The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-04-12
WEALTH CAME AND WENT.
California Spectators Who became Sud.
denly ittcft and Died TIA Poverty,

San Francisco Letter 10 he Globe. Democrat.
Two curious careers were recently
ended on this coast, both showing tho
extraordinary reyeraes that befall many
Spectator, in California. In n rude
cabin in Virginia City last week was
found the dead body OF II. D. Gtiswold,
who persisted by Ills own hand. Gris.
void was u Of the early pioneers who
came here with Harry Meigss, afterwards
famous as the railroad .builde In Chill
and Peru. Meiggs was soon worth
millions, but Griswold didn't prosper 80
rapidly, because no had no fortune to
start with.
Still he soon owned n trading schooner
which piled between this city and Mex
lean ports, and he nmassed a comforta.
bio fortune. But when the Comstock
excitement broke out, he went to Vir.
ginia City with tho rush Of adventures,
and there sank all he had made Ia Cali.
fornia. His old associate, Mciggs, was
threatened with ruin here In the sos,
when he took one OF his clipper shins,
loaded her with u miscellaneous cargo
OF goods, and n night slipped the
cable and made his way out Of the Col.
den Gate.
There was gnashing Of teeth tho next
morning among bis creditors; there was
racing and chagirg down the coast to
capture the fugitive vessel with the
biggest dotauiter California had aver
then known, but Meiggs made his escape
and was never afterwards seen In bis old
haunts. His defalcation and flight
ruined a dozen men in this city, whose
only mistake vas In trusting him i'm.
plicitly. Six years after he left here,
Meiggs was rich, and for twenty years
before his death he was many times a
millionaire, yet in all this time be made
no inquiries into the affairs OF the friends
whom he had ruined, nor did he make
tho least effort to repair the great wrong
he had done.
Another Spectator whose ill.starred
career closed, like Grtswoid's, in tinan.
cial gloom was Daniel G. Barton, who
died recently ut his little vineyard, near
Cucamonga, in San Bernardino county,
Barton was a cousin Of the great Gnan.
cier Ralston, and was a young and hand.
some broker when the Big bonanza
excitement OF 1S74.75 struck San Fran.
cisco and converted every %curbstone
"chipper" into a prospective millionaire,
Barton was shrowd and bought enough
in the big Consolidated Virginia
and California mines to yield him oyer
a haltmillion in a few months.
His friends thought he was on the high
road to great wealth, as he seemed ia
have that In valuable inatinct which tells
the Spectator when the market is going
rise or fall. His actions were CLOSELY
watched, and many small operators made
money by buying when they saw Barton
loading up. and selling the moment he
began to dump stockH. Yet, despite his
extraordinary run Of luck, Barton sud.
denly left the excitement OF Pine street
md Pauper alley and paid a visit to the
East and Europe.
In Saratoga he cut an immense swath.
He had suits made by the dozen, and Ae
wore the costliest and most unique lew.
elry. He hobnobbed With old tommo.
lore Vanderbilt, who graciously allowed
tho Californian to bear more than bis
Just burden Of the cost OF entertaining
the select crowd of railroad miliionaires
that he gathered about him, Barton
shone like q meteor for q eingie season,
and he told friends on his return that
he had dropped $4,000 in setting it up
for the boys and ia bad bets on horses.
The same run Of ill.luck followed him
in Europe. Ile took a flyer" on all the
English and French race courses, but
there was q hoodoo on him and be
couldn't win. He became desperate,
plunged into all kinds Of dissipation,
and dropped the remainder OF his coin
at MoDaco in the vain eadeavor to re-
trieve disaster. He saved Just enough
out OF the wreck to pay his.fare back to
Barton WIS 90 thoroughly
lisheartened when he returned that he
never visited his old haunts in the Stock
Exchange, but went to San Jose and
d small business. He couldn't
make itgo, however, and he o retired
to his vineyard at Cucamongo, which
he had taken for a small debt years BEL
fore and had regarded it rs worthless.
For the last seven years OF his life he
lived like n r%ecluse, seldom yenturing
away from home.