May 28th, 1869

Joe has been in holding for a few days now. His story hasn’t changed. The security men are beginning to doubt his involvement in the incident with the false limb. They’ve subjected him to their worst- mental and physical punishment. As his story hasn’t changed, it seems unlikely that he's the culprit. He's a nasty, snarly man, but he's not of any particular strength or substance. If it came down to it, I don’t believe he would be able to hold out on us after such intense interrogation measures. Benjamin is convinced it was him though. I’m realising how much Benjamin dislikes, and even hates Joe. I wonder if they had any incidents or quarrels in the past. Hopefully these are things I can find out with time. It will be a few more days until Joe is released. He needs some time to heal from his physical wounds before re-entering the public, and having a few days in solitary confinement might just nudge him over the edge if he is indeed the culprit.

In other news, there has been a strange discovery regarding the crystal substance found in the tunnels. We had a few men collect samples of it to be analyzed. All the men who came in direct skin contact with the crystals have developed a sudden rash. They are under quarantine in the infirmary until it resolves. Regular work has continued in the mine, directly from Father's orders. He won't have a mine full of men that doesn't function, so it's back to work, like it or not. The majority of the crystal has been disposed of in a remote area of the property. Nobody should touch it there, and nobody wants to anyway after the rash problem. The affected miners are being monitored by our nurses and doctors. We'll see how they fare over the next coming days.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I had a strange conversation with Benjamin recently. We came onto the subject of Joe and his possible involvement in the hoax. Benjamin became extremely heated in our talking, and he tore into Joe rather harshly. I've never seen him so angry. He was talking about how Joe “doesn’t know what he's messing with,” and how he's on the brink of causing disaster. I asked what he meant, and he said he just meant that Joe's attitude with work in the mines was hazardous. His nasty demeanour certainly ruffles feathers, and nobody has Joe's back down there. It's a cesspool of careless and malicious mistakes. The other miners could very well be out to get him. As I said earlier, Benjamin's dislike for Joe is becoming ever apparent. I'm hoping that it's just an old rivalry that's been stirred up with the recent drama, and not something that will be escalated. I'd hate to get a good fellow like Benjamin in any trouble. I'll have to start keeping closer tabs on everyone, even Benjamin. If any more news arises concerning the limb, Joe's interrogation, or the rash, I will be sure to document it here.