The silver lance., 1898-02-25

fGNT and sometimes 1t
~ Is . diamond mine.
Around the newly-found gold mine IL
beard the old story of the dying Mexi-
.an, who attempted To reveal the site.
but died In the attempt. This gives
the local coloiing;;' the schemers
send out prospectors who zig hoie
und secretly bring valuable ore tro"
q genuine slsne aua bury 1t. When the
gold ore y aug up the richness OF the
mine is proved--to the satisfaction OF
tAe Western svcstor, and he buys the
hole fo the ground. After this scheme
has heen worked a while there Is
Iull aad when the robbers have been
forgotten by the public new lost
Mexican mine is discovered. The same
old game u now being played in the
Mojare Desert. for the benefit a. tbs
wise men of the East. many of whom
seem to believe that gold grows az
the flowers that bloom in the s,-ing
The false reports of these schemins
bunco men bring out number of
prospectors, restless mining men VINO
are ever hunting for the rich fields
which, like the mirage they often see
in their wanderings, is ever beyond.
iASy ~ a06o dioh6 S'CA thC SAANS
trackless desert and when thei- provis-
ions are exhausted they sink from ex-
haustion, thirst and hunger and die On
She burning sands.
These false reports have whitenec
the desert with the bones of thol sands
OF prospectors, besides causing the
financial ruin OF many TOO con iding
investors. One Of the most gigantic
81 hemes ever perpetrated in the far
West was the Great Diamond Swim
die" of quarter of a century ago. Il
| was hatched In San Francisco. with a
portion of the plot in Kentucky. TIE
Sau Francisco conspirators secured ,is
aid of a Kentucky gentleman" on7
Colonel Harpending." Some of them
purchased in London few bushels OF
crystals from the South Africa dia-
mond fields. and. under the guise OF
prospectors, visited remote portion
of the desert. The expedition was con-
Sucted secretly and at night these dia-
monds were planted" in district oi
| several acres.
The schemers returned. located tho
land as mining and mineral lands ans
then kept quiet for several months.
Finally they sent out prospect
Ing" expedition to uncover the stuff.
as detectives would say.
Reports of the discovery of Diamonds
In the sands of the desert soon reached
| San Francisco. The conspi-ators
shrewdly circulated the reports, vel
pretended that they knew nothing OF
| tho facts. Specimen finds were exhlh
tied by experts and reported to be ni
| the "purest rays" The city was thrown
| into a fever of excitement and spacul,-
zion ran high. Many sold their mining
| properties at a sacrifice. thus bearing
| the market and running others anu
many mortgaged real estate and ho tsea
| In order to buy stock in the diamond
Aelds.' Millionaire spectators ac-
| companied some Of the spectators to
| The fields, and with a spade they bur.
| rowed r. the sands and turned up dia.
| mones. So plentiful were they that
nv digging with a pocket knife dia-
monds were found. Some of these wert
worth from $1Oo to $500 each. They
mad been carefully planted and locat~
| ed by t.~s conspisators, and these oc-
| Asional rich finds led to the belief that
there must be many others One man
| Snearthed about a quart of these crys-
| tails. greatly resembling diamonds, and
among them were several genuine
stones. There could be no doubt about
| that-the millionaire's own expert was
| Oh she ground and sew the diamonds
nkcN from the eai,h and pronounced
shsm to be without flaw.
| but the expert and the millionaire
we've both deceived--as to how the dia-
| n,onds came to be there. The million
aires took $4,000 worth OF stock. On
their return to San Francisco the OK
eitsment grew into frenzy. Even the
late w. C. Ralston then cashier of the
| Bank of California, was victim. 1t
II believed that he invested 100000
Finally there was a quarrel among
the eonspirators as to an equitable di-
vision, fer there is no such thing q
honor among a certain class. The
diamond bubble burst, the conspiracy
was exposed. In the meantime the
sKentucky colonel was "suddenly
called East" He Lad invested about
e100. 900 in a new Kentucky home and
had purchased all tile lands adjoining
and was preparing tn enjoy himself as
q feudai lord. Lawyers and detectives
were sent on 70 interview the colonei
amid his palatial surroundings and
they finally induced him to disgorge
porsfon of the money.
Some Of the California conspirators.
however, corsd not be forced to- dis
gorge, as they worked somewhat in
the background. They, however. svon
left for New York where I few OF the I'll
yet remain, working their Calisurp.s
. mining stack on a grllibie Puhar