Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-19
NEVADA'S SENATORS
A Little State That Has Had a Mighty
ReDreSenfahOn fin the United States Senate
BY COLONEL JOSEPH ID. LYNCH
BY COLONEL JOSEPH ID. LYNCH
ORSS

of the purely fortuitous, after I had
emerged from these mines I made in
quirles about Hugh McKenna, which
l had promised his brother Charley
to make when I left Pittsburg earlier
in the year, and / found out that he
was the superintendent of the Rhode
Island mill. which crushed the ores
of the Crown Point and Belcher mines
at Gold Hill. Finding that there was
no immediate way of getting down
and being fond of walking, 1 walked
down there, passing over the cele-
brated scene of the robbery Of Mark
Twain, which before 1 left the Com
stock I heard related by John w.
Mackey himself at a dinner at which
Phil Deidesheimer. Sawyer, the San
Francisco correspondent of the New
York Herald, and myself were the
guests. Strange as 1t may appear, the
immortal Mark was not popular in
Nevada and California and Mackey's
tongue gave him no boost.
I found my friend McKenna, and the
Rhode Island mill was exactly opposite
the gate of Senator Jones' Gold Hill
residence. Just as McKenna had in
troduced me to Sam Jones, the SEN
ator's brother, out drove the bridal
party.
/ venture to recapitulate a triad of
unimportant but purely fortuitous in
cidents
l breakfasted with Senator Jones
the day of his marriage. 1 saw him
breakfast the day after his marriage.
l saw him drive out of his house the
day after his marriage, all without
preconcert, the last incident at re-
move of four or five hundred miles. 1
concluded that if he thought of the
matter at all the distinguished Ne
vadan must have put me down as a
sleuth deputed by Pinkerton or some
body to keep tab on his movements.
l have frequently had the pleasure
of chatting with the Nevada states
man when he was perfectly unre-
strained. He ran for lieutenant gov
ticket with George c. Gorham at it's
head in 1857. They were disastrously
beaten. He told me that he emerged
from that contest with his arms out at
elbows and that he saved himself from
becoming hack politician by going up
to the Comstock. In his wonderful
career he has had all sorts of luck.
He is supposed to have made $15,000 900
out of the Crown Point and Belcher
bonanza. He blew most Of it in with
imperial liberality. At one time it was
supposed that times were not roseate
blue interval certain levels of the
Consolidated Virginia and California
were leased to him and Jones luck was
again in the ascendant, and these
levels began to pour out treasure with
the old-time volume. About this time
1 met him at the Palace hotel and
asked him how he was. He answered
that he was we'll and doing well, at
which 1 was heartily glad. All Califor-
mans and all Nevadans, and legions
of good people besides are always glad
to hear of the good fortune of John
4. Jones.
1 have been often asked as to what
is the state of the private fortune of
the famous Neva6an, and have often
been obliged to say that I don't know.
One time you will note that he is asso-
ciated with d. o. Mills in Douglas
Island, Alaska, at others with the
Rothschilds, in John Charles Fremont's
old haunts in Tuolumne and Gala
veras counties, and anon with great
New York syndicates in exploiting
Mexico, but the public has no authori-
tative means of knowing what he is
doing or how he stands. The last time
I had a conversation with him he said
impressively: MY friend, l have
thrown away two fortunes. I have
made third, and I would like to see
the color of the eyes of the ----
who gets that"