Show THE prospector AND HIS BURRO b 1 in our last conversation said the prospector to his burro 1 I gave you the outline of a case of mine salting in southern utah even since then judging from your speaking countenance it is evident that you have a desire to listen to more yarns on the same subject well if you insist upon another recital along the same lines I 1 thing I 1 can accommodate you I 1 will not give localities or names because some who were interested are still a little tender and sore when the subject is discussed but I 1 call to mind a circumstance that resulted in the wrecking of what might have been a great mine this property was in the hands of a man who posed as a being who only lacked wings to be classed as an angel he was a warm advocate of the Y M C A an elder in the church ani and a sunday school teacher because of his standing in church and sunday school circles he was able to enlist the assistance of considerable capital in the development of a mine in one of the leading mining camps of the west the property was really possessed of considerable merit its ore bodies were large and carried good milling values in the yellow metal to treat which a fine cyanide mill was installed before the mill started up a representative of eastern investors obtained an option on a large block of the stock of the company at a figure which if taken up would have brought a big wad of money to the promoters before taking up the option the representative of the eastern people decided to visit the mine once more and give it a thorough sampling to his astonishment the assays essays obtained went much higher than usual and this made in ade him a little leary taking some of the ore to a chemist the presence of chloride of gold was detected and the accusation of salting was so well established that the promoter confessed and on bended knees pegged begged for mercy As a result the apropo stefon was turned down the mine gained a bad name and a nd has been idle ever since and mil plant has been dismantled dis nale the e fine milling ling I 1 ask well it 1 how dhow was it done you was in antis this way the promoter had a phial ph lal of chloride of gold in his pocket and while the agent was sampling the mine and piling the ore on a piece of canvass for the promoter to mix up and quarter down the promoter would pour on a quantity of solution sufficient in his judgment to make the values appear about right when submitted to tests by fire unfortunately for him the agent did not take as large a sample as anticipated and the assays essays went so high that the cat was let out of the bag the promoter left home between two suns and the last heard from him he was in one of the coast cities having fledged out into a gambler and swindler and a full blown whiskey bloat another instance of mine salting coming ng under my observation several years ago was a case where the salt was left out this too was a promising mine and would have won out with honest management the property in question was well developed and was equip equipped bed with an up to date mill the manager was always willing to let anyone see his assay sheets and the values were well maintained the mill was started up and was placed in the hands of a capable and honest millman the recovery according to the assayer was in keeping with the supposed value of the ore A prominent mining man was induced to invest in the stock of the company to the extent of on account of the showing the control passed into other hands when it was found that the metallic contents of the ore was very much lower ower than they were shown to be by the books of the company in short to be brief it was discovered later on that the management and assayer were in collusion and that the assayer returned values according to instructions from the manager merely wrote out a certificate no matter whether the ore was of high or low grade no salt was used in this instance and still to all intents and purposes the mine was salted shortly after the mine was closed down the mill removed and this promising property is idle today and is likely to be for many years 1 I want to tell you old long ears continued the prospector this get rich quick business is not what it is cracked up to be it may be smooth sailing for awhile but retributive justice is swift to follow the promoter is a ruined man financially morally and socially and we all look with suspicion upon the mine manager above alluded to |