Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-12-19
The Diamond Frand


The San Francisco and New York
Mining and Commercial Company an
nouncss that no more of it's stock is to
be issued, circulated, or transferred, that
the certificates are to be cancelled, and
the company dissolved. The San Fran
cisco snd New York, Mining and Com
merclsl Company proposed to harvest
the diamond crop of Colorado, New
Mexico and Arizona: The company has
discovered that there is no diamond har-
vest to gather. Thus passes away one
OF the hugest swindies ever successfully
undertaken here or elsewhere, more sue
cessful than anything which was known
prior to the writing of Martin Chuzzlewit
and the locating of Eden more success
tul than the gold excitements of twenty
years ago, which, while they proved
snares and delusions to thousands, fur.
nished wealth legitimately, at least to a
few. But this diamond swindle is a stu.
pendous success, occurring, as it does,
after every form of organized fraud
was believed to be exploded, and in the
face OF the universal complacency aris-
ing from supposed familiarity with the
geology of the West, and the universal
diffusion Of knowledge concerning the
ways that are dark.
The party to whom belongs the
doubtful honor of originating the
scheme, has the historical name of
Arnold. With the aid of borrowed
money, he bought up in New York a
bushel of worthless diamonds, and a
pint OF 50 900 ones and going to 'ro-
mantle and unfrequented perch in the
RockyNountains, he and his confedrates
buried the gems Just beneath the surface
of the soil, and deposited them in fis-
sures of the rocks. Then a BIOLOGISTS
named Janin, whose testimony as an ex.
pert is worth as much as chemists in
poisoning case. proceeded to thor
ougn investigation of the new Golconda,
and, oddly enough, discovered the
gems. Janln's report was carried by
Arnold to San Francisco, where he
found capitalist named Harpending
guliible enough to give him 100000 for
the discovery. Harpending transferred
an interest 10 William w. Lent, and a
company was organized in the city of
god, at whose head were placed promi-
nent men in New York, including Nc
Clellan and Barlow. The capital stock
was $lO,000,000, and the shares sold on
the Pacific coast for $40. Lent paid to
Arnold and his clique $350,0O0 and the
sums which they received from other
dupes are represented as aggregating
$685., 900, but that is probably an over
estimate. Before the stock was placed
in Eastern market, the company sent
down prospecting party under the di-
IF nauiI n
the geologist Clarence King, in charge
of the United States survey of the for
tieth parallel, and Henry Janin, who led
the way to the tabled mountain, which
proved to be fifty miles south of Black
Butte station in Colorado. The diamond
field was found in an elevated table
land, the north side of which was a pine
clad hill. Janin pointed to other places
where the dirt had been taken from
which the diamonds were washed, and
after fifty six tests, no diamonds were re-
vealed except in bed of sandstone.
Another day was spent in like fruitless
analysis. Janin identified holes here
and there from which he had taken
gems with his own hands, but new dig
gings failed to reveal any stones. Cotton
says in his report: "And to show the
correctness of our tests, placed several
times very small ruby in the dirt each
gentleman worked, and in every in
stance they found the stone, believing
it to be a genuine find until informed
them otherwise"
So the bubble was burst. Janin is
not yet hung for ignorance or fraud, al
though he is in San Francisco; Arnold
Is safely off with his hundreds of thou.
sands Of dollars, and San Francisco is
still swearing over the swindle.-C Chicago
Post.