
