Somepassengerondeckcalledtoamanofhisacquaintancestandingonthewharf，thatPage&BaconhadfailedinNewYork。Thenewsspreadlikewild—fire，butsoonitwasmetbythenewspaperaccountstotheeffectthatsomeparticularacceptancesofPage&
Bacon，ofSt。Louis，inthehandsofDuncan，Sherman&Co。，inNewYork，hadgonetoprotest。AllwhohadbalancesatPage，Bacon&
Co。’s，orheldcertificatesofdeposit，weremoreorlessalarmed，wantedtosecuretheirmoney，andageneralexcitementpervadedthewholecommunity。Wordwassoonpassedroundthatthematteradmittedofexplanation，viz。，thatthetwohousesweredistinctandseparateconcerns，thateverydraftoftheCaliforniahousehadbeenpaidinNewYork，andwouldcontinuetobepaid。ItwasexpectedthatthisassertionwouldquietthefearsoftheCaliforniacreditors，butforthenextthreedaystherewasasteady\"run\"onthatbank。Page，Bacon&Co。stoodthefirstday’srunverywell，and，asIafterwardlearned，paidoutaboutsixhundredthousanddollarsingoldcoin。Onthe20thofFebruaryHenryHeightcametoourbank，toseewhathelpwewerewillingtogivehim;butIwasout，andNisbetcouldnotanswerpositivelyforthefirm。Ourconditionwasthenverystrong。Thedepositaccountwasaboutsixhundredthousanddollars，andwehadinourvaultaboutfivehundredthousanddollarsincoinandbullion，besidesanequalamountofgoodbillsreceivable。StillIdidnotliketoweakenourselvestohelpothers;butinamostfriendlyspirit，thatnightafterbank—hours，IwentdowntoPage，Bacon&Co。，andenteredtheirofficefromtherear。Ifoundinthecashier’sroomFolsom，Parrott，DeweyandPayne，CaptainRitchie，Donohue，andothers，citizensandfriendsofthehouse，whohadbeencalledinforconsultation。Passingintothemainoffice，whereallthebook—keepers，tellers，etc。，withgas—lights，werebusywritinguptheday’swork，IfoundMr。Page，HenryHeight，andJudgeChambers。
IspoketoHeight，sayingthatIwassorryIhadbeenoutwhenhecalledatourbank，andhadnowcometoseehiminthemostfriendlyspirit。Heighthadevidentlybeendrinking，andsaidabruptlythat\"allthebankswouldbreak，\"that\"nobankcouldinstantlypayallitsobligations，\"etc。Iansweredhecouldspeakforhimself，butnotforme;thatIhadcometooffertobuywithcashafairproportionofhisbullion，notes，andbills;but，iftheyweregoingtofail，Iwouldnotbedrawnin。Height’smannerwasextremelyoffensive，butMr。Pagetriedtosmoothitover，sayingtheyhadhadabadday’srun，andcouldnotanswerfortheresulttilltheirbookswerewrittenup。
Ipassedbackagainintotheroomwherethebefore—namedgentlemenwerediscussingsomepaperwhichlaybeforethem，andwasgoingtopessout，whenCaptainFolsom，whowasanofficerofthearmy，aclass—mateandintimatefriendofmine，handedmethepaperthecontentsofwhichtheywerediscussing。Itwasveryshort，andinHenryHaight’shandwriting，prettymuchintheseterms:\"We，theundersignedproperty—holdersofSanFrancisco，havingpersonallyexaminedthebooks，papers，etc。，ofPage，Bacon&Co。，doherebycertifythatthehouseissolventandabletopayallitsdebts，\"