Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-19
Mining SwiudIeS.

Mining swindIes.
A correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette,
| after telling the story of the great diamond
| fraud, says:
Some other transactions of a kindred sort
have come to my knowledge and they may
| properly be told IN this connection. A few years
| ago | was interested in the study of crystalZa-
| tons, and made some experiments in the labra-
| tory of chemical friend We tried long time
to get up rubies and sapphires, and followed the
| processes OF Ehelman and Gaudin as closely as
| possible. Artificial crystals of alumina have
| been produced, bat they have always been so
small as TO require microscope for their dis
| covery, and any attempt to color them has
failed In the course of our experiments we
| came in contact with n scientific gentleman OF
considerable repute. He assisted US in some Of
our efforts, but we never succeeded in them, not
| even producing the smallest crystal. Finally,
we gave UP the enterprise, and turned our atten.
| lion TO something else.
| Three or four months later met this SCENT
| ist Prof Blank, in the corridor of the Astur
house. He was delighted to see me, and said
he had called two or three times on business of
| importance which he could only explain at his
| rooms. We made an appointment ior that eve
ming, and he went away.
was on hand at the appointed hour, and af
ter carefully locking the door, the professor be-
| came confidential.
"You remember your experiments to produce
|
| that took great interest in them. When you
were disheartened and gave up, did not aban
don hope, and at last have been rewarded. |
have produced a perfect sapphire by following
another process from yours. You used alumina
and boracc acid; have been using the same
things, but have added another acid and an
oxide that gives the color to the stone at the
same time that it facilitates the Capitalization.
Here is the result
As he spoke he opened table drawer and
from small bDN prDluppl three hpautiful
stones. Apparently they were sapphires of cor
rect shace, color and density, and worth a great
deal of money. They reflected the gas light, and
for a short time l saw fortune before me-
When | had examined them thoroughly and
placed them on the table, the professor con-
tinued:
f'Now, these are sapphires made in my labora
tory-iuSt as nature has made them in hers
They are OF the same material as the natural
sapphire, aud man can sell them for genuine
stones and not be guilty of any fraud"
/ aSSeuted to his proposition.
"Here is a fortune in my secret, but to make
the secret available it is necessary to proceed
with great caution. The instant it is known or
suspected that the stones are made by an art-
fetal process the market would be ruined. |
have thought the whole thing over, and determ-
ined upon a plan. We will form small com
pany, the lever men in 1t the better, and fit up
a laboratory in connection with tin shop or
something of the sort. The shop can be blind
TO prevent suspicion, aud the laboratory can be
in the rear, where we will pretend TO have new
process for soldering tin. When the stones are
made we can put them on the market slowly,
and sell them just fast enough to prevent getting
up panic
He went on with the details of his scheme.
which was plausible enough, only it was trife
too large. Had he been an adyenturer should
have suspected him at once; but here was a
scientific gentleman, whose name was on the
title page OF book that had been received
as an authority, and, so far as | knew, his
reputation was without blemsh. / was capti-
vated by the crilliancv of the enterprise, and
readily consented TO join him and bring the
matter 10 the attention OF some of my friends.
He wanted about twenty thousand dollars for a
share in the secret and as a capital wherewith
to set up and stock his proposed laboratory. To
wind up the evening and leave me fully con-
Vnced, he opened a crucib'e, which, he ayerred,
he had that afternoon taken from the furnace
and laid away 10 cool. From the black mass of
Stag at the bottom he eXtricated a couple of
sapphres, smaller than the ones he had pre-
viousy shown me- but as perfect in every way
as the others. MY mind was nearly but not
quite made mp. asked the privilege of taking
one OF these latest sapphires and also one of the
others, to show to a friend whom | wished to
JOIN me in the speculation.
The professor consented with the injunction
that must not reveal the secret of their manu-
facture, and that should be very cautious about
exciting the suspicion of any outsider as to their
artificial character. eve must be very careful"
said he, mot to let the dealers know that the
stones are not dug from the ground like all
Others in the market. They are in every respect
the same, but the question of demand and sup
ply tells more readily on precious stones than
than on anything else in the market"
Next morning jumped into an omnibus and
rode down town. | went to a lapidary on John
street, with whom had slight acquaintance,
and at once showed him my sapphres. He
looked at them Just an instant and asked what
wanted to know about them. | asked what he
called those stones.
"Well," he replied with a smile, "they are
very good limitations of sapphires."
"Imitaton>p
"Ies, limitations; ought to know, for made
them myself
Agiganlic flea at that instant-a flea as large
as an elephant-enIer, my right ear, AMI
Jumped about like school boy exercising
across a gutter. The lapidarv continued that
he made tne stones 10 order, and three Others at
the same time, about Il month before, but de-
clined to tell me for whom they were made
They were made of StrasS, fine article of glass
consisting mainly of potash, oxide of lead, bo-
raX, and slick Nearly all artificial oems are
made of strass, and the coors are obtained by
adding certain oxides while the substance is in
a state of fusion Diamonds, sapplires rubies
and amethvstS, made of StraSs, may deceive a
novice, and even be made so skillully as to re-
qlire careful rest before deciding on their char
acter, but you can no more sell them for genu-
inc to a regular dealer than you can make a
butcher buy poodle under the belief that it is
bull dog.
| returned the gems to the professor that even
inc, with the brief explanation that my friend
was averse to a speculation on account of a lack
of funds, and that an unexpected development
had rendered il impossible forme to invest He
did not press for an explanation, and we separ-
ated with mutual reerets
OPERATING IN COPPER.
Another time a man who had been for several
years on the Pacific coast came to New York
and lived a month or two at my hotel, without
any appearance of business. | formed an nc.
quainlance with him one day at the table and
found that ne was good aker, and well m
formed on mining matters Our acquaintance
ran on a week or so. and one dav he invited me
TO his room, and showed me some specimens of
copper ORE They were of wonderful richness.
and while was looking at them he EXCLAIMED
that he knew where there was a vein xix feet
wide and half a mile long OF lust such ore. He
said it in the most careless way imaginable. and
remarked that he thought he had about as rood
thing as there was going.
/ thought So too and after few minutes'
conversation was separated Nothing more
was said for several days, when finally he asked
if knew anybody who would like TO ioin him