My parents wrote up the history of Daggett County, Utah, for the Utah centennial in 1947, and my father was asked to revise it for the US bicentennial in 1976. The "Great Diamond Hoax" took place in that county, so I am quite familiar with that story!

The finding of diamonds (cheap industrial ones) on anthills and at the edge of gopher holes should have been a dead giveaway!
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey