The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-15
AMATEUR ALCHEMISTS.
How Two Capitalists were Imposed
Upon by a Hungarian Gentleman.
Their Belief that They Had Discovered a
Process to Transmute Baser Metals
Into Gold.

Yesterday afternoon Journal reporter met
an elderly acquaintance at the DenisOn House.
"Pve had something on my mind for about three
weeks that think ought to be told. There's
moral goes with the story, but don't furnish
that, only the story. 1 remember that incident
of Tom Ryan and the copper mine copied into
the Journal to-day from the Washington Repub-
liean It's all true He tried nearly every capt.
talist in Indianapolis, the Fletchers, Mr. Atkins.
Mr.. Malott, Judge Martindale. DR.. Allen and
others-placed his plans before them, but
not a man would touch it. They were all sore
when they found out too late that the copper
mine that they could have bought for $4,000
afterward went for more than million. But to
my story. little more than month ago a
gentlemen came here to the Denison House-at
least met him here He was Hungarian; q
man of medium height, wore his hair, which,
like his beard was black as a ravens wing,
quite long, while his whiskers, that curled beau
tlfully, were neatly trimmed. His skin was of
olive hue, his nose hooked, and his age about
forty years. He was a delightfully."- smooth
and ready talker, being complete master of
English, though he spoke il with decidedly for
elgp accent. He went, soon after his arrival,
to Dun IL Co.'S agency, and stating that he had
an enterprise in which he might desire to inter
est number of capitalists, was furnished with
the names and rating of several of those amiable
and interesting gentlemen. He represented him
self as chemist, and opened out his plan with
as much seeresy as a dealer in counterfeit coin.
He had round the secret hunted for through sew
eral centuries. and could transmute metals to
gold The few citizens he approached were too
shy to entertain his propositions, and he did not
even unfold them; but he got two elderly gentle
men interested don't lock at me that way; Tn
not one of 'em) and renting an upstairs room
lined tanks, curious-shaped bottles. cIucibles,
retorts, alembics etc, so that IL looked like the
lar OF a medieval alchemist. He had the room
Fixed up like an Illicit medicine, secure from OBJ
servatlon,' and everything was altogether mys-
FERROUS. He didn't show the capitalists his hand
until the room was ready Then he brought
them there and showed his apparatus which of
course impressed them. He told them he had
come here from New York with only little more
than hundred dollars. He could not under
take to do what he wanted to do there He
could transmute metals into gold, had spent his
Ire and fortune in acquiring the secret and If
he did not know tn at he could do what he prom
lsed he would commit suicide, life
was not worth having any longer. He impressed
my friends with his earnestness. At the labOra-
tory he took two $50 gold pieces, 50. so in sll yer
ana chemicals which he said cost $50, in all, as
be represented total value of $40. so, and with
TINS he proposed to make 1920 in gold.
Indeed, he told the two amateur alchemists
that they themselves might put the material in
the cruclble. He would stand at the other side
OF the room and they could make the gold them
selves He explained to them that the gold and
Jected TO the potent influences of compound
gases for the purpose of reVivifying their molec-
ular energies. This did not show by any ex-
ternal change in the coin. but the molecular
transition had, he said, nevertheless taken
place.
"They put the gold, silver and chemical COM
pound into the crucible and in a little while
poured out nugget which. he said, was &C
tually gold. with trace of silver, and worth
nearly 1920
my old friends were very much excited.
Ihey made a nasty calculation and thought
they saw 100000 day clear proftt-if they
worked hard at the melting pot $4,000 But
they suspected the chemical compound; it might
be hocussed and so furnish the additional gold
in the nugget. The amiable Hungarian smiled
and gave them portion of the chemical to have
analysed. They had it done, and there wasn't q
trace of the valuable metal in it.
On finding the strangers word thus confirmed
thew We're eager to close with him, but they
restrained their ardor and asked a few more ques-
tons. They wanted TO know if he could trans
mute metals into gold why did he need silver
and, above all, why did he need gold to assist in
the transmutation. Easily explained. He said
that he had discovered that gold was not, as
chemists held, an element. Nothing of the kind;
1t was compound. He had discovered ali the
ingredients that 20 to make up the compound
called gold, except one, and that had partially
to be supplied by gold itself and D little silver
both being requisite to supply that want.
He had nearly sleneed every doubt. aud the
capitalists were about to invest when, for some
reason, the Hungarian got frlghted and skipped
the town, and they were thus undoubtedly saved
from beng the dupes of clever scoundrel
as ever walked in shoe leather. l asked a scien-
titic friend of mine how he supposed the Hun
garian managed the thing as my friends I'M
doubtedy rolled out the nugget His idea was
that it was done by clever sleght-of-hand, or
that the silver pieces might havebeen filled with
gold, though that wouldn't account for all the
gold turned ont of The nugget. or course it was a
swindle, and am surprised that two such old,
acute and l0ng-headed financers should have
so Barrowly escaped being taken in. Pm not
quite sure he didn't get money enough Of them
to pay his hotel expenses while here, at least.
Ir were TO give you the names of the gentle
men who wanted to go into the manufacture of
gold, you wondnt-but, by joye, will give 'em
to you, but you mustn't publish 'em."
When the reporter heard the names he tum-
bled in fit, and has just recovered sufficiently
to be able to write the foregoing.