With a cooler head, I advised Mr. Morgan that the mines were still only in the “prospect” state; that they might turn out something great, but more likely nothing at all. Concerning the land and water, there was no question. Properly handled and developed their value must be great. After some negotiations, we hit upon a bargain. Morgan was to go to England post haste. I was to follow by more leisurely stages, a month later, and by the time of my arrival everything was to be arranged. I stopped a few days in New York to see the sights. While there I met another Englishman by the name of Dalton, a member of Parliament. I told the gentleman something of my contemplated trip to England. When I mentioned the name of Morgan, he seemed a bit amused. He said Morgan was all right; that he had excellent family connections, but that he hardly figured as a financier. He said that his imagination was of an oriental type, prone to exaggeration and very apt to make a mess of any large transaction. “If Mr. Morgan fails,” he added, “you had better come to me.” When I arrived in England, I found that Mr. Dalton’s prediction had already come true. Morgan had issued a prospectus that put the tales of Baron Munchausen in the shade. He actually described the mines as mountains of silver, and by his very extravagance of statement doomed the enterprise from the start. Meanwhile, I had various meetings with Mr. Dalton, who was a man of standing in the business world and through him met a great firm of brokers, Coates and Hanky. Mr. Coates was the son of a manufacturer who won fortune and immortality by his exploits in spool cotton. These gentlemen agreed to place my proposition before the investing public. Morgan floundered around for a short time but was soon discouraged. I offered him an interest in the new exploitation, with the understanding that he keep mute. Coates and Hanky now undertook the enterprise in a business fashion. The New Mexico Land and Silver Mining Company was formed, with a high-class directorate. One of the directors, I recollect, was a retired admiral of the British navy. The prospectus was flattering enough, but would stand investigation. Among other things, it dwelt more on the unquestioned value of the land and water than the probabilities and possibilities of the mines. The capitalization was six hundred thousand pounds.