Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1913-06-27
A BIG COLD BRICK
The Trap That Ieruegan BaItet
With Salt Sea Water.
SCHEME OF A CLEVER ROGUE

The Smooth swindler and His Accom-.
piice Showed How Easily rhsy couls
Extract Gold From the ooean--Flssc.
ed Their pupes and Then Deeanpod
Various inventors have been workin,
for years on the theory that there g.
plenty OF gold In sea water II onl,
some process Of extraction could be de
veloped.
Some years ago the Rev. Prescott J
Jernegan was the salt water wizard OF
the hour. From the day his bubble
burst aud he left for Europe nobod,
seems to know what has become o.
him. Jernegan, who posed rs a clergy
man. and c. L. Fisher, once floor
walker in a New York department
store and before that a diver. got to
gether In the fall Of 1896 and for I,
whole year carefully considered th,I
problem OF extracting gold from sal
water. Il is true, their whole field
Thought conpassed the use Of salt wa
ter as an accessory only, the real ma
terial from which the gold was to b,
extracted being the American people.
Very artistically Jernegan, to whom
was left the matter Of publicity. per
mitted some vague rumors to leak out
"A leading clergyman had marvel
Gus money making device. The wori(
was soon to be stunned by q fact tha
would make the possessor OF the orig
inaI secret SO rich that all the multi
millionalres would he paupers in com
parlson." When they had stirred VI
public curiosity lernegan and Fisher
went to New England and there set vi
some mysterious machinery.
On Narragansett bay was an old hall
dismantled wharf. and at the sea enc
Of this the two erected a cheap fran,
shaDty about S by 10 In size. with 6
square hole cut through the door ant
looking directly down into about fifteel
feet of water IN electric wire from
small battery was run along the pil
ing Of the wharf and attached to Il
mysterious box. with heavy iroI
clamps md holes all through to per
nit OF free passage of the water bach
and forth.
Finally the great secret was divulged
These two men had discovered a way
Of taking all the gold they wanted from
the salt water at a cost so tri1int
that it was ridiculous to mention 1t
Two wealthy persons, one Provi
dence jeweler and the other New
York florist. were approached by Jer
negan with what seemed to be sucf
a trustful and childlike proposal that
they both embraced it eagerly. 1t wat
that. all his apparatus being ready fol
experiment they would come to tn,
shanty on the wharf prepared to e
through a nights vigil and witness ths
result. accompanied by any scientific
friends they cared to bring along.
The idea, as outlined by Jernegan
was to send a current into pan Of
mercury held within the box, the recep
taele then being sent to the bottom OF
the sea and drawn up after severa
hours. when It would be found thar
the mercury had absorbed gold from
the ocean.
When the night Of the experiment
came the box was prepared in the
shanty. two chemists. friends of tbs
capitalists bringing their own mercury
with them The box was lowered X
the bottom. and then the party Of five
began their wait Soon after daylight
Jernegan announced that 1t was time
70 draw the box up again. This was
done. and the whole party eagerly sci
to work to find out whether any gold
had been received When the chemists
announced that gold to the value Of
Sl4 was found mixed with the quick
silver all were stunned by the discov
cry and realized at once the vast pos
sibilities in more extensive operations
the original experiment having beer
practically made with toy apparatus
The story spread like wildiire, and
the modest Jernegan was prevailed
upon TO organize company. Stock
was sold. and after getting possession
Of thousands Of dollars the promoter
sailed away TO Europe. The success OF
the great experiment was explained
afterward Fisher, the diver. had gone
out from the shore in his diving suit |
opened the box and. taking out the
mercury that had been brought by the
chemists, substituted vial of his own
that had been strongly lmpregnated
with gold.