El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-01
Il pAso DAILY HERALD. FRIDAY. FEBRUARY !. 1901.

ing a careful description of the extreme
precautions which they had observed
to prevent their samples from being
tempered with or sailed. On these re-
ports the veteran mine owners paid
more than a million dollars to the
agent of the original owners. This
money was placed on deposit in one of
the California banks and the new own
ers took possession of the property.
Had they delayed pushing operations
at the mine results would have been
far different. They moved quickly.
however. and soon discovered that in
some way either the mine or the sam
pies had been heavily sailed. Then ac-
ton was taken to secure the purchase
money at the bank. This brought to
| light the fact that the major share of
the funds had been removed to Europe.
However. sum amounting to COM
| Portable fortune was still in the pos
session of the banking institution and
was recovered.
When too late the experts realized
| that a score of cigarettes well loaded
with gold dust and smoked above
buckingboard on which samples are be-
ing ground is an excellent substitute
| for a shotgun as a means of artist
sailing. In fact the cigarettes must
be considered as far superior to the
shotgun as the amount of gold dust
to be dropped into the samples by this
method is capable of being much more
delicately graduated than by the crud
er implement. AS very slight var
iatiOn of the proportion of gold found
in a small sample means an immense
fluctuation in the value of ton of ore,
it will readily be realized that the dan
ger of oversalting is very great and
that the men who employ this method
of swindling are quite likely to betray
their fraud by OVERRIDING their work.
l recall one other instance of at
tempting to salt samples by the
agency of dust concealed in ashes. 1T
occurred at Leadville. 1t was suspect
ed that the ore seller and the assayer
were working in collision and a secret
watch was set upon their movements.
The detective was Shrewd enough to
notice that the grinder allowed the
samples. The pipe was seized and
found to be well loaded with gold
dust.
One of the most ingenious and sue
cessful cases of socalled mine sailing
which now recall was worked in con-
nection with the sale of a property To-
Gated in Alaska. By some hook or
crook the miner with the doubtful
property on hand secured from
workman in the employ of rich mine
near by a core" taken from dia-
mond drill working in the rich proper
ty. OF course this core was full OF
rich ore. 1t was showed into the bar
rel of the drill in the neighboring
mine The expert who was making the
examination for prospective purchaS-
ers took out this core. assayed IL, and
naturally reached the conclusion that
he had come upon mine as valuable
as the other. The purchase was made
and his principals paid several hum
dred thousand dollars.
The examination of the Ell Orc mine.
at Tultenango, Mexico for which some
81. 100000 was paid. was an example OF
this kind. The mine was examined by
fully five experts. all men of interna-
tional reputation. and all making sep
arate and distinct reports, without any
knowledge of what any other expert
had done or was doing. Upon that re-
port the mine was sold and bought.