A Billion Friends Mr Macpherson (he was very Scotch) called at my New York office and said they were trying to raise capital to build the bridge. He wished to know if I could  not enlist some of the Eastern railroad companies in the scheme. After careful examination of the project I made the contract for the construction of the bridge on behalf of the keystone Bridge Works. I also obtained an option upon four million dollars of first mortgage bonds of the bridge company and set out for London in March, 1869, to negotiate their sale.