36	GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES IN THE
	Neb. Great excitement was aroused, but the stone proved not to be a diamond. The well-known " Arizona diamond swindle " was a clever one, and its locality could hardly have been better selected ; but it should not have received so much credence, since gem minerals are so readily recognized through their local characteristics by all collecting mineralogists. A few words in regard to this cele­brated swindle may not be amiss. Twenty years ago fabulous stories were circulated about the richness of New Mexico and Arizona. Companies with high-sounding titles were organized to collect not only the diamonds, but the rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other gems, which were said to abound there. In 1870, a large scheme for this purpose was originated. It was represented in San Francisco that Philip Arnold and John B. Slack had found diamonds and other precious stones in great quantities in a cer­tain Territory of the United States. Among some of the ob­jects shown in confirmation were 80,000 carats of so-called rubies and a large number of diamonds, one of 108 carats weight. These gems were all displayed for the inspection of those inter­ested in the scheme, and were deposited with the Bank of Cali­fornia for safe-keeping. Subsequently the same parties again visited the fields, which were reported to lie somewhere in New Mexico, and returned with another lot of stones, not so large as the former ones, however. It was remarked at the time that one could scarcely expect to pick them up by the bushel. Heavy cap­italists on both coasts soon became deeply interested, and on May 10, 1872, a bill was passed by Congress in the interests of the dia­mond-miner. Finally, a party composed of representatives of both the East and the West, with a mining expert, a graduate of the Royal School of Mines, Freiberg, Saxony, chosen by the in­vestors, started out prospecting, equipped for a sixty days' expe­dition. They left Rawlins, Wyo., May 28th, first taking a south­western course, then a northwestern course, until some of the party thought that they had missed their way, and began to doubt the truth of the discovery. But when the mountain was reached, the promised Golconda, every one picked up gems, and hope rose correspondingly. In a week 1,000 carats of diamonds and 6,000 to 7,000 carats of rubies were gathered, and the party returned, well