The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-29
Bursting of Another Bubble.

The word "salting." which occurs in an
account of a notable diamond swindlc in
California, published yesterday, will recall
to many persons memories of the exciting
days when gold mining in California was
the sensation Of the period. Then the swim
dlcrs "salted" with gold quartz. Now the
"salting" is done with rough diamonds.
A more outrageous swndlc than the Cali
fornia diamond fields has rarely been en-
posed. 1t was an outgrowth of the South
African diamond excitement of last year,
and its history is not without interest. Ger
tain shrcwd and rascally miners in California
scut to Europe an agent who engaged largely
in the purchase of diamonds and rubicS in
the rough, md then suddenly disappeared.
Il few months afterwards San Francisco was
astounded by the reported discovery Of Il
rich field of diamonds and rubies near Table
Rock. 1t was stated that the precious stones
We're found in abundance OH the surface,
while the wealth to be unearthed could hard.
ly be estimated.
The news spread like wildtirc, and the pa
pers at the North and West have been filled
with accounts Of the size, appearance, and
value of the gems. A man named ARNOLD
who was probably the author of the swindle,
found no difficulty in dSposing Of his share
in the diamond fields to Il mammoth mining
corporation organized for the purpose OF
prosecuting the discoveries and known as the
Horpending Company. The price paid was
$4,000, and the company thought they had
bought a bargain. Offices were established
in San Francisco and New York. and some
OF the best known capitalists in the country
took stock in the Horpending Company.
But at length the biologists began to
throw doubts upon the discovery of ARNOLD
and in England the question was raised
whether there might not be some connection
between the large purchases Of diamonds
and rubies, which never came into market,
and ARNoLD's great "1ind" in California.
To silence such doubts the Horpendina
Company sent out a geological surveying
party, and their report (now published) says
in so many words, that the Table-Rocl
ground was undoubtedly "salted." That is
the gems found had been scattered over the
held and placed in artificial crevices by thu
hand Of man, and there were no native
stones in the vicinity.
Thus burst another bubble. Unlike man,
similar swind!eS it did not involve mauv per
sons in ruin, but it has relieved some
wealthy men of several thousand dollar:
apiece, aud it serves to show how easily th.
shrewdest Of capitalists are sometimes dc
ccived. Among the directors OF the Sal
Francisco and New York Commercial and
Mining Company, into which the Horpend-
Ing Company expanded, We're some whom we
are surprised to lind victims of such gigantic
fraud. TO the credit of the directors, how
ever, it is to be said That they have acted most
honorably in laying the news of the worth
lessness of their claims before the public i'm
lnediately, and the original corporators, with
commendable promptnesS and honesty, an
nouDce that they will assume the entire loss
from the operations of the company, while
steps will be taken for dissolving the corpo-
ration. And what Of the "Salters!" Have
they escaped TO foreign lands with their i'll
gotten gains, or will they be served with the
summary fate of their predecessors in Cali.
forna who "saltcd" with gold quartz?
The swindle proves that the fools are not
all dead yet.