Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-08-14

THE CLEAR STEAL or A MILLION.
How Diamonds were sown with ot-Guns La
the Hills OF Arizona.
lChicago Herald,


lChicago Herald,
In 1871 two rough-looking prospectors
walked into the Bank sf California and
asked for Mr.. Ralston, the cashier and Lead
Ing spirit of the bank. They had 'wo little
buckskin bags. which they said contained
something, and they did not know exactly
what IL was. One Of the bags they said
they believed had diamonds in the rough,
bnl The other they said they did not "know
what kind OF a id stone It was. They
mouf te carpets.v l,astln laughed az the
idea Of diamonds" bGt he asked to see
them. There was about half q pint of black,
dirty looking cr5stals. RANGING IN size from
pea TO a haze.nut. The other bag hai dark
biOod.rCd stones that We're promptly pro-
nounced Arizona "caqnes" by ihc erea,
banker, and cast aside as worthless. He
told The Jrospect1Ts 10 leave the bag with
the black crystals. and he would have them
examined by cypcIts. lie did so. proies-
scr lie Conie. the geolOgist Of the Universe
tv Of California, pronounced them dia-
monds. So did Professor Janin, the best
mining expert in san Francisco. Shreye
and otter leading jewellers all agreed thcf
were diamonds. Shreye had one partially
cut. and il revealed Il beautiful white stone.
The question then arose: " Where did they
come from 7" I!slsion was greatly cX.
cited. He called in sharon and even took
u. o. Mills into hls confidence. The two
prOspectors gave their names rs William
Arnold and Isaac W. Slacs. and said thrv
had been prospecting in Arizona. Utah,
and Wyoming. aud they had found these
stones in one Of the regions named. but
refused TO say Just where. They said. how
ever, that there were ''bgShes" OF the
same kind left. The diamond fever grew,
and finally RaistOn. Sharon. Nicholas LII
ming, great san Francisco capitalist;
William VI. Lent. s. l.. VI. Barlow. OF New
York; George IL. Roberts. the present
postal-telegraph man; Michael Reese. the
great Jewish millionaire; and several
others formed syndicate and agreed 10
take the diamond-felds at Sl.000. 200.
provided the representations OF Arnold and
Slack were verified by experts. Meantime
the other little bug OF specimens was sub.
mitted 20 tests and found TO contain genuine
rubles. Some were sent to New York TO
be cut, and were found to be genuine
stones. These were said to come from the
same "ields."
"When they had the bargain drawn up
in black and white and So 900 pud ~
earnest moncy, Arnold and Slack revealed
secretly 10 Ralston The location Of thefind,
and o1crC d TO pilot three OF the banks own
experts 10 the ground One morning IN
april, 1872, four disguised figures crcpt
down IN the dawn 70 the Oakland ferry.
They were Arnold. George u. ROBBERS,
Henry Janin, and George Hearst. bnin
was the most accomplished geOlo-ist and
mining engineer in the city. aud Roberts
and Hearst were, and are yet, the best prac-
teal miners IN California. The party took
the cars and Arnold pioted them TO Green
river, Wyoming Territory. There they
left the train, got mules and an am
hulsncc, and struck for the Green
River Mountains, forty-1ve miles south
OF the railroad. They were on the
ground n week. The diamond field
did not seem 10 be more than fifty acres In
extent, and was AZ the base Of low range
OF barren red sandstone bills. They found
diamonds in the greatest quantities scat
tered about in the low beds Of dry gravel.
They dug down and found them ia groups
OF six and eight. They were all greatly cX.
cited except Arnold. When, at the end Of
q week, they prepared to leave, they had
more than 4 quart OF diamonds and rubio.
Of all sizes. Well, when they rot back
to Snn Francisco the town was ailamc.
A company was n once organized |
with S3,000,000 capital. The million |
dollars TO pay Arnold and Slack was AL |
Nauced by kalston, and in part made good |
by the syndicate. Roberts, LunIng, Lent, |
Ralston, and Sharon each put in 100000, |
and Barlow made up pool in New YORK. |
to take s250,00O more. Then the public |
began TO clamor for the stock. but so con- |
fdent were the promoters OF the scheme /
that they had new Golconda that they !
locked the stock up in the Bank Of Cali |
fOrnia sud refused to let share 20 out. |
Arnold and Slack took their money and |
LETT the coast. Arnold got $4,000 in |
cash. lie went 10 ElizabotEtown. Ky., !
bought magnificent farm and settled |
down. Slsck went to Europe and was I!
never heard OF again.
"Clarence King, the United States gc0lo. |
gist. had made survey of that region End |
the exact spot in which the |
were slid to be found. lie |
knew it was not a diamond country. lie |
suspected fraud. Anyhow his reputation I
as q geological surveyor was ut stake. and |
be went to examine il quietly by himself. |
A weeks close study revealed the whole |
truth, and in an elaborate report he |
showed how the ground bad been saltcd, |
md even The mechanical appliances used. |
He found few OF the diamonds I
and unhesitatingly declared them OF /
The same character rs the stones |
from South Africa. An investigation /
and in Z few months the |
whole truth came out happening had |
PIT up the Job and had supplied Ar
mold and Slack with the money 70 carry It |
out. The latter bought in London $4,000 |
worth OF rough diamonds and $1O. 600 worth
Of common rubies. They picked them up
lt odd times aud IN odd lots. and Arnold |
,muggled them into the country by the way
Di Quebec. Slack. who had been in South
Africa. selected the feld-aud Clarence
King said the immediate region was we'll
selected, tOO-nnd together they planted
hem, pOking ;hcm down one by one with
,lim steel rods. They also scattered some
nlo gravcl-bank with n shotgun. and il
yns tins last method that King detected by
lie powder stains.
"The company burst up at once. and
Ralston and the rest set about recovering
portion Of the money. Lent and Roberts
lunted up Arnold, in Kentucky. and Il
Mas said 10y some he gave up portion OF
he money, but others affirm that be never
iid. Several suits were begun, and not long
ftcr Arnold was murdered d in local quar-
e II was a clean steal Of about q million
.ollars."