The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1903-09-12
FORMER EUREKAN In TROUBLE
Grif j. Grifiths, In Jealous Rage,
Attacks Better Half.

A Los Angeles paper of recent date
gives publicity to an account of the as.
sault and shooting of Mrs. Griffith, wife
OF Colonel Griffith j. Griffith, an al
legged millionaire and member of the
Los Angeles Board of Park Commits
sioners.
The shooting, which occurred in q
room of a Santa Monica hotel, Mrs.
Griffith asserts, was done by her hus-
band while ~endeavoring to secure a
confession of unfaithfulness from her.
Col. Griffith insists that his wife was
wounded by the accidental discharge of
a pistol of his, which she came across
while gathering their effects for pack
ing, preparatory to their return to Los
Angeles. Mrs. Griffiths is now in o
hospital, suffering from a gun shot
wound in the head, and a compound
fracture of the shoulder blade, which
she sustained, she maintains, in jump
ing from a second STORY window of the
hotel TO a roof some fourteen feet below.
The injured IN preferred a charge
of insanity against Griffith, and states
that his conduct has been irrational for
some time.
Griff J. Grifiths will be remembered
by many residents of Eureka. He
had a lively and varied career on the
Base Range in the early SOS, Wild
eating the Wales Consolidated Mining
Company's prospect hole on Adams
Hill. Griffith ran the stock up to $13,
aud succeeded in unloading a large
amount of it on the San Francisco
Stock Exchange to the people Of that
city. He had previously had a short
newspaper experience and sent out such
glowing accounts of the Wales property
to San Francisco that he had them ex.
pecting another Eureka Con. or Rich
mond to be developed in the Wales.
L. l.. Robinson, then president of the
Albion Mining Company, was residing
in Eureka at that time. and knew the
merits of the Wales mining stock pro-
position Grifiths was promoting. and
banked on the bubble breaking, sooner
or latter. Accordingly, a pool was run
short" of Wales Consolidated on the
San Francisco exchange, and Griffiths
learning of the deal and having nearly
all the stock yet in his possession, Rob-
inson and his friends in the pool were
squeezed for thousands Of dollars and
were forced to settle for a round sum.
After the Wales shaft got a little be-
low the surface, Griffiths had it guard
ed closely and allowed no one to inspect
the property. A few months later, a
small hosting plant was built and
reports published describing millions of
dollars worth of ore in sight, which was
to be taken out on q certain date set
for completion of the hosting plant.
Interest had by this time reached
a crisis, when a fire broke out two days
before the appointed time for ore hoist
ing, destroying all the Wales plant
above ground. thus bringing to a dram
attic close one of the most sensational
mining schemes of which Eureka has
been the scene. Many inquiries were
made, but it was never fully demon
strated what caused the fire, though it
was frequently broadly limited that the
destruction of the hosting works re-
lieved Grifiths from q rather embarras-
ing position, as later developments IN
clusively showed little ''pay" ore in the
the Wales property.