The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1910-01-01
Mine That Has Been Dressed
For Examination Not So
Easy To Detect

| hamptOnfe magazine COmoo sh -ts
January number with an article tracing
the history Of the mining engineer and
showing his Importance in the develop
ment Of modern mining. The article is
by Eugene p. Lyle. Jr., who has spent
the greater part Of the past year inves-
tigating conditions in the mines OF this
country. Speaking Of the mining engi-
neer's troubles. he says:
Harder to detect than sailing Is a
mine that is dressed for examination.
This means that on each level b vein
is purposely and cunningly dug away.
exposing q rich streak. This the ensi
neer cannot fail to examine. II he Is
not on his guard, he gets much higher
results than the mine warrants. Oave-
ms, piles Of waste and so forth are used
to conceal abandoned workings. which,
IL seen by the engineer. would reveal
that the vein at such places had either
pinched out or been worked out.
Sat the Broken Hill mine in Australia
an engineer was deceived in this way.
His client had an option on the property
but the owners struck it rich and did
not wish to sell at the price in the con-
tract. The new working was concealed
so cleverly that the engineer, though an
able man, was deceived. He got only
low grade samples, and advised against
IL ------ Tt.A wntrA h q atn0a nrn-
duced 100. 900, 900 ounces of silver.
"John Hays Hammond tells a story
Of his younger days that is pertinent.
"He was sent to examine q mine
owned by Jews in q northern county OF
California. 1t was intimated to him be-
fore he started that if he made an I'M
favorable report he would never come
out alive. He arrived, and, from the
isolated situation of the mine, perceived
that it would be q very easy matter to
carry out the threat. He was, how.
ever, received most heartily and enter
tanned at a big dinner by the owners.
Then he went to work. He was given all
facilities for doing the sanpling behind
a bulkhead, which removed the possibil.
ity of any intrusion. No one, it seem.
ed, could tamper with the ore while he
was sampling it. The owners laid great
emphasis on their enabling him to do
this sampling with every fairness. They
thought him q green youngster. But,
unperceived by them, he contrived to
take some samples of his own and as
sayed them. He found that they did
not correspond with the samples that he
had taken with their knowledge.
"He said nothing, however, but sug.
gested that the samples be milled; this,
he knew, was exactly what the owners
wanted. So the ore was ground fine in
the mill, and proved to be very rich.
Hammond showed the proper enthusi'
asm, but, he said, their mill man,
though q good raan, was not gotting all
the values out. He proposed sending
the samples away to be milled ovel
again. The owners looked worried. but
they could not reasonably object. sc
Hammond sent the samples away by
express, and followed himself a few
days later.
"At his leisure he extracted $4,000 in
| gold from the samples. This $4,000 was
pure salt The mine owners had sifted
that much gold into their samples
Hammond's own sample ran almosl
nothing. He saved the salt ant
charged it to expenses. The rascal
later threatened to suit, but Hammond
merely replied that he wished they
would sue him. They never did,"