“the Catholic Eton”: Richard Guy Wilson, Harbor Hill: Portrait of a House (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2008), p. 36.
George G. Ward: “The Bennett-Mackay Cable,” New York Times, February 13, 1884.
August 1, 1884: “New Telegraphic Pool, New York Times, August 1, 1884.
“the most formidable”: New York Herald, quoted in Klein, The Life and Legend of Jay Gould, p. 334.
fell into receivership: “Asking for a Receiver,” New York Times, September 19, 1884.
American Rapid Telegraph soon followed: “Asking for a Receiver,” New York Times, October 12, 1884.
had landed its first cable: “Messages Over the New Cable,” New York Times, December 13, 1884.
“declining to add”: “Underground Wires,” New York Times, August 7, 1884.
“strenuous efforts to”: J. S. Moore, “The Cable Rate War in Its True Light,” New York Times, May 15, 1886.
Commercial Cable set rates: “The New Cable at Work,” New York Times, December 24, 1884.
“the Mackay-Bennett managers”: “The Cable Competition,” New York Times, December 28, 1884.
Gould pool cables dropped: “Cable Rates Reduced,” New York Times, December 25, 1884. See also “Cable Rates Reduced,” New York Times, December 3, 1885.
Pool company earnings plummeted: “Decreased Cable Receipts,” New York Times, July 24, 1885.
in just six minutes: “Telegraphic Matters,” New York Times, January 14, 1885.
“to obtain a greater share”: “It Is Not Their Private Pond,” New York Times, August 21, 1885; “Result of the Cable War,” New York Times, July 23, 1886.
“grand bridal reception”: “The Bonanza Mackays,” New York Tribune, February 22, 1885.
“take off their hats”: “Miss Mackay’s Marriage,” New York Times, February 25, 1885, citing Pall Mall Gazette, February 13, 1885.
slashed Baltimore & Ohio telegraph rates: Makley, John Mackay, p. 168.
Postal Telegraph’s embarrassment: “Postal Telegraph Company,” New York Times, May 24, 1885.
That same day: “Telegraph Wires Seized,” New York Times, July 11, 1885; also, “Both Companies Stopped,” New York Times, July 12, 1885; “The Cut Telegraph Wires,” New York Times, July 20, 1885; “Western Union Delayed,” New York Times, July 22, 1885; Klein, The Life and Legend of Jay Gould, pp. 379–81; Makley, John Mackay, pp. 168–73.
“Does the girl”: “Many Rue the Passing of Mackay’s Name,” New York Times, April 22, 1928; private contemporary correspondence: Mackay to Stokes, April 30, May 5, and May 28, 1885; “The Stokes–Mackay Suit,” New York Times, January 23, 1892. Mackay’s private correspondence became public in 1892 as a result of a lawsuit with Edward Stokes, who he’d come to think had embezzled money. Mackay lost the suit.
had reached Sharon’s knee: “The Shadow of Death,” Daily Alta California, November 10, 1885.
“a marvelous exhibition”: “San Francisco Items,” Sacramento Daily Record-Union, November 12, 1885.
“usually prominent forehead”: “Death of Sharon,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 1885.
lawsuits of Sarah Althea Hill: A good survey of the Sarah Hill scandal is in Makley, The Infamous King of the Comstock, pp. 157–83.
“keen eyed”: “Keen-Eyed Ki,” Daily Alta California, November 18, 1885.
his youngest son died: “Death of Ah Ki’s Boy,” Daily Alta California, November 26, 1885.
December 9: “Ki’s Petition Granted,” Daily Alta California, December 6, 1885.
Lord Outatelbows: “Mrs. Mackay in London,” New York Times, March 17, 1886, citing London Truth.
Queen Victoria’s drawing room: “Mrs. Mackay’s Diamonds,” Russian River Flag, April 14, 1886, citing New York Sun, March 24, 1886.
$1 million worth: “A Blow at Both Companies,” New York Times, April 20, 1886.
“this aggressive action”: “Reduction in Cable Rates,” New York Times, April 18, 1886.
“The war of”: “Editorial Article No. 6,” New York Times, May 1, 1886.
“The soundness of”: “Editorial No. 4,” New York Times, May 1, 1886.
“all declaring their”: “To Support the Commercial Cable,” New York Times, May 2, 1886.
“perfectly plain that”: “Editorial Article 5,” New York Times, May 15, 1886.
the increased traffic generated: “The Cable War Will Pay,” New York Times, July 20, 1886.
wires of the Canadian Pacific: “A Blow at Monopoly,” New York Times, July 28, 1886; “To Fight Western Union,” New York Times, August 7, 1886.
skipped its dividend: New York Times, September 9, 1886.
Three weeks later he was back: “John W. Mackay Returns Home,” New York Tribune, August 8, 1887.
“an auspicious omen”: “Mr. Mackay Still Silent,” New York Times, August 10, 1887.
“The war in”: “Cable Rates,” New York Times, August 17, 1887.
“Whatever may be”: “A Talk with Mr. Mackay,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 29, 1887.
$5.5 million: Makley, John Mackay, p. 184.
“If Mr. Garrett”: “Gould’s Gold,” Fort Worth Daily Gazette, October 9, 1887, reprinting from a New York newspaper, probably the Herald; also, “The Financial World,” New York Times, October 9, 1887; Klein, The Life and Legend of Jay Gould, pp. 383–85.
“Mr. Gould never”: “Wall Street Talk,” New York Times, October 26, 1887.
the pact allowed: Klein, The Life and Legend of Jay Gould, p. 385; Makley, John Mackay, pp. 187–88.
“I have tried”: Young, Men and Memories, p. 450. (If there is a contemporary reference for this quote, I have been unable to find it.)
CHAPTER 18: TWILIGHT
“[Mackay] never seemed”: “Mackay’s Fortune,” Grant Smith, Grant Smith Collection, UCB, Box 2, Folder 4, citing Edgar Bradley.
In the spirit of bygones: “The Week in Society,” New York Tribune, June 17, 1894.
“dying by inches” . . . Flood died: Makley, John Mackay, p. 191; “Death of Flood,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 22, 1889; “Death of James C. Flood,” New York Sun, February 22, 1889.
“Billy was my partner”: Young, Men and Memories, p. 443; also, “Very Near Death,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 21, 1893.
Willie began serving: J. W. Mackay, Jr., was listed among the Commercial Cable Company’s directors in “Commercial Cable Company Affairs,” New York Times, March 21, 1983. He may have gone on the board earlier.
gave it to Louise on the occasion: “Leinster House, the . . . ,” Sun and the Erie County Independent of Hamburg, New York, May 1, 1891.
“a half-insane”: “John W. Mackay,” New York Tribune, February 25, 1893; “Mackay Shot,” Reno Gazette-Journal, February 24, 1893. Some sources name him William C. Rippey, others Wesley C. The latter seems most common in the contemporary San Francisco newspapers.
“one of the richest”: “Mr. Mackay’s Career,” New York Times, February 25, 1893.
“had not elevated him above”: “J. W. Mackay Is Shot,” Chicago Tribune, February 25, 1893.
“The crank that”: “John W. Mackay Will Soon Recover,” Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1893.
Mackay convalesced rapidly: “The Wounded Men,” San Francisco Morning Call, February 26, 1893.
Willie joined them: “Her Old Home,” Oakland Tribune, April 10, 1893.
“It was plain”: “Always an American,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 11, 1893.
“a few days’ rest”: “Mrs. Mackay Resting,” San Francisco Call, April 12, 1893.
“enjoyed a drive”: “Mackay Takes the Air,” San Francisco Call, April 13, 1893.
toured Chinatown: “Doing Chinatown,” San Francisco Chronicle, May 5, 1893.
endless orange groves: “John W. Mackay,” San Bernardino Daily Courier, April 27, 1893.
message-carrying capacity: “To Lay Another Cable,” New York Times, December 6, 1893.
electrical elevator system evoked: “Inspecting a
New Office Building,” New York Tribune, June 19, 1894; also, “Postal-Cable Building Dedicated,” New York Times, May 25, 1894; “Hardware Club’s Reception,” New York Times, June 1, 1894.
“From this window”: “John W. Mackay and His Friends,” New York Times, July 27, 1902. The house itself was long gone.
$175,000 per annum: “Tired of Her Prince,” New York World, November 29, 1893.
“feminine adornments”: “Squandered Mackay’s Money,” New York Times, November 30, 1893.
“couldn’t be expected”: “Tired of Her Prince,” New York World, November 29, 1893.
“contented himself with”: “Squandered Mackay’s Money,” New York Times, November 30, 1893.
“I am glad”: “Tired of Her Prince,” New York World, November 29, 1893.
she fled with them: “Princess Colonna in Retirement,” New York Times, February 13, 1894.
Eighteen months later: “Princess Colonna Gets Her Liberty,” New York Times, April 6, 1895.
“Fair did not have”: “Fair’s Will Filed,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 30, 1894.
“who refused to”: “The Bonanza Kings,” Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 9, 1895.
Jonas M. Walker: “Once a Rich Man,” San Francisco Call, January 3, 1895; “Died a Poor Man,” San Francisco Call, January 4, 1895.
to have Dr. Bryant’s body moved: Pioneer Memorial Park to Grant Smith, September 2, 1930, Grant Smith Collection, UCB.
“it did not yield”: “An Interview,” Reno Gazette-Journal, June 15, 1895.
“trace upon him”: “John W. Mackay,” Reno Gazette-Journal, October 11, 1895.
“Notify father to”: “Obituary No. 1—No Title,” New York Times, October 20, 1895; “J. W. Mackay, Jr. Dead,” San Francisco Call, October 19, 1895.
funeral fit for a king: “Funeral of J. W. Mackay, Jr.,” New York Tribune, October 23, 1895.
John Mackay didn’t leave: “Date of the Funeral Is Not Fixed,” Chicago Tribune, October 22, 1895; “John W. Mackay Going East,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 25, 1895.
“Oh, God, what”: “The Death of John W. Mackay, Jr.,” Grant Smith, Grant Smith Collection, UCB, Box and Folder unrecorded due to author oversight, citing Edmond Godchaux, one of the two San Francisco friends who stayed with Mackay that awful night.
“the saddest journey”: “The Death of John W. Mackay, Jr.,” Grant Smith, Grant Smith Collection, UCB, Box and Folder unrecorded due to author oversight, citing John Rosenfeld.
back across the Atlantic: “John W. Mackay’s Sad Mission,” New York Tribune, February 2, 1896.
“A serious, almost mournful”: Chandos Fulton, “John W. Mackay and His Friends,” New York Times, July 27, 1902.
“deep regret”: Frank Marshall White, “12 O’Clock,” Buffalo Evening News, June 21, 1897.
“one of the very best”: “John W. Mackay Is Dead,” Brooklyn Daily Double Eagle, July 21, 1902.
“lighten her mourning”: “What Is Doing in Society,” New York Times, January 3, 1899; also, “Women Leaders,” Buffalo Commercial, July 8, 1899; “What Is Doing in Society,” New York Times, July 18, 1899.
at the opera in 1900: “Conversation with James Walsh, March 17, 1930,” Grant Smith Collection, UCB, Box 1, Folder 17.
“subsidy or guarantee”: “A Submarine Cable to the Philippines,” New York Times, September 24, 1901.
“could handle any”: “Americans Mourn Loss of Mackay,” San Francisco Call, July 21, 1902, quoting P. H. Lannan.
“as you know”: “An Old Friend’s Tribute,” Salt Lake City Tribune, July 21, 1902.
“stormed the strongholds”: “John W. Mackay,” Goodwin’s Weekly, July 26, 1902.
“Of all the millionaires”: “Mackay’s Life and Career,” Salt Lake Tribune, July 21, 1902.
“the highest of all rich men”: “John W. Mackay,” Goodwin’s Weekly, July 26, 1902.
Eva died on March 28: “Princess Colonna Dead,” New York Evening World, March 31, 1919.
“services of the simplest”: “Mackay at Funeral with Mrs. Berlin,” New York Times, September 14, 1928.
enormous chunk of ITT stock: Grant Smith, “Cable Business,” p. 692, Grant Smith Collection, UCB, Box 2, Folder 4.
one of the most influential articles: Ian Frazier’s article “The Cabaret Beat” in the February 23 and March 2, 2015, issues of The New Yorker centers on Ellin Mackay’s article.
Index
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Numbers in italics refer to pages with images.
Adams & Company, 31
Ah Ki, 187–88, 407–8
alcohol (whisky) use
Fenimore’s death and, 126
miners and, 32, 33, 50, 86, 87, 163, 365
saloons and, 33, 110, 111–12, 123–24, 154, 160, 163–64, 238, 356, 359, 361, 365, 366
Sunday law proposal on, 127
violence and shootings and, 163, 164
Alexander III, Czar of Russia, 390
Allen, Richard N., 102
American Rapid, 402, 403, 405–6
American Telephone & Telegraph, 426
American Union, 395, 396
Arizona
diamond field hoax in, 307
mines in, 157, 185, 386, 388
Arthur, Chester, 390
Atlantic & Pacific (A&P), 395, 396
Atlantic Ocean telegraph cables, 396, 399–400, 409, 415
Atlantic Telegraph Company, 37–38
Atwood, Melville, 63
Babcock, William F., 116
Baldwin, A., 233
Baldwin, Elias J. “Lucky,” 331
Baldwin, Joseph, 97, 98
Baltimore & Ohio Telegraph, 402, 403, 405, 412–13
Bankers and Merchants’ Telegraph Company, 402–3, 405–6
Bank of California, 330, 410
Belcher mine and, 280
closure of, 342–44, 345–47, 350
Comstock Lode and, 186, 188–89, 201–2, 274, 309, 331
economic boom and, 331
Gold Hill office of, 189
Mackay’s borrowing from, 411
Mackay-Sharon clash over mines in, 245
mine accounts at, 226
mine and mill owners’ loans from, 188, 202–3, 226–27, 274, 341
need for, 185–86
Nevada Bank as competition for, 338
Ralston’s debts to, 279, 308–9, 338, 340, 341, 342, 344
Ralston’s management of, 278–79, 307, 309, 342–43
Ralston’s opening of, 182
reopening of, 349–50, 351
San Francisco fire and, 356
Sharon’s assayer corruption and, 227
Sharon’s control of, 298, 341, 349
Sharon’s proposal on, 186
Sharon’s use of assets of, 227, 228, 298
Sutro’s tunnel project and, 194, 204, 205, 235
Virginia City branch of, 186, 187–88, 203
Bank Ring
Comstock mines and, 223–24, 225
Hale & Norcross mine and, 231, 232, 243, 244
Kentuck mine and, 214
members of, 203
methods of making money from stockholders by, 225, 226, 276
mines controlled by, 189–90, 241
Ophir mine stock and, 332–33
power of, 228
railroad construction and, 233, 266, 270
timber and cordwood fuel profits of, 227
transportation costs and, 232
water supply profits of, 227–28
banks. See also Bank of California; Nevada Bank of San Francisco
Mackay’s founding of, 337–38
mine owner borrowing and, 106, 188
mining camps with, 31, 72
railroads’ economic problems and, 320–21
Bannock Indians, 91, 99
Barron, Joseph, 186
Barron, William E., 186, 203, 233
Belcher mine, 194
Mackay’s missing of investment in, 280
Mackay’s work in, 380
mining operations at, 306–7, 308, 315, 335
mules for transportation in, 287–89, 295, 307
productivity of, 288–89, 307, 308, 325, 337
Ralston’s ownership of, 308, 338
share price and dividends of, 159, 274, 288, 295–96, 308, 315, 332, 340
Sharon’s ownership of, 280, 289, 292, 307, 329
watering stock scandal at, 287
Bell, Alpheus, 186
Bell, Thomas, 186, 189, 203, 233
Bennett, James Gordon, 11, 384–85
Bennett, James Gordon, Jr., 384–85, 397, 399, 400
Berlin, Ellin Mackay, 165–66, 432
Berlin, Irving, 432
Best & Belcher mine, 299, 302, 324, 354, 362
Bickell brothers (George, Richard, and James), 253, 254, 258, 259, 262
bicycle racing, 248–49, 282
Bigler, John, 48, 160
Bishop, John, 55, 56
Blackburn, John L., 123
“Bonanza Firm,” 336. See also Firm, the
“Bonanza King,” Mackay as, 336
Bonner, Charles, 203, 233
Bowers, Alexander “Sandy,” 56
Boyd Silver Mining Company, 237
Brander, George, 410–11
Brannan, Sam, 14, 70
Bricknell, James W., 214
Bryan, Charles Henry, 163
Bryant, Dr. Edmund G., 193, 282
death of, 208–9
marriage to Marie Louise Hungerford, 165, 166–67
military career of, 100
Bryant, Eva
early life of, 165, 166, 193, 209, 248
Mackay’s adoption of, 282. See also Mackay, Eva Bryant
as Mackay’s stepdaughter, 272, 281–82
Bryant, Marie, 166, 167, 221, 423
Bryant, Marie Louise
first marriage to Dr. Bryant, 164–68, 193, 208–9, 210
second marriage to John Mackay. See Mackay, Louise
Buchanan, James, 38, 123
Buck Ledge claim, 90, 113, 121, 135, 148
Bullion mine (“the Bullion”), 125
The Bonanza King Page 76