May 25th, 1869

A rather disturbing discovery has been made in the mines. Near the end of a shift, a group of men discovered a severed limb lying in a pool of sticky, rank liquid. The limb was gnarled and bent. There's no telling what animal it could have come from. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed the descriptions people were telling. It had claws, and it was a shiny, goldish colour. There didn't appear to be a paw pad, and it seemed strangely... reptilian, in a way. I don't know another way to describe it. There's been some outcry among the miners since the limb was found. The ones who believed there was a beast all along are demanding the higher-ups listen and investigate. The few sensible men, calling it a hoax and ridiculing others who believe. Work has ground to a screeching halt, and Father could not be more irked. To be frank I'm quite shaken. I don't know what the limb could have come from, or how one might craft such a limb, if it is indeed fake. There was a trail of slime oozing down the corridor in the mine that the limb was found in. Myself, Ben, and a few other men were inclined to follow it as far as we could. As we went further, the liquid began to dry into a strange crystalline formation. It was the colour of pure gold. I've never seen such a substance in my entire life. It was quite similar to processed gold, but in a much more primal shape, and it seemed to have something... electric about it. Since I'm in constant communication with Father on these matters, I knew to report it up the chain of command, and we're now having some miners take samples of this strange material. As to where the trail led, it was a complete dead end. It appeared to stop completely in a patch of overturned soil, perhaps 40 feet from where the limb was located. Benjamin, ever so sensibly, was immediately sure that it was a hoax. He and I, along with a few others, quickly banded together to report the incident. We asked for a search of all personal items and living quarters to be conducted. If anyone has any materials leftover from making such a prop, it will be found, and they will be terminated. It's likely that whoever did this was also Ralph's attacker. They must want to draw attention away from themselves. I personally contacted Father as well, and the search was conducted the same day. Mining operations were paused, and the search took the rest of the day. It is not often that the security employees get to be out and about in such a way. They were enthusiastic to say the least, and we had a few minor beatings, and some rather rough handling of personal effects. Nothing that needs to be reported, mind you. The miners don't own anything of great value, so the damages are irrelevant.

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The search turned up one possible lead. Joe was found with a freshly killed deer carcass that was missing a leg. He will be interrogated further, but so far he has claimed that he hunted the deer legally for meat, and that he gave the missing leg to his dog. It's a very convenient story. The gun he used to hunt the deer is brand new, so it can’t be confirmed that he's a regular hunter. He could have bought it for the sole purpose of creating the beast limb prop. He's in holding for now, and I expect the security men will make him talk more tomorrow... One way or another.

Ben is rather adamant that Joe is the culprit. I have to agree with him that it seems the most likely answer. He's been loud with his opinions in the mines though, which isn’t usually a good move. Everyone knows he despises Joe, and those that aren't on his side are rather nasty towards him. It's never good to stir conflict among men like these. They're so lowly as to fight amongst themselves like dogs, and over such trivial matters. I will write again soon, and share what I've learned after Joe's interrogation.