The Charles Mix new era. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1???-1911, 1910-06-24

@
/, lost their lives while experimenting In
the effort 10 make gold. Charles
Johnson and George Minear. both OF
Fairfield. Iowa. experimental with a
process which they had invented after
great labor. Just what the process
was has never been certainly known,
and never will be. X Ii known. how
eser. that II involved In some way the
Use OF the then novel Xrays. At last
seemed To them sure. They
dreamed Of wonderful wealth, OF lives
OF luxury and leisure.
Death In Horrible Form.
The laughter OF incredulous friends
only made them smile to themselves.
so sure we're they that they had dis.
covered the magic secret. They spent
their money to build a laboratory nj
Fairfield. and there they melted their
metals In a crucible behind locked
doors. IL was while carrying the cru
chile filed with the molten metal into
the chamber where they were 10 ap-
ply the x-rays tina one OF them stun.
bsed. Both fell. The liquid poured
ever them. Fortunately. death came
soon and relieved them from the ter.
rifc torture
"Fakfng" In the olden days was
dangerous business. Histories of
alchemy relate the execution OF more
than alchemist who boasted that
be had discovered the great secret.
One OF the most interesting stories
Of alchemy. perhaps, Is that OF Sir
William Ramsey. Sir William thought
he had discovered a process for chang
Ing lithium into copper by the use of
radinm- So certain was he that he
had succeeded that he announced his
discovery" to the scientific world.
He had rightly won a great reputation
N q chemist and scientist. and SO the
world Of science accepted his state.
ment and began to wonder II. after all.
there was not something in the theory
OF transmutation.
Could Not snake Good"
Alas. for the hope OF the "discoy.
erer." All too soon II was proved
that there had been a great mistake
Yet no q ever questioned that Sir
William Was anything but sincere In
his belief that he had learned the
secret
P~aracelsus, the great philosopher.
charlatan and aichemist. labored for
years and finally convinced himself
that be had discovered the elixir OF
life. This concoction he was srre
would insure eternal youth to any one
who drank Il. He was sincere In his
conviction. He took a drink of his
wonderful connection and siraightway
died.
In England. soon after the Norman
conquest. . Jew announced that he
could convert iron into gold and All.
yer. He traded his secret with A
Norman baron. In whose castle he was
s~ncarcerated. for his life. So e~loouent
must he have been In bis description
Of his discovery that the stern noble.
man believed him aud actually n.
lowed him to so his way before irwin
the prOcess- When he did try II and
found that the lump Of Iron remained
iron and did not turn into the lonsed
for gold. old narratives relate that he
lateF Organized m expedition TO 20
70 Palestine. whittier the Jew had
ded. 70 wreak vengeance on the pris.
Oner who had fooled him.
Most famous Of gold makers" per.
haps n history. or 1t least compare.
lively modern history. was Dubois. Al
one time . monk. He deceived Louis
XIII Of France and Cardinal Richelieu
into believing that he had solved the
! great mystery Of alchemy.
chariatan LIVED Long IN Glover.
Before the king and queen and the
cardinal 10 pottered over the crucible
and finally displayed = nugget OF gold
In the bottom Of the vessel. There
was great rejoicing IN the. court. The
king and III the higr di9hltaries We'd
With each other In Teasing Dubois
md making much Of him. Tho Wise
charlatan believed In making ha,
While the sun shone." and carried hi
deception through a. long n possible