The daily gazette., 1877-10-19
"A Romance of Real Life


'nl .lt .i'57 q -------s' L'79d'noS
HENRY MErGas' woNDERFuL CARRIER
NAN WHO MADE AND sBEsT HUGE :
il FoHTUhEs--HIs GREATsAcHInvE4s :
L : AnNTs I'M oHIEs AND PERU!e's q,
A Panama dispatch, says dispatches
from Peru state that Henry Meiees died
at Lima on September 29.' He Mad been
Sex FOR about three months, having had
TWO strokes OF paralysis, aud his .final
malady Is said tn have been softenIne of
the brain insi : s~5n sdl 80 ghfnUlIs I
The life of Henry Meiges, !, must % e. be
ranked in che singularisy ,of its iadyen-
lures and In the testimony which it bears
70 the marked and daring energy of the
man who lived 1t, with such careers al
That Of Gordon in China and Of iRaiab
Brooke In Sarawak. 1t was not the life.
indeed, of "a soldier or of a greaLf discov,
erer.. But this. bold American -p,nst he
classed forever among the few men who
have, changed the face of a great country
and given new direction to the fortunes
OF whole people,. He was born In Cats
XII, New York, in 1871, of respectable
and well-to-do parents. He began his
business life In Boston, and at the ace of
twenty-five had made a fortune In the
lumber business, only to lose 1t in the
crash OF 1887, his failure being due to
the generous aid he extended to others.
In two years he was on his feet again.
wnen the gold excitement carried him to
" i1ornia. He went out with cargoes of
lmoer, on which he realized 1000 per
cent. profit. He cleared $500, 900 by one
immense Numbering operation in Califor-
ma, and became che foremost man of
california in business, politics and social
life. He had three maniasLland. Iun,-
Der and music. The panic of 1854 awe II
him down with it. He committed forge
ries to the extent of 100000, and aft 81
paying of all his small creditors fed be-
tore the exp sure came. l.Ii
He was next heard Of as superiRtend-
snt OF bridges on the Valparaiso end San
tiago railroad in Chill. Ono portion of
the road, thirty-three miles In length.
was the despair OF the Chilian govern.
ment, the engi gineeripg difficulties were so
stupendous. The engineers estimated
that to build the road across the mOun-
tain chain would take from six to eight
years, and cost S27 10000 Meigg's took
the contract foe $12,00O,0 1000, fipished in
two years, and cleared 81, ,320, 900. This
performance made him the ackno wledged
railroad Ring of South America, and Sc
cured for him the control of the magnifi-
clent and In their way unparalleled rail-
road enterprises whichA Peru was then
planning to open up her own mountain
hemmed resources. In 1857 Mr.. Meiggs
began the construction of the line from
the Andean city of Arequipa to the Pa
cltic and Mollendo, line the dizzy gran
deur OF which rivalled only by his own
subsequent achievements. The work
was completed on New Years day, 1871,
when he offered to the hundreds of guests
he had assembled from all parts of the
world banquet at Arequipa, which,,
served on that lofty tableland, and in that
remote region, seemed like page or
Aladdin 500, 600 are said to have
been expended upon the festival. The
medals, many of very
large 81 re, in gold and silver struck offaud
lavishiy distributed, and the abundant
and princely gifts made to his guests are
estimated to have increased his outlay to
500, 900. Only the Khedive at the fetes
Of Suez has In our time surpassed this
splendid hospitality. 1t was hardly an
sxtrayaganoe, however, for the profits
aooruing from his contract-he received
Sll ,250 GOO for the building of the 1o7
miles of road-were enormous. A por-
ion of these profits he set apart to dis
charge the debLs due his California cred
tors, and the legislature of that State
sassed acts of immunity covering his
,xit in 1854, and inviting him to return,
He had no intention, however, to return
% San Francisco to become a miner or
Ipeculator. 1
Before the completion Of the Arequipa
'oad. in 1870, he had signed contracts to |
,uild no fewer than six other Peruvian |
IN iIrno1p ok oollaak;un aooA a oI1..A
Ill, ,000, 900. In 1872 the lilo and Mos, |
Iuegua road, 63 miles, built at a cost of |
d, ,28l ,250, was finished ) in 1873 the Pa,
Gaudaloupe and Magdalena
DAD, 60 miles, built at cost Of $685. |
so, and the colossal Arequipa and Puno
Dad, which crosses the Andes at height
{ more than $4,000 feet, and reaches
lake Titicacq by 220 miles in length.
An objective point of railroad in pre-
ess OF construction at the time of his
cath was the famous silver mines of the
'erro de Pasco, formerly the richest in
he world, but long since flooded and ne.
lected because of the difficulty of reach
ng them with heavy machinery. Mr..
1eiggs had recently entered into new
ontracts with the Peruvian government
Or opening and worFing these mines,
nd it was but the other day that we re-
olNcI q VcAcSEdLh lEOu hOuuOu huuOuuGs |
lg that the engineers estimated that
ne amount of silver already made availe
BILE in this world famous region by Mf.
leiggs' explorations or to be made SO
at $3.50, 100000. II
Previous to his death, however, he be- ]
anne involved in difficulties, his credit
roke down and it is doubted whether
{ the colossal fortune he has earned
luch remains. He was man Of re-
larkable appearance. He was about
We feet eight inches in height, broad>
muscular, and weighed
bout 225 pounds. He had the largest
cad and biggest h=ts in South America. /.
-is eyes were grey, deep-set, piercing ,
nd kindly in expression. He had a
luare jaw and chin, big nose, q large
outh, and firm>closed lips, His coun-
nance bore the impress of power. He
ould have been singled out in any COM
any as superior man. He was great /
athematician, and so remarkably !
lick at figures that the Chilians and !
eruvians are fond of telling stories
,out his wonderful arithmetical per-
finances. His manners Were kind and ;
zen gentle, and his iberality unbound-
|. |,
On the coast of the island of Lewis, in =.
- Heb-ides, ,shipwrecks were very nu-
.y.I.a Al.