turned around and went back to the office, to the same counter and
clerk, and said to him, "Do you rectify mistakes here?" He said, "Not
after a man leaves the office." I said, "All right," and left the office
and made the Stockton boat all right. But there were no insane asylums
there at that time.



Harry Meiggs.

In the early fifties Honest Harry Meiggs (as he was called) was one of
our most enterprising, generous and far-seeing citizens. His first
venture was in the banking business. It was while engaged in this
pursuit that he gained the name "Honest Harry Meiggs." His banking
business was good for a year or so and then he conceived the idea of
building a wharf at North Beach. It commenced at Francisco street
between Powell and Mason streets. It extended north several hundred feet
and was used for a landing place for lumber in the rough, to be conveyed
to his mill on the South side of Francisco street near Powell. In order
to accommodate the demands of trade an "L" was extended eastward from
the end of his wharf. About this time he got into financial troubles. In
October, 1854, he departed with his family for Chili between two days
and passed out through the Golden Gate, and no more was heard of him for
a long time. It finally became known that he was in Peru, engaged in
building bridges for that government. He took contracts and was very
successful and became well off in a few years. He sent an agent to San
Francisco to hunt up all his creditors and pay them, dollar for dollar
with interest. I knew a widow in San Francisco in the late '60s by the
name of Rogers who was a creditor, who married a man by the name of
Allen; I think that was in 1867. They went to Peru and saw Mr. Meiggs.