Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-01-14
A BONANZA KINGS PALACE.
THE GORGEOUS CALIFORNIA ESTABLISH
MENT OF JIM THE BARKEEPER.
from the Cincinnati Commercial.

| From the Cincinnati Commercial
SAN Francisco, Dec 20.-Jamos
G.. Flood, one of the famous Bonanza
quartet, and said to be the prospective
fat ther-in law of the son of the man
who longeth with great longing af-
ter third term, has nearly completed
his palatial summer residence at Menlo
Park, which is situated in the valley
stretching along by the bay, between
San Francisco and San Jose.
Most Of us rejoice if we can pay for
twenty-five feet front. This Flood
has covered land enough to give
thousands Of US our four feet and a
garden patch besides.
He used to keep little grocery down
near the city front, he and Billy
O'Brien, the Bonanza jewel, which
was taken to its final setting more
than year ago The little shop was
a favorite place with miners, and as
the chain lightning he furnished slip
ped down their thrOats their tongues
were looscned, and carefully guarded
secrets crept out from their hiding
places, and seeing their opportunity,
slipped off the miners tongues, taking
refuge in the generous ears which the
Isle of Erin had furnished to jim
Flood, for he was only jim, the bar
keeper, then And 50 he gathered the
| valuable bits Of information which
they dropped, along with the other
bits" which rapidly filed his till.
Bv and by Jimmy Flood and Billy
O'Brien Caught the fever" and mani
tested more interest in the mines Of
Nevada than they did in the little
grog shop in town. And they bought
odd claims from men who had become
discouraged and lost their grip, ad-
ding to them other claims owned by
men who were glad to shift to some
other quarter. The people talked and
said they were a choice pair Of fools
that the savings Of the little barroom
would vanish long before they could
strike ore that the claims would not
pan out well and so on to the end Of
the chapter But these two Irishmen
shoyelled and blasted until one day
the world knew that, in spite Of the
croakers, they had struck it rich and
were the owners Of large slice Of
" hat the world knows as the famous
Comstock Lode" The stock Of their
mines went up like a shooting star,
changing from few dollars to near
hundreds in two or three days Cali
fornians were rcarly driven crazy over
the sudden stroke Of fortune, and gam
bling in the shares Of these mines
made fortunes for a few, and made
beggars and suicides Of many.
At some point Of their adventures
james Fair and John w. Mackcy
were added to the firm, which waxcd
rich with marvellous rapidity.
How many millions are they worth ?
! dnna know, nor do think they can
just tell themselves Probably good
many when there are marriage settle
ments to make, but only few when
the the tax gathercr passes by. They
own bank with a paid-up cpaital Of
between ten and twelve millions they
own a controlling interest in several
mines they own individually large
sums in Government securities
| (FIood's interest from four per cents
amounting to $l80,000 per an
mum y they own in Nevada water
works, mills, timber lands-cverything
under heaven they can make mon
opoly and make money out Of. They
are building q narrow-gdugc railroad
down the coast, and n good one, too
they are erecting palatial residences in
and out Of town The fact il, they
own-wel good deal among other
things, the reputation of making beg
gars Of more men, women, and chill
dren, through buling and bearing the
stock market, through carefully man
aged Misrepresentation and distortion
of facts than all other causes in Cali
fornia.
During the excitement over the
Sierra Nevada mining stocks, which
III few days rose from $i TO near
$500 a share, and then dropping TO
$50, bcggaring many who had stakcd
their all and were carrying on mar
gin, perhaps, James Flood looked back
to the rollicking barroom days and
thought them his bappiest, for an in
dignant public felt its fingers itching
10 grasp the throat Of the man who,
because he could not rule, had deter
mined to ruin.
Mr.. Flood has broad, liberal ideas
when "mc or my folks" are concerned
he doesn't like his plebeian ncighbors
TO come too near him he doesn't want
curious passers-by staring him out Of
countcnancc he hasn't forgotten the
"owld ancestral hall in me native
land" when there was
Pnrlor and kitchen and pantry
And pig sly-all in one.
And 40 he builded with due regard
! for his elevation from Jim Flood, y.
X. (Which the same means barkccpcr,) }
to James 9. Flood, Esq, Bonanza
King-allc same B. X; you sabc?
He has q house and lot, the latter
containing trihc over $1,000 acres I;
quite slick little garden patch, you
see, where he can raise sass and
things. But it isn't garden seed Ec's
planting-its money. So he Is not
leaving nature unadorncd, but is just
singing slatbers Of pretty things all
over his lot-artilicial lakes, scrpcntinc
walks, drives which wind about here
and there and everywhere, game, pre-
serves, labyrintbs, fountains, terrace
walks, bronzcs, statuary, and Hover
gardens fit for fairies TO dwell in.
Leaving the lot just ~ Edison's
electric light changes the whole scene
into fairy land. we will examine the
bousc thereon II il Of irregular pro-
portions, the facadcs being l2o and
230 feet respectively, with mn observa-
tory $50 feet high There aro turrcts
and towers, bay windows and oricl
windows, fine port cochere, grand
and gtill "a tyru pI,r nnfruuPn yerauuug