New Mexico, U.S.A.; it is now in a private collection at Estevan Lodge in Jardins de Métis, Canada. In 1879, the syndicate purchased the struggling Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad for $5.5 million. The deal created a sensation in Montreal as it was rumoured that Stephen had used his position as President of the Bank of Montreal to obtain loans at limited rates. Stephen treated the "scribblers" of the press with contempt, but they continued to plague him and the complicated financial structures he put together. Stephen was constantly concerned about their effect on his businesses and reputation. The syndicate, however, turned the St. Paul railroad around. They changed its name, restored profitability and expanded its lines to Winnipeg. In 1885, they sold the railroad for $25 million, and such was the success of the partnership (minus Kittson who retired from business in 1881) that it had already led them to win the contract with the Government of Canada to build the CPR. Stephen became the first president of Canadian Pacific Railway and held the position till 1888. Building the Canadian Pacific Railway Named as the CPR's first president, Stephen oversaw the monumental task of not just negotiating a route across 2,000 miles of forests, swamps, rivers, and mountains; but also raising the necessary funds estimated at $100 million, of which at least half had to be secured. At Hill's suggestion he hired William Cornelius Van Horne to construct three major sections of the track, and his partnership with James Ross proved invaluable to the engineering success of the railway. However, by the end of 1881, Stephen admitted that the project was "assuming dimensions far beyond my calculations". He ceased all other activities, and bringing R.B. Angus to Montreal with him, they devoted all their energies to the world's second transcontinental railroad. As Stephen purposefully did not want a long list of investors, the risks were high to all those involved and the CPR found few takers in London and New York City. By 1883, the syndicate was straining under the huge financial obligations being called of them. Stephen was risking almost all of his fortune on the venture and even used his mansion in Montreal as collateral. Hill resigned in 1883, when he realised that his own railroad would be in direct competition with the CPR for eastbound traffic. However, through loyalty to his partners, he held on to