The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-02
SOME MINING CELEBRITIES.
Men who Have Made Fortunes from
Small Beginnings


the medium height giving directions con-
corning storm doors and other matters in
the great Mills building at Broad steet. He
might have been taken for the proprietor
OF stage line in an inland town, dressed up
a little for Sunday. That is rather an odd
idea. The man is Darius o. Mills. He used
to drive hack in a Hudson river town.
Now he is worth ten millions. There is a
touch of the hack driver about him still;
something of the grutfness of the Union
Square Jehu, without the dubious nose, the
fiery face, and the disposition TO cheat
The sight of this unpretending millionaire
in short coat, derby hat and one hand in
his pocket, quietly giving directions about
his three-mlllion-dollar building, recalled
the fact that he was only one of a number
whom the precious metal of the West had
enormously enriched, and most of whom
have eventually found their way to New
York
Mr.. Mills at one time kept a tavern in a
Hudson river town He went to California
in lS47, by way of Cape Horn, and after
narrowly escaping shipwreck, arrived at
San Francisco, where with his brother he
opened a store, sold the goods which they
had brought with them at fabulous prices,
gradually enlarged his business, engaged in
mining and banking, became associated
with Ralston in the famous Bank of Cali
tornla, and on the death of that daring
tinancier succeeded him as President of the
bank. He came to New York worth three
or four millions, made several millions
more in lucky deal in Lake Shore, and has
since further increased his fortune in
various ventures. He bought Henry
Wizards house on Madison avenue, and
presented it to his daughter, the wife of
Jacob Whitelaw Reid. He paid $3.50, 900
for 1t, and such a princely gift illustrates
the fact that under a somewhat rough
exterior there is the warm heart of
thorough man and true father. report,
which strangely enough was not contradlcted
in the proper quarter, credited the son-ln-
law with this splendid purchase; but the
honor belongs to the man who, from the
humblest beginnings, has worked his way
up to colossal wealth, has never changed his
name, nor shown any of that snoobery
which would ignore the humble origin and
the struggle upward from much lower
round of the ladder.
Senator Jones is often seen in New York.
He had hard run of luck, partly through
unsuccessful railroad enterprises and sank
rather low in the estimation of many from
a supposed connection with rather dubious
mining enterprises Within year or two,
however, through the assistance OF John w.
Mackey, he has pulled himself together and
is now understood to be once more wealthy,
though not nearly so much so as at one
time in his bustling career.
When here John W. Mackey conducts
himself very quietly He goes to the New
York office of the Nevada Bank on Wall
street, little below the custom house, at
10 in the morning and leaves at in the
afternoon. He is a commonplace man with
great tenacity of will, which stood him in
good stead in the old days when he was
searching at enormous expense and IN face
of the most discouraging obstacles for the
e.. 1OIa I,of CHI ire
fabulous wealth the wonders of a Persian
tale. One of the most graceful acts of his
life was one that is little known. The late
Ned Adams, the actor, found himself in
San Francisco after an unsuccessful trip to
Australia, i'll and nearly destitute. Adams
was one of those grown children of the stage,
men of generous lives, friends to everybody
but themselves, and never thinking of the
rainy day to come. The lamented John
Mccullough knew Mr.. Mackey well and
mentioned Ned Adams unhappy circum-
stances to him. Mr. Mackey, though a
stranger to him, sent the unfortunate actor
a check for $4,000 accompanied by letter,
showing the bonanza millionaire to be a
natural gentleman, endowed with womanly
delicacy and knightly generosity. Poor
Ned Adams cried like child over the letter
The princely gift was gOdsend to destl-
tute man, broken in health and with only
short period of life remaining; but he was
man who would value such a letter quite as
much as the relief it contained, and there
after he always slept with it under his pill,
low. He read it to hundred friends and
kept it as precious memento. After his
death it was found near him, worn with
creases and stained with his tears. When
Mr. Mackey learned of these circumstances
some years later he was rot little affected,
and remarked: "Poor fellow, | wish had
given him $4,000.
Such an incident is like a golden thread
in the narrative of his strange career.
There are a number of other mining celeb
rites to be seen in Wall street or on Fifth
avenue John W. Shaw is one. He is now
president of the Colorado & Hooking Valley
Company and director in the Pacific Mail.
He is worth three or four millions, owns
fine trotting mare, likes fast horses and is
great poker player He has just won great
victory over some of his opponents formerly
IN control of the Hooking Valley Company,
who papered the country with stock irregu-
larly, if not illegally, issued. Mr.. Shaw,
with the aid of an injunction, has practically
swept it out into the gutter.
Henry Rosener is a resident here. be is
not a mining prince but he has peen identi-
fed with a number of mining enterprises
and has been more or less successful. He
used to own brewery at the mission near
San Francisco, and was also broker and
stock speculator in that city. He has been
superintending the construction of postal
telegraph line from San Francisco to British
Columbia. He married daughter of John
Rosenfield, Appointment shipping merchant
of San Francisco.
William NJ. Lent is one of the mining
celebrities here He has made and lost sew
eral fortunes and is now understood to be
worth four or five millions. He is about
70 years of age, but full of energy, sturdy
old oak who will doubtless weather many
winters vet. He was one of the first to assist
the early locaters of the ComstOck Lode
with money; this was before Mackey and
his friends took up that field of operations.
He at one time advanced the money neces-
sary to develop such mines as the Mexican,
Bullion, Central, Savage and Yellow Jacket.
He made large amount of money IN the
Bodie district in Mono county, California;
His friends thought him insane to go into
some of the enterprises which he took up,
but he was almost invariably successful. he
got some hard raps, but he usually investi-
gated the mines personally, and it was diff
cult to salt mine in such an artistic man
ner as to deceive him.
He was born in New York State and went
to California about 1850. Early in life he
went to Florida, where he remained FOR
some wears. In 1850 he formed in San Fran
cisco the firm of Grogan q Lent, which
later became Lent g. Sherwood, and it was
during this co-partnership that he became
largely interested in mines in Mexico, where
he had secured valuable rights. He was