Old West Mine Salting Scams
With hundreds of thousands of folks coming West during the Gold Rush century, a passel of con men and bunko artists also moved out. They tried to relieve the unlearned of their pokes and purses. Most schemes had something to do with mines and mining stock. Many a man paid good money for 100 feet of a worthless hole in the ground. One of the more ingenious devices involved a mine salting scam.
How They Did It
They would take small quantities of real gold and drill it into the rock, mash it into the dirt, or place it in ore samples. When the investors saw real riches that usually convinced them.
The most widely known and talked about mine salting scam occurred not with gold but with diamonds. They brought a bag of diamond sample into San Francisco to get them appraised. Then they secreted their phony diamond mine somewhere in the Wyoming or Montana area. And they only allowed people to go there blindfolded.
Evaluating Worth
A couple mining men would evaluate and declare the sample genuine. Then the samples were sent to Tiffany’s of New York and appraised at great value while a corporation was set up in San Francisco.
Several hundred thousand dollars changed hands before discovering the hoax. It was finally revealed that the two perpetuators purchased rough, industrial diamonds in Europe, brought them out West, and salted the ground with them.
Why Did They Fall for Such Scams?
How could seasoned mining men and veteran gold rush bankers fall for such a mine salting scam? Because this was an age of instant wealth and new treasures found in all sorts of locations. Men looked for ways of getting rich quick. Almost anything concerning valuable claims was believed.
All About Greed
In the spiritual world we face a similar greed. Only now it seems to be the cults out to deceive us. They salt their beliefs with imported grains of truth. And they constantly try to lure the unsuspecting.
The Bible says, “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them … bringing destruction on themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).
Some desperate for position and prestige who want instant spiritual power will fall for their scams. But the end results will turn out as useless as a fake salted hole in the ground.
Stephen Bly
Circa 1996
Mining Gold Coins Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
Mining Gold and Diamonds Image by Ozant Liuky from Pixabay
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“Beware Salting Scam” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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Such a great reminder to keep our eyes on Christ!