Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-11
WEALTH & POVERTY.
THE cHecKeReD CAREERS OF TWO
CALIFORNIA sPEcULAToRS.
Ono Dies in Poverty BY His Own Hand |;
the other Passes Awsy IN
Obscurity.
fGinhe-Dnmo cratl

Tvo crr,ous careers were recently ended
on tbe Pacific Coast, both showing 'ne eA-
traordinary reverses that Delal1 lndpy
sneculators in California. In rude ceoin
in Virginia City was found the deau 1ouy
of III. ID. Griswold, who had pe1shea ipy
his own hand. Grisw0ld was ON III .no
early pioneers who came here Mi'n ;i i,Y
Neigrs. afterward famous as the ram l o 'a-
builder in Chill and Peru. Meiggs was
soon worth millions. but Grlswold ulant
prosper so rapidly, because he had no ior-
tune TO start with. .ahooro-
Still he soon owned trading schooner
which piled between this city ana neAlcan
ports, and he amessed a comiorlaD.le loI.
tune. But when the Comstock e1y.'ells ~
broke out he went 70 Virginia City witn
the rush of Adventures, ana IheIe san mar al
ciate, Moigga, was threatened WIN run i
here in the i5os. when ne took one OF ms
clipper ships. loaded her with miscelia-
neous cargo of goods. and one night
slipped the cable and made his way out OF
the Golden Gate. ,
There was cnashing Of teeth the next
morning among his creditors tneie was
racing and chasing down the coast 10 cav
| turc the fugitive vessel with the biggest
defaulter California had ever then known,
| but MeigCs made his escape and was never
afterward seen in his old haunts, MS de-
falcetion and fight ruined dozen men III
this city, whose only mistake was IN lru9t-
! ING him implicitly. Six years after ne ielt
| here Meiggs was rich. and for twenty years
| before his death Meiggs was many times
millionaire, vet in all this time be MADE no
| inou,ries into the affairs Of the friends
| whom he had ruined. nor did he make Inc
| least effort 10 repair the great wrong ne
had done.
Another speculator whose ill-starred ca,
reer closed. like Ctriswold's, IN hnanclal
| gloom was Daniel &. Barton, who died re-
Gently at his little vineyard near Cuca-
monga, IN San Berna-dina county. Barton
was q cousin Of the great fnancier kalstoh
and was a young and handsome broker
when tho Big Bonanza excltement OF
| 1s74-'75 struck San Francisco and CON
verted every curbst0ne clipper INTO
prospective millionaire. Barton was
| shrewd and bought enough stock IN the
| BIO consolidated Virginia and California
mines TO yield him over half million ID
q few months. 80,
His friends thought nc was on the high
road TO great wealth, as he seemed TO nave
! that invaluable instinct which tells spec
ulatOr when the market is going 10 rise or
| fan. HIS actions were closely watched
and many small operators made money by
( buyiuq when they saw Barton loading up.
| and selling the moment be began 10 duhp
! stocks. Yet, despite his extraordinary run
Of luck. Barton suddenly left the excite,
ment of Pine street and Pauper alley ana
| paid a visit 10 the East and Europe.
In Saratoga he cut an immense swain.
| He had suits by tho dozen. and he wore
the costliest and most unique jewelrv. lie
hobnobbed with old Commodore Wander
bilt. who graciously allowed the Callfor,,
man 10 bear more than bis Just burden OF
the cost of entertaining the select crowd OF
railroad miliionaires that lac gathered
about him. Barton shone like a meteor
for n single season. and be told friends on
his return that he had dropped $50, III
setting it up for the boys and IN bad bets.
The same run OF Ill luck followed hlm III
Europe. He took flyer" on all the Eng
lish and French Tace-cOurses. but there
was hoOdOo on him aud he couldn't win;
lie became desperate, plunged INTO all
kinds of dissipation, and dropped tho re-
mainder of his coin a. Monaco In tine vain
endeavor to retrieve disaster. lie saved
inst enough out Of the wreck TO pay his
fare back to California. Barton WAS so
thoroughly dishcartened when he returned
that he never visited his old haunts III the
stock Exchange, but went to San Jose and
started a small business. lie couldn't
make it 90, however. and he soon retired
10 his VINEYARD at Cucam0nga, which he
had taken for small debt years before
and had regarded as worthless. For the
! last seven " ars of his life he lived like re-
cluse, seldom venturlng away from nome