The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-08-05
SCIENCE OF Sailing
MINERAL AND MOLASSES
NOTED ASSAYER AND CHEMIST
RECALLS CASES IN HIS LONG
EXPERIENCE.

(By Albert r. Ledoux in Engineering
and Mining Journal)
The devious ways of the man who
would falsify samples and take ad-
vantage of the buyer have often beer
enumerated, and many of them, OF
course, were tried on our laboratory
one day u man came in with the
statement, which we have often heard
that gold existed much more widely
distributed than was realized, but in a
form which did not permit of its de-
lection or determination by fire assay.
This man stated that even the ordinary
granite used in the paving stones of
New York City contained gold which
he could save by his special process.
He wanted us to test this process, and,
if it was demonstrated that he was
correct. to give him a certificate to
that effect. He stated that he wished
to be present during the testing. but
would not in any way interfere.
Under the pretense of wanting to
familiarize ourselves with the process,
we got from him his complete form
ula, which seemed utterly foolish from
a scientific point of view We ar
ranged with him to make the test at
a certain hour on a certain day, and
he brought in an ordinary paving
block from the street. Before the ap-
pointed time we went through the test
exactly as the instructions prescribed.
and. of course, got no gold whatever.
1r
aside, and the next day, when the al
legged inventor appeared, we repeated
the test exactly as before The man
did not wait until we had actually fin
ished the final cleanup but paid his
bill and asked us to send our certifi-
cate whatever it might be. to the
old AstOr house.
Very much to our establishment the
second test produced a large button of
geld. Two of our assistants had done
nothing but watch the man; he had
not gone near the furnace, and it did
not seem possible that he could have
sailed the sample before our eyes.
we sent him a certificate
to the effect that we had
tested Mr.. SO and Sos process twice,
using the same chemicals and appar-
atus; that the first test was made in
his absence, and no gold whatever was
found; that the second test. run while |
he was present, yielded gold to the |
value of so much per ton granite. The |
man never came back, nor did he |
write us.
Celestial Sword.
One of the most amusing things was
our assay of "Gabriers Sword" The
New York Herald and the Kingston
Freeman published a statement, which
excited a great deal of interest, to the
effect that two residents of Kingston
)r vicinity who were out late one night
md were passing by a pond were
startled by a bright light in the sky. Ii
md in a few seconds saw a brightly Il
Illuminated object fall into the water
near the edge of the pond, with a hiss
ng sound. They had concluded that /
[ was a meteor, and the next day |,
lad gone back and had found strange h
iword. It was five or six feet long, I
wo edged, with a guard above the
handle about eight inches long. 1t
vas somewhat bent and very much
usted, but on rubbing off some of the
ust strange characters and hero {
.lyphics were observed upon the {
METAL. &
Some time after this a man came in
o our office, carrying on his shoulder t
long box. and asked to borrow q :
On opening the box he 4
reduced this sword. He stated that t
e was one of the discoverers; that {
e was exhibiting the sword, charging {
Omission to see it, and that he had e
cen a blacksmith and knew a good b
cal about metals. He wanted the a
W ord analysed and a certificate given v
S to its composition. He was sure g
/ was of celestial origin, Perhaps C
ropped by Gabriel" because it was t
n alloy of iron and silver.
He suspended it and called my at k
sntion to the fact that when struck it h
ad a ring like steel. although, as stat a
d. he had reason to believe that in h
tead of being steel it was an alloy of +
liver and iron He said he would be b
atiSfied If our ceruncaLe WOulu SHOW d
hat it contained any considerable L
uantity of silver He showed me the \
and letters, which looked II
Ike limitations of Caldean or other an C
lent script: on running my finger over g
he characters 1 could feel a little a
and they looked as if they ii
light have been made by penetrating c.
ne metal with some fine-pointed tool. c.
hey were outlined just as one might c
utline a diagram on a piece of paper W
J. consecutive pin pricks. d
Taking a Sample. u
MY visitor asked for file. He said 81
nat. of course, he would not ask me 81
assay filings from the surface of p
ne sword or it's handle, because the n
ispicion might Turk in my mind that 81
e had coated the exterior with some u
lemical containing silver. He called u
ttention to the fact that the guard
as apparently forged or cast as part ii
, 49, t,Todo opd handle and differed in ir