Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/299



Like a  thunder-clap  dropped  on  San  Francisco  the  in- telhgence that  Henry  Meiggs  had  absconded. Honest Harry Meiggs  1  A  defaulter,  forger,  swindler,  impos- sible 1 A  week  ago  he  was  the  most  popular  man  in California,  his  record  was  the  cleanest,  his  reputation the most  spotless. On Friday  his  failure  for  the  sum of eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  announced. On the  Tuesday  previous  he  had  bought  the  bark American, furnished  and  provisioned  her  in  princely style, and  the  same  night  sailed  with  his  family  for "ports in  the  Pacific." The journal  of  this,  Sunday, morning, October  8,  1854,  leads  off  with  a  long  list  of forged  comptroller's  warrants,  together  with  others  un- told, aQfOTeaatinQi' half  a  million  or  a  million  of  dollars.

John G.  Meiggs,  brother  of  honest  Harry  and newly elected  comptroller,  also  sailed  on  the  American for these  veiled  "ports  in  the  Pacific." Why did  he go  away  being  likewise  a  popular  and  capable  man and newly  elected  to  office,  unless  it  was  that  being cognizant of  his  brother's  crimes  he  preferred  flight  to braving  the  disgrace  ? Besides the  spurious  warrants, merchants soon  found  their  forged  notes  in  circulation, and these  could  easily  be  traced  to  their  source. Honest Harry  must  be  the  rogue  ! Then a  thousand fingers pointed  that  way,  bony,  bloodless  fingers,  and plump, fat  fingers,  digits  horny  with  hard  labor,  be- longing to washerwomen,  and  working  men,  and  the diamond digits  of  merchants,  bankers,  and  frail  fair ones. Few escaped  the  fangs  of  Harry,  for  he  was clever, he  was  popular,  and  above  all  he  was  honest. So they,  his  victims,  loved  to  call  him  Honest  Harry Meiggs. Now the  community  cursed  him. Con- gregating upon the  street  corners,  men  told  their losses and  swore  if  they  could  catch  him  they  would hang him  Even  now  in  the  opinion  of  Sweeny  and Baugh the  bark  American  is  becalmed  outside,  only twenty miles  southwestw^ard  off"  the  heads,  and  Cap- tain Alden  with  the  steamer  Active,  is  going  to  sweep the  coast  for  sixty   miles  in  both  directions.     Now