Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1913-01-24
A BIC COLD BRICK
The Trap That Jernegan Baitee
With Salt Sea Water.
SCHEME OF A CLEVER ROGUE

The Smooth swindler and His Accom-
piice Showed How Easily They couie
Extract Gold From the oeean--Fleee.
ed Their Dupes and Then oeesmpsd.
Various inventors have becu working
for Years on the theory thri there l.
plenty Of gold IN zen Vi sr II onl,
some process Of extiae ion could be de
veiopcd
Some years age the l,ev. Prescott
Jernegan was the s;'li .uter wizard o.
the hour From the day his bubbl,
burst and be left for Europe nobod,
seems to know what has become o;
him. Jernegan. who posed as a clergy
man. and c. +. Fisher. once floor
walker iu New York depaFtmen
store and before that a diver. got to
gethcf in the fall Of 1896 and for
whole year carefully considered IN,
problem Of extracting gold from sal
water. II is true. their whole field o.
thought compassed the use OF salt wa
ter rs an accessory only. the real ma
tei4ai from which the gold was to b,
extracted being the American people
Very artistically Jernegan. TO whom
WAS left the matter of publicity. per
mitied some vague rumors to leak out
"a leading clergyman had marvel
Gus money making device The work.
was soon TO be stunned by fact tba
would make the possessor Of the orig
inal secret 30 rich that all the multi
millionaires would be paupers in com
parison.r When they had stirred VI
public curiosity Jernegan and Fishei
went to New England and there set VI
some mysterious machinery.
On Narragansett bny was nm old hall
dismantled wharf. aud at the sea END
of this the two erected a cheap fran,
shanty about by 10 in size, with
square hole cut through the floor ant
looking directly down into about ifteeI
feet of water An electric wire from
a small battery was run along the pill
ing Of the wharf and attached to
mysterious box. with heavy iroI
clamps and 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 way
of taking all the gold they wanted from
the salt water at cost so trihinf
that 1t was ridiculous to mention 1t
Two wealthy persons. one Provi
dence jeweler and the other a New
York florist. were approached by Jer
negan with what seemed to be such
a trustful and childlike proposal that
they both embraced 1t eagerly. 1t wal
that. all bis apparatus being ready fol
experiment they would come to tn,
shanty on the wharf prepared to gs
through a nights vigil and witness the
result, accompanied by any scientific
friends they cared to bring along.
The idea, as outlined by Jernegan
was to send current into a pan OF
mercury held within the box. the recep
tacie then being sent to the bottom OF
the sea and drawn up after severa
hours. when 1t would be found that
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 thu
capitalists. bringing their own mercury
with them. The box was lowered tc
the bottom. and then the party Of five
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
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 a toy apparatus
The story spread like wildfire, and
the modest Jernegan was prevailed
upon to organize a company. Stocb
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 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 to
deep students. But all so far have
failed dismally. Though traces Of gold
are to be found in salt water. com
mercial application is practically i'm
possible.-New York Press.