, 1872-12-19
SWINDLES.
GATH.

The Great Diamond Svvindlc-New
Facts Concerning It-How 1t Was
P1anncd--A Rcar Deposit Of Dta-
nonds in North Ancrica-A - P1ant''
on Sapphires-Triclz OF n Professor
An Attempted SxvindIe with a Cop
per Milne.
Telo Fork tDec 1a) Correspondence Of the Cincinnati
Cd.ettk.
The grent diamond swind1e of California will
probably SO down in history Us ono OF the most
magnificent frauds OF this or any other age.
You have the details Of the exposure in San
Francisco. and have no occasion to go over
them, but there are somo facts about the matter
which have come to my ears and have not been
given to tho public When tho operators first
started their '7plant" they came to New. York
and endcavo1ed to enlist capitalists in this city.
A friend Of mine vas thrown into contact with
them, and from him learned the points. They
wanted half million dollars for their claim. Ho
looked at the diamonds, which appeared to be
genuine, and he was allowed to apply the usual
test Of rubbing with steel files and with emery.
They stood the test, and he offered to put ten
Thousand dollars into the scheme. Another
friend q friend of my friend), came forward,
and, as he had some money to spare, he was
allowed to investigate the business, the twain
were prepared with more files and emery, and
they rubbed moro Of the diamonds.
friend, whom I will call sharploy, happened to
lay hold Of stone that yielded to the hard sub
stances against which it Was brought. Sharpley
tried another side OF it, and again it yielded.
He was handling piece of common crystal, and
not 9 diamond, and his eyes we're beginning to
open. He became inouisitive enough for q son
OF Paul Pry, and the result Of his questioning
Was that he didn't put his money into the specu-
lation: straightway he sought his friend, and
that would have made him 320, 900 stockho1der
in tho great diamond mine Of Arizona.
DISCOVERING TIE FRAUD.
Eharpley talked to him like Dutch uncle,
and with some difficulty induced him to with
difficulty, for sharpieys friend had become as
enthusiastic over the diamonds rs 3 damsel Of
sixteen over her first beau, and was determined
to go in anyhow. He half suspected that Sharp
ley wanted to keep others out SO that he could
when the stock was all taken, he upbraided
sharley for keeping him out. He does not up
braid much now, but, on the contrary, quite the
reverse. When the exposure came ont, he
thought how his !: S2o, GOO had been saved, and
remembered that Sharpley had been tho cause Of
its salvation. he sent basket Of the best
champagne to Sharpley's Office, and it WAS while
drinking glass Of the beverage that it's re-
cipient told me- Of his diamond experience.
fsIt was one OF the best laid plants ever
stumbling On that piece of crystal, might have
been taken in. They tried to explain to me thnt
the crystal got in there by accident, but as they
had previously told mo that every stone In The
knew there WAS lie somewhere. They had
few rubies which they claimed we're found in the
same locality or near them. looked at them,
and was allowed to take one of them to ajeweller,
hauled my encyclopedia and studied up the char
acter Of diamonds and rubies.
III found that the diamond consists Of crys-
tallized carbon, whilo the ruby, sapphire, and all
that class Of gems we're crystallized alunina
Next morning went to one OF the best geolo-
gists in New York, whom I happened to know
we'll and asked him if crystals Of carbon and
a1urnina could be found in the same locality,
"snfoet certainly not WAS his reply. Such
q thing may be possihle, but doubt it very
"sWhat would you say,' asked, IT man
showed you diamond and ruby, and told you
they were found side by side?'
- 7 should ask him i he knew the man that
put them there, aud if he insisted that they
were natural deposit, should change the topic
Of conversation for fear Of saying something to
wound his feelings
s'I left the Professor" continued Sharp1ey !,
Is and made up my mind to have nothing to DO
greatly puzzled. Apart from the statement Of
the geologist, and the discovery Of the crystal
which first caused my suspicious, everything ap~
peared right enough. The parties were respect
good price for their property, or rather for
half of it, IS they only desired to obtain money
to work their claim. They would not reveal the
locality OF tho discovery, as it was upon unsur-
7eyed ground, and they desired the passage Of q
bill by Congress to conirm their title to it. The
mesa. or diamond-bearing ground, was minutely
described, and was very much like the diamond
bearing localities OF Brazil and India. Professor
Janin, scientist CT repute, had been there, and
staked his character on genuineneas of the dis
covery. He WAS sworn to secrecy, in order that
there should be no jumping of tho claim By the
adventurous fellows who abound on the frontier,
and to keep of everybody, in fact, until the