Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1913-07-04
A BIC COLD BRICK
The Trap That Iernegan Baitet
With Salt Sea Water.
SCHEME OF A CLEVER ROGUE

The Smooth s,sindler and His Accom-
plies Showed How Easily They couie
Extract Gold From the oeean--Fleee.
ed Their Dupes and Then Deeamped.
Various inventors have been wOrkin,
for years on the theory that there o.
plenty OF gold In sen water If only
some process Of extraction could be de
veloped.
Some years ago the Rev. Prescott
Jernegan was the salt water wizard Of
the hour. From the day his bubbl,
burst and he left for Europe nobody
seems to know what has become q
him Jernegan. who posed as a clergy
man. aud G. Z. Fisher. once a floor
walker IN New FORK department
store and before that a diver. got to
eether in the fall Of 1896 and for .
whole year carefully considered tn,
problem Of extracting gold from sal
wH5er II Is true. their whole field o
thought compassed 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 nFtistically 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 work
was soon to be stunned by fact tha
would make the possessor Of the orig
inal secret 30 rich that all the multi
miilionaires would be paupers in com
parison." When they had stirred VI
public curiosity Jeruegan and Fisher
went to New England and there set NJ
some mysterious machinery.
On Narragansett bay was an old hal
dismantled wharf. and at the sea eut
of this the two erected cheap fran,
shanty about 8 by 10 In size, with &
square hole cut through the floor anC
looking directly down into about fifteel
feet OF water. IN electric wire from
a small battery was run along the pill
ing OF the wharf and attached TO 4
mysterious box. with heavy iror
clamps and holes all through TO per
NIT Of free passage of the water bach
and forth.
Finally the great secret was diyulged
These two men had discovered way
Of taking all the gold they wanted from
the salt water at cost so trifint
that it was ridiculous TO mention II
Two wealthy persons. one a Provi
dence jeweler and the other a New
York florist. were approached by Jer
negan with what seemed to be such
a trustful and childhke proposal thai
they both embraced It eagerly. 1t was
that. all his apparatus being ready fol
experiment. they would come to thu
shanty on the wharf prepared to g,
through a nights vigil and witness thu
result. accompanied by any scientific
friends they cared to bring along
The idea. as outlined by Jernegan
was to send n current into pan OF
mercury held within the box. the recep
tacle then being sent to the bottom OF
the sea and drawn up after severa
hours. when ii 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 tht
capitalists. bringing their own mercury
with them. The box was lowered tc
fha t,ofta,,, aud tbau ft,o ,.o,.tr nf Ave-
began their wait Soon after daylight
Jernegan announced that it was time
to 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
$14 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 wildfire. and
the modest Jernegan was prevailed
upon to organize Il 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 a vial of his own
chat had been strongly impregnated
with gold
Both before and since the Jernegar
fraud many attempts have been made
to extract gold from salt water. some
of them fraudulent, some genuine and
based on scientific grounds that have
nom time to time appealed even tc
deep students. But all so far have
failed dismally. Though traces Of gold
are to be found in salt water, com.
mereial application is practically i'm