Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1892-02-12
THE RUBY AND SAPPHIRE
MINES.

uO HbSiioh ptoiIotoIb OTOuSI
out last November the Grub
and Sapphire" mines of Montan,
with as great sounding of trum
pets and tlnkling Of bells as eve
attended the birth of squalllp,
mining brat. For months th
London press had contained skill
fully written accounts of the grea
gem riches of this newly discover
ed land of promise, which wer,
calculated to excite the imagina-
ton and awaken cupidlty sufficen
to cause shelling out of the
sheckles of the dear people, whel
the chance was offered them This
was all merely preparatory. II
was simply plowing the field for
the golden harvest.
At last the scheme was launched
in the good old time honored way.
simultaneously in about sixty
journals in the Kingdom the ad-
vertisement was thrown to the
wind, requesting subscriptions to
the stock. The list of subscribers
to the founders shares embraced
the names ct dukes and earls and
lords of high and low degree, and
men whose gilded station was ex-
pected to catch British confidence
and suckers gold. Tracy, Blanche
and Sweetheart, and all the rest Of
the brood of pups belonging to the
"incorruptible" newspaper gang
pulled the concern with fulsome
hattery. For the time being they
all joined in the popular Lond ID
sport of promoting schemes = for
pay. One could not help being
reminded of the remark of
celebrated and square lecturer In
the London School Of Mines dead
dozen years sgo-who used to
say, Gentlemen there are three
classes of liars in this world; Let,
the ordinary or common liar; I'd,
the sangulnary liar, and 3D., the
greatest of all, the average mining
promoter" All three classes were
engaged IN boosting the Ruby and
Sapphire concern.
1t attracted more attention and
was watched with more interest
than anything brought out for
years. Public interest IN invest
ments was dead, and everybody |
said this will test whether 1t is
possible to awaken it now. The
scores of promoters who are wait
ing for the turn wers deeply inter
ested in the result. The horde of
Americans with schemes who hang
around Russell and Bedford
were on the ragged edge
of eager expectation. If this
caught the public, it was evidence
that the turn had come, and the
time was ripe for them to float
their little barks.
The day following the opening
of the books for subscribers the
London papers announced that
the entire capital had been SUBJ
scribed for. Officers of the com
pany gave out the same announce
ment, and they gave out lie.
One of the square men in the
who had been inveigled
INTO it, gave the editor of the In
iustry the private information that
,nly $500 shares had been taken.
The whole blanket concern was a
patch work of lies.
The truth about the Ruby and
Sapphire mines of Montana is that
he gravel does carry sapphires,
Is has been known In Denver for
,yer dozen years. But jewelers.
lere know that they are so badly
81 color that they have scarcely
my value as gems. They are .
greenish brown, greenish
fellow and pure white, Prof. j.
Alden Smith, former State Geolo-
,lst of Colorado, has owned a
transparent one for years. Mr.. 9
the lspidary of Denver, :
las cut many stone from there, {
nd we venture the assertion that
Ie never cut or saw a first rate gem /