The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-08-05

Iulu not SHOW.
When the man came for his report
we showed him this plug Of silver and
told him that we regretted we could
not give him a certificate and feared
that the spirits or someone had been
fooling him when they intimated that
he had to do with new alloy and not
with a steel which had been forged in
some blacksmiths shop in the Cat
skills.
OF course we all know of innumer-
able instances of samples sailed by
vendaors. We have detected in placer
concentrates the milled edges of gold
coins which had been cut up and ad-
ded to the sample. We have found the
interiors of bags which had been sent
to us carefully sealed all black with
nitrate of silver (which had been
squirted into the sample by inserting
the point of a syringe between the
meshes of the bags without breaking
the seals.
An Unusual Case.
Some of our problems did not have
to do with ores or metals. and we were
often called upon to do what seemed
impossible things. For instance, the
agents of large importing house in
Newfoundland sent us a sample of mo-
lasses and asked MS to determine
whether it was New Orleans or Bar
bados in origin. What we did not
know about the comparative charac-
teristics of these commodities would
fill a book We made an inquiry from
the New York agents of the shippers
as to what, if anything, was the mat
ter with the molasses. They stated
that the Newfoundlander of those days
sweetened his tea with mOlasses in
stead of sugar; that he had always
preferred Barbados molasses: that this
particular shipment turned the tea
black, and that, therefore, the New
foundland fishermen and farmers re-
fused to buy it. The trade knew very
we'll that New Orleans molasses, /
though of better flavor and of higher
price than Barbados, would turn the
tea black. whereas Barbados would
not. The analysis showed considerable
IRON in the sample. and later 7 learned
that the man who had received the
order for this commodity had thought
10 please his new customers by mixing
With the cheaper Barbados article a
arge proportion of the New Orleans !
product, because he thought it would |
give a better flavor and would secure /
or him a continuance of patronage |
rhe Louisiana refners in those days
Used iron kettles; the Barbados re- /
iners, copper.
A French Faker.
We were once waited upon by a /
committee of prominent New Workers, /
lmong whom l remember were General /
irant, s. b. Eaton, and Norvin Greene, /
With the request that we should make /
test of a special process for extract |
ng gold from certain southwestern /
deposits. The committee told this in /
eresting story: They were operating I
mine in the southwest and had sent /
heir engineer to make some further
ocations and to register the claims.
Ocal land office, was asked if by any
nance he spoke French; as a French
cunt was there with a private car
nd his countess and servants, and
ias trying to do some business with
he registrar, but could not make him
elf understood. The engineer called
pom the count in his car and offered
, be of service. To his surprise the
cunt wanted to register certain loca- !
Ons in an alkali desert, where the '
ngineer knew that very little existed 5
Glow the sage brush excepting sand
nd alkali and gypsum. These claims
ere to be located for gold. The en-
ineer was invited to dine with the :
punt, and in the intimacy of the hour
he latter told him his story:
His daughter had married a we'll
nown French engineer This man
ad been in the war of 1870, had lost y
n eye, and, returning to civil life n
ld done some discreditable things in !,
arts. had disappeared, and had not .
cen heard of for several years. One l.
ny, the count received a letter from y
he man, postmarked in Arizona or !,
ew Mexico. stating that he had been =
America experimenting with a pro- y,
,ss of his invention to save volatile p
DID," and had discovered a great r
'ea where gold existed in large guam :.
ties heretofore unsupported. It -
,uld not be detected by fire assay, but r.
'uld be got by his process. He in p
osed a description of his process and 4
as mailing some of the samples. He q
sired his father in-law to divide r
ese samples and first have them as ~
yed by any reputable French as ~
yer. and then. when the latter re- G
,rted-as he wOuld-that there was
gold present to give him the sealed Il
ivelope containing a description of ~
e process and ask him to repeat the II
SITS A
The count followed these instruc- II
)ns. receiving the report in the first "
stance that no gold was present and b
the second instance that. much to Il
e surprise of the assayer the sam Il
es had yielded a very considerable t,
lantity of the precious metal. Upon n