Bisbee daily review., 1902-07-26
JOHN W. MACKAY'S
 LIFE IN WEST
OLD FRIENDS RELATE INCIDENTS
 OF HIS LIFE.
MiIlfonsise's Charities Numberless- Considered Most skiI'ful Timber man on comstock.

man on comssoek.
 Few deaths of men of great wealth have evoked more numerous or more sincere expressions of sorrow than the passing of James W. Mackay, the 'Comstock king
 Stories told since his death indicate the remarkable affection in which he was held by men of al classes and serve to illustrate the benevolent char acter of the man.
 We met in 1860, and in 1867 l was engaged in my first business transac- tion with, him. l attended 10 the pur- chase of property and was general business for Mackay. Fair. Flood and O'Brien-the Big Bonanaza Four. as they were called. And from that year to this day. have been in the service of MT. Mackay, most of the time his secretary. For even after he and l became executors of the will of Mrs. Fair and had ostensibly retired from the position of secretary, l still was his confidential business man. People called us Damon and Pythias. There was reason for it l can see him now in Virginia city. back in the old Com stock days. carrying his big boots down stairs to put them on so as not to wake me, l was down with pneumo- mia and he was getting up as usual at half-past four in the morning to go down in the mine. That was along in "A or 75 and he was millionaire then: but he always went to the mine at that hour. There was no one on the Comsteck who could hold candle to him as timberman. He was counted the best timberman to hold up ground that Nevada mining men had ever seen He carried his boots down stairs and put them on there, very quitely. be- cause l was sick. That was John Mackay all over; always thinking of somebody else.
 His charities? No one every kept books on John Mackays charities, and if every body forgot them as soon as he did then the world must have been full of ingrates. There isn't news paper printed that's big enough to hold on account of the money he gave away. sat with him in this very office one Saturdy afternoon about twenty years ago and saw him tear up notes and 1. O. Us amounting to over $l20e. .00c.
 el.-V
 That fellows broke" he would say, and rip, and into the waste basket would go the bits of paper that had stood for anything from $500 to $59,- GOO. That fellows dead, Dey," le would say; cant collect from him, so here goes" And he would tear paper and scatter it into the waste basket. Then he would say of anoth- CT: Now this fellow may get, on his feet one of these days, and if he does guess he'll remember the amount but in the meantime l might as well get the evidence out of the way. so be won't be pressed in case anything happens to me" And he'd tear that up, too. man would have a hard job. l tell you, keeping books on the money he gave away"
 Sam Davis, one of the old Comstock newspaper men, relating incidents in the life of the 6ecedent, says:
 once saw an account book in the Sisters hospital. and thinking it was public, was glaS.cing over :t. The entries showed that Mackay gave about 5000 a month. Sister Fredreka took the book hastily and asked me never to mention the amount Mackay gave, as he told her if he ever heard of it he would discontinue the allowance.
 He wandered about among the min CTS homes. and when he found cases Of distress he quitely placed the names on John Mallon's books and fixed a reg ular allowance of groceries per month. MT. Mallon once told me that his ac- count averaged $3,0OO monthly.
 When times were dull on the ledge he made it a rule to give married men first choice of work. He always con- sidered the stockholders first, how ever. Bishop Whitaker asked him to put on a man when there was no work
 T can't do it, bishop; it isn't right to the stockholders to put on men when there is no work. Ills he fami- ly? Five children you say? Well, here is a thousand to keep him through the winter, and if things pick up in the spring l will have a place for him.
 A bill came to him personally for a funeral This man was blown up in the Con. Virginia. He had no legs dred If he had been whole, suppose the undertaken would have charged . 
 Ther was a case where a man had money and his wife was Mackay called and con- soled her with the assurance that her husband was all right and must have 1: inislaid the money. i.r a
 You know said he, that he had a great habit of leaving money about in his clothes, and he was very absent minded thass NAe. Hook inp hisspock- cts fb' sulnA 0f b1S cloehes tu the clos ef 'ssSss sr5 1s sFNsx <s-s RssE hns
 She looked in va1n, band ~ Mnckay Ieff fhe he<ro0m he poiuted t0 0.a~eoat in