The San Francisco call., 1898-08-14

not far distant. The soundings showed the depth of water between the wharf and the island to be from seven to nine feet. An insulated wire or cable was laid along the bottom, connecting the wharf with the island. When We were on the island 1 discovered that Fisher plan was to follow the wire under water and by the aid of his diving suit reach the wharf, where he was to manipulate some of the apparatus at the bottom Of the bay against the wharf.
 I also discovered that little SXl0 house of boards had been constructed on the end Of the wharf for Jernegan's use in making the alleged geographical survey. Thar Is the way he explained it. Fisher was successful in following the wire to and from the bottom or the wharf, under water, even without lifeline, I remaining on the island un- til he made the trip. As l remember fifteen minutes.
 What are you up to, anyway" l exclaimed as he came out of the water in his diving suit, surmounted by a tank of compressed air, which he wore on his back.
 submarine trip he exclaimed:
 We are going to make gold. Jerne- gan is to have two men here. They will stay in that hut on the wharf over night and watch the process. There is a fortune in it for us. It will t.stonish the world. These capitalists are going to furnish their own chemicals and place them in the water themselves, while Jernegan will supply the battery connected with the submarine recepta- cle for getting goll from the sea-
 He further explained that platinum wires were connected with the appa ratu~ making it easy to abstract the l which held the precious metal in solu- tion. It all seemed marvellous. At first I could scarcely believe the thing pos sible, but on further explanation the operation appeared simple and plausi- ble
 On the following day the capitalists arrived, registered at the City Hotel in Providence d that afternoon they went to the wharf, where they re- mained over night in the little house. The quicksilver which they had brought with them was deposited in the sub marine tank before t was lowered into the sea Then the current was turned on from Jernegan's battery, while the capitalists watched the operations, silently and in wonder. These men sat there all night waiting in bitter cold in February for the gold to accumulate in the box. These confiding gentlemen supposed to be shrewd business men when they dropped their own honest quicksilver into the square lead-lined box little dreamed that Fisher the diver, would come around later walk ing on the bottom of the sea, and empty their quicksilver into the water, replacing 1t with some doctored mer- curry of his own, well saturated with gold.
 I was told subsequently, by Jernegan himself that on the following morning. Yny11eV how hot, ,%sa6 out of the water, it was found that the mercury had eaten through the lin- ing of the box and some of it had dis appeared into the sea. Enough, how ever remained to show the value of the alleged experiment.
 To still further aid the demonstra- ton, Jernegan slipped little Califor- mia nugget, which he had been wear ing as a scarf ornament, into the quick silver, to be dissolved.
 This greatly added to the yield of gold from the salt water of tho sea. The contents of the box were then given to an assayer who made his analysis, while the capitalists waited in the reception-room.
 The assayer's report made the yield about $4 50-a fairly good nights work for a little box in the bottom of Mar ragansett Bay with only an ordinary battery to do the mining and abstract the gold from the sea water.
 The capitalists were not only satis- fled, but amazed at the result, and said they were willing to put up handsomely for building machinery on a large scale that would take gold by the car load out of the sea.
 As the outlook appeared, Aladdin's lamp and the big diamond mines of the Arabian Nights were not in it with this little chain lightning gold mining apparatus invented by the Rev. P. r. Jernegan Being a good Baptist, he no doubt could get better results from water, either fresh or salt, than any other living man in that part of the country; and he did. .,,o-4is.5 HIS process has
 After congratulations all around the capitalists returned to Middletown, Conn, where they lived. but we re- mained. Tn a few days along came a draft-the amount of the first install-