Coal, silver, gold. There is something about the allure of hidden treasure that puts a glint in people’s eyes. By gathering such familiar stories as that of Nevada’s infamous Comstock Lode with a succession of lesser-known scandals, Dan Plazak provides an entertaining and informative volume that delightfully investigates the history of mining frauds in the United States from the Civil War to World War I.

Dan Plazak is a graduate of Michigan Tech and the Colorado School of Mining. He is a consulting geologist and engineer.

                                  Table of Contents

           Acknowledgments

1. Introduction to Mining Fraud
2. The Imaginary Mine of Doctor Gardiner
3. The Comstock: Mother Lode of American Mining Swindles
4. Snow Job at the Emma Mine
5. A Brief History of Diamond-Mining Frauds in America
6. Tin Men
7. Professor Samuel Aughey: “A First-Class Charlatan”
8. Swindle in South Park
9. Leadville: A Comstock in the Colorado Rockies
10. Tichenor’s Gold: Calistoga Natural Springwater
11. Richard Flower: Master Swindler
12. Thomas Lawson: Champion of the People
13. Aron Beam and His Gold Process
14. Golden Sands of the Adirondacks
15. Mining Gold from the Sea
16. The Spoilers
17. Whitaker Wright’s House of Cards
18. George Graham Rice’s Adventures with Your Money
19. Death Valley Scotty: The Showman as Mine Swindler
20. The Literary Life: Julian Hawthorne, Mining Swindler
21. Selling the Pure Blue Sky

Notes

            Bibliography

            Index