Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-12-07
EXPERIENCE WITH
\ T|CHEN0R'S GAME
Well Known Mining Expert Tells
About Extracting Gold.
SOME THRILLING EVENTS.
Hpw an Old Process was Expected TO
Produce Enormous Values From
Ores Of Low Grade.

In view Of recent events, the let
ter following by |, NJ, Taylor one OF
the Oldest and most noted mining en-
glneers and metalurgists Of the Pacific
coast, also celebrated In New York and
Washington, viii be of peculiar inter-
est 10 Colorado miners and scientists.
As the facts stated were matters with
which he was officially identified they
may be accepted without question. The
letter was written to q personal friend
In Denver. from whom the Post OBJ
tained IT.
New York, Nov. A.--In 1880 q man by
the name Of Tichenor appeared In
Washington, d. c., and claimed that
he had made the greatest discovery Of
the age one which would In short
time revolutlonlze the money system OF
The world. He claimed that he had
Just discovered natures process for
making gold, or, In other words. he had
discovered process which enabled him
10 extract from gold ore $500 per ton
when the fire essay OF the same ore
showed only from SO to $40 per ton;
and that he could do all this without
Involving extra expense in extracting
the gold.
Strange as II may seem In the light
Of subsequent events Tlchnor had no
trouble In finding many believers In
bis process among the best classes Of
men In Washington, who stood ready
to put up their money In exchange for
an interest In his process-he ali the
time telling them that be had nothing
70 sell which, Of course, made them all
the more anxious TO buy.
The Smithsonian institute was called
upon to Investigate the process. They
rendered q report which was non-com-
INITIAL: evidently they had been "salt-
eq by Tichenor or one Of his associ-
aies' This report had tendency to
Increase the confidence OF the public
In the process,
Then a man named Schaffer, from
NEW York, got an option from Tichenor
agreeing to pay 100000 for the control
III returned to New York and laid the
matter before some leading mining
mn These men agreed TO take II
subject to an examination by their own
expert ] was selected TO make the
examination and instructed to proceed
70 washington Immediately and make
thorough examination and report
without delay
pm my arrival In Washington | found
Tfhenor and two confederaies In a
wei appointed laboratory / handed my
letter Of introduction to Mr. Tlchenor.
wtlch explained my business He in
Wreu IL wished to see test made Of
IN process, | replied that what want
ca frst OF all was his formula. To this
M objected, saying Il was a secret.
pc hnally told me that he used chlor-
id OF gold as a re-agent; that the solv-
en- gold which the ore contained which
IN nre assay would not bring out had
an ahnity for the chloride of gold. BY
u9hg II In the treatment he was able
tgget out all the gold the ore contain
then asked him what amount OF
cYoTlde OF gold he used. He replied,
aHut 400 milligrams TO a pound OF ore.
! hen told him that was all | wanted
toIknow, and walked out Of the labora-
tofy
he manner In which he practlced the
dfeplion was BY Weighing out In your
pHsenee a given number OF milligrams
Of NE chloride OF gold and this you
wduld see him put into the crucible. The
fp ne used In making the assay. how.
eVr ne would have charged with the
cnorlde, which enabled him to show
am Increase he desired above the
amount Of the fire assay.
wrote a letter to the New York par
" and without going into details, told
tmm mat the whole thing was fraud
frm beginning to end; that their own
common sense would tell them II would
be impossible for there TO be anything
III god ore that a chemical analysis
walld not disclose and that anyone
Wa claimed there was, and tried to
MIX others believe It, was a fraud,
tlhg to play on the oredulity OF the
pwllc Tor the purpose OF making money
by premedltated swindle.
tom Washington went to Califor-
MI thinking / had heard the last OF
IN Tlchenor swlndle. At the end OF
fmee months | returned 10 New York
an 70 my surprise found that TIche-
nj mad successed In convincing my
frfnds that his process was all he
ciilmed for Il, and that they he'd in
cglotaied a company with q capital OF
slvwOOO and had applied for patent
on the process. What they claimed in
thfr application for a patent was so
unreasonable the patent Once refused
20 grant a patent. Sherman was at
tmt time secretary of the treasury and