It was an awful journey: so bad that the two guides gave way under
their hardships and died. But again Donald Smith _stuck to it_,
and struggled on, and in the end he just managed to get to his post,
worn out and exhausted.
But that sticking to it was exactly what was the secret of his
success.
For thirteen _years_ he stuck to his job in that awful country
and then his employers saw that he was so strong on doing his duty
that they promoted him to higher and more important work, till in the
end he became Chief Factor or Head Manager of the Company.
Then came the idea of making the Canadian Pacific Railway right across
Canada.
People said it was a mad scheme; that it could never pay to make a
railway into that vast wilderness which in those days had not been
properly explored.
But Donald Smith looked far ahead, and saw the time when Britain would
be overcrowded with people, and corn-growing, cattle-raising land
would be needed for colonists.
So he put his savings into the railway and worked hard to make it a
success.
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