George D. Roberts to “Mr. A. Harpending”, San Francisco, Nov. 7th, 1870
This item is not a letter per se; rather it is a formal note whereby Roberts gives official authorization to Harpending to proceed with the sale of the stock of the New Mexico Mining Company:
Mr. A. Harpending.
Sir. I have concluded negotiations with parties here, by which you are authorised to dispose of, sell and convey, as majority interest in the stock, mines, or other property belonging to the New Mexico Mining Co. for a consideration of not less than 200,000$ in gold coin.
Yours truly,
G.D. Roberts.
This could be taken to indicate that Harpending was now, on paper at least, the majority stock-holder in this Company; an example of the tactic employed in the “pump and dump” method whereby the vast majority of the stock in the company on which a stock-float fraud was centered was held by the perpetrator of that fraud together with some few, carefully chosen, insiders.
It is possible that this note of authorization relates to Roberts’ idea that Harpending should “go to NY and interest some sharp broker and sell on the best terms possible” as stated in his letter of September 26th.
George D. Roberts to “Dear Harpending”, Oakland, Nov. 13th, 1870
This letter contains various tidbits of information, none of which Roberts elaborates on to any great length. He informs Harpending that his (Roberts’) brother Harry is very sick, but that there is not very much to report in regard to business affairs.
He refers to having received a letter from “Doct. Cleveland” requesting $500, and writes that McGoodwin’s party is on its way (presumably to Oakland) from San Diego. He also writes that Dore had informed him that “London letters” were in the process of being prepared for Harpending. This is an important piece of information as it shows us that there has now been a change of plans. Harpending is now preparing to travel to London, carrying with him Roberts’ letter of authorization for the sale of the New Mexico Mining Company properties in the Virginia Mining District. It is unclear whether or not any attempt had been made to sell them in New York as originally planned, but this does seem unlikely. The air of secrecy which is being maintained over Harpending’s exact whereabouts is evident: “There is but little said or known about your movements.” Again there is reference to Treadwell: “I have put a stop to Treadwells leaking and he don’t know anything that would do us harm.”
Roberts also writes that Treadwell “was cussing yesterday when he learned you were in K.Y. I made him feel good by telling him I thought your man was a bilk.”
He informs Harpending that “Mary sailed yesterday from Liverpool on the Cuba”, and wants Harpending to meet her when the ship arrives. Mary will find letters “at N. Y. Ho [?] and 5th Avenue Hotel.”
He again stresses the urgency of Harpending’s mission by telling him “I shall be in a bad fix if you don’t succeed in your matters”, and ends the letter with “whether you have good or bad news, let me hear from you by telegraph at the earliest possible moment.”
By virtue of the fact that these are correspondences between two people who know each other very well, and who have intimate knowledge of each other’s business dealings, many of the references contained in them will naturally appear vague to third party readers. For example, Roberts’ reference to “your man”; of course, Harpending would have known exactly who he was referring to. Why Mary, Roberts’ wife, had been to England we will probably never know; what the exact connections between Roberts, Harpending and some of the other people mentioned in the letters were may similarly remain unknowns.
There is in this letter one particular point which might be commented on: Roberts’ statement that Treadwell was “cussing yesterday when he learned you were in K.Y.” This raises two possibilities; firstly, that Roberts had told Treadwell that Harpending was in Kentucky – Harpending was a native of that state, or, secondly, and more probable, that “K.Y.” was a slip of Roberts’ pen, and that he had meant to write “N.Y.”; that is New York.
This ends Chapter 21, “The Harpending Papers”, Asbury Harpending’s personal – and revealing – correspondences. They show all too well that what was being fed to the public via the press was in stark contrast to the reality of the situation at the Virginia Mining District. The mines were not even close to being as rich as they were portrayed. Harpending and Roberts knew this yet they persisted in maintaining the charade that there was great wealth to be made from buying stock in the Companies formed to market the properties. That charade, however, was soon to be exposed.
©2007-2024 Jim & Erica Parson
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