Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-11-21
TRICKS OF ASSAYERS.
A Chemist Relates Some Experi-
ence3 in His Business.


ence3 in His Business.
All Visitors Regarded as Knaves-How
sampie-Owners Try to Obtain
Fraudulent Certificates-The
Gabriel Sword Swindle.
"Pardon me, sir, we allow no one in that
room but the assayers." looked at the
speaker with an expression of injured in
nocence, writes a correspondent of the New
York Mail AID Express. He was the member
Of the great firm of chemists whose certif-
cate as to the output of mine would be
worth a fortune if favorable "Sorry to
offend you, sir, he continued. "but we as
sumo that every man who comes here is a
knave"
This aroused ny curiosity, ard improved
the first opportunity to ask an expert as
sayer to explain these mlsanthropic senti-
ments. DIR. Ledoux, famous chemist con-
nected with the firm mentioned above, sat
isfied me that they were well founded. =" We
can hardly trust our own senses he said.
Il have known a sample Of ore TO yield a
heavy percentage of geld when its owner
was present at the test and none at all
when he was absent How can that be.
Well, in this instance saw nothing wrong,
but recently was conducting an assay in
the presence of the owner OF the sample
and noticed that he was chewing tobacco
very vigorously and also going 20 the assay
furnace to expectorate into the fire. Watch
ing him narrowly l saw him spit into the
crucible, and, seizing him by the throat,
/ forced out Of his mouth the tobacco and
along with it q quantity Of gold dust, which
ne was attempting to get into the crucible-
this was to make his assay run high 1t
would require very little gold thus added
TO an C1rce of ore TO make a difference
of many hundreds of dollars per ton in the
result.
"The most singular attempt at swindle
which we have ever come across was in
connection with 'Uabriers Sword You
may remember that n the month of May,
( 1888, the papers in Ulster ana Sullivan COun-
ties and the New York daily papers were
widely excited over a most remarkable dis
covery back of Kingston, n. y. y strange
sword had fallen from the skies and had
been discovered in the town of Rochester,
! Ulster County.
"Some time in July following. a long
haired individual came into our Office stag
gering under the weight of n box seven
feet long with cross piece near one end
about two feet in length. He asked if we
would assay any thing. and on being as
sured that we would, pulled out 4 screw
driver and carefully unscrewcd his box, cut
OF which he took a sword. II was curious
weapon nearly seven feet long and sc heavy
that could scarcely lift the point from the
! ground with one hand by taking hold of the
handle. 1t was covered with Hebrew or
Phoenecian characters apparently, and COW
cred with rude figures of men and animals.
This marking was only apparent where the
rust with which most of the weapon was
heavily corroded had been rubbed off.
"The man said that he was the discoverer
Of this strange sword, and was exhibiting
ii about the country; that some unbelevers
had scofTed at his statements that II came
from spiritual world, aud that he desired
US TO make an assay Of it 10 prove that il
was genuine. lie stated further that on
/ It's appearance and ring when it was struck
one would naturally take il to be steel, but
that he had been in times past a blacksmith,
and was samiiar with metals, aud that il
was his opinion that it was a cOEipound-sf
silver and iron, and asked me whether such
an alloy was not uncommon.
/ told him ycs, of course, when he tri
umphantly added: Now, want YOU to as
say this sword and give me a certificate
! that it is neither iron nor steel but an alloy
containing silver, and ] want You to say on
| your certificate that such an alloy is no;
used in this world for such purposes and
would not have the hardness. flcxibility
and other characteristics which this sword
| possesses
L was interested and amused, and agreed
10 make the test The old man seemed anx
! ious not to mutilate the weapon, and il was
agreed that we should file off portion from
| q place where il was particularly rusted
md f1,N I I
| it was nothing but steel, and was most in
tensely surprised wheR our assayer brought
up large silver button which he had ob
tanned from the filings. The old man was
triumphant, but was at once on my guard
as scented a swindle. 1t was, of course
possible to coat the surface with a silver so
| luton which would dry on and produce the
result which we found, and refused 10 give
| him certificate without a further test
He readily acquiesced in this, and said thai
| he had rather anticipated such q request
| and proposed that he should file the end o.
| the cross-bar, calling my attention to tn,
| fact that one end was about half an mel
longer than the other, and that the cross
| bar and sword were undoubtedly forged ou
of the same piece of metal, so that what wa:
true Of the composition of the bar was true
/ of the sword. This l agreed to, and the
| Cuu was lltu OA IL dppcdTcu 70 Dt
simply a cube of soft iron or steel, heavily
rusted on five sides, and bright and homo
] geneous where cut by the file. Now.
said my client, ''you tell your man 10 pu
| this in the crucible and / will abide by tn,
result" In spite of the appearance of tn,
piece of metal our assayer was instructed
TO take cold chisel and cut il in two anC
assay the two halves separately. To ou1
intense astonishment he brought the twI
portions upstairs, showing us, concealed il
the middle, plug of silver surrounded OF
all sides by the steel or iron. The whole
thing was at once plain! The old man, o.
some one, in manufacturing the sword haC
bored hole through one end of the cross
bar and plugged it up with silver, so tina
it did not show. He had probably invent
ed the me eoric story. We, of course, de
clined to give him certificate of the su
pernatural origin Of the weopen, which h,
had undoubtedly made himself, and he de
parted.
'The men we most fear are the new proc
ess' characters who profess to be able 4
find gold or tin or OF her metal in the mos
unlikely rocks by secret means of theI
own. They come to us for certificates ant
always insist on being present when thei
process is tried. Sometimes they will salt
the sample or put gold into the crucible il
spite of the greatest HYatchfulness.n