The Refining Charge at Manzanita Gulch

≈ 9 min

The Manzanita Gulch Assay Office is required to submit a weekly ore assay and deposit record to the El Dorado County Mining Recorder, who uses the entries to calculate fire-refining fees collected from each claim-holder and remitted to the California district treasury. Assay Clerk Cornelius Fetch has filed the record for the week of 12–17 July 1852, covering six placer and lode claims. The Mining Recorder's office has flagged the record for review after a claim-holder disputed a charge. Your task is to determine which of the six filed lines contains a fabricated entry — a service billed that the records show never took place — and which reference exposes it.

The scene

Manzanita Gulch Assay Office, El Dorado County, California, 1852

Source documents

Manzanita Gulch Assay Office Furnace and Crucible Log, July 1852
California State Assay Fee Schedule, enacted April 1852
Letter from Office Superintendent J. Aldecoa to Furnace-Tender S. Quill, 15 July 1852
El Dorado County Mining Recorder's Claim Register, 1852

Play today’s Audit.

This case first aired on August 20, 2026. A fresh audit runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.

Open today’s audit Browse the archive