Show OWNERLESS GOLD ARS FINDING A LARGE TREASURE TO WHICH NO ONE NE LAID CLAIM 0 recent theft of worth of ot ld bars from the mint i In San Fran- Fran jJ co and the robbery of ot over a quart Ui t o of a million of dollars also in gold iJ rs rs from the Selby Sethy smelting works i r San Francisco call to mind the of ot a large larg but unknown quan- quan ty o of ot gold bars In a house which was de demolished in Oakland Just Justi a oss i the bay ba from San Francisco Il s 's a e. COt correspondent 1 of ot the Washington Washing Washing- I ton nS Star l r- r I 1 yas in newspaper work st at the time in Oakland Q d am im conversant with the f r from Ironi personal knowledge l g discovery at the time ex- ex little little local Intel Interest est and so ile le was it that it was doubted IB e quarters Subsequently how- how I Jh tie truth was as developed The Theto bars to an estimated quantity of ot JOO were actually found but to 1 1 mom th they had originally belonged or I Whom hom they were stolen is still a ry As it happened about ten ears rs ago I cannot recall the names of f the parties with accuracy though I once knew them them every every effort of ot burse course burse being made at the time to keep the the find a secretA secret 4 A two-story two frame house on Tenth street in Oakland was owned and oc- oc pled by a family the h head had ad of which I- I at it t the time In question and for a great an years years over over twenty I think was think was 1 t of ot the San Francisco mint lany remember the house well The old n died suddenly and the house was once sold by his heirs The new ner began tearing it down intending replace it with a business structure In digging away the lower walls an i Ut Italian Han laborer came upon a gold bar n in the foundations He covered t e ie bar barr u up with earth but soon un- un the thed so many other secreted bars barst Jf hat t his find was discovered by three men employed with him They jit t once n e entered into a secret compact p Jf collect the bars themselves and infOrm in- in 1 j fOrm r rn no one else especially the con- con 1 tt- tt to and the owner of the great and andt t Ji ted wealth with which they j 1 0 suddenly become possessed le men were all laborers two laborers two ber be- be r n Italians I think The They were suc- suc sf ful l In g the gold away from j T unobserved by others Intimation that something of 71 nature had happened to tomen it e men was that they quit work ir good and made heavy investments c eal estate Their purchases excited 4 suspicion i as the they y all had been very ioor r men To cut a. a long story short 3 J however ll wever it was ascertained that they r r had In fact found the gold and they yere under legal advice converting it other property to prevent the pos- pos owner from laying claim to his origInal property li II lit this they were all successful In f ct luck appeared to be with them INo No one came forward to claim the hidden hidden hidden hid- hid den treasure for the very good reason 1 I undoubtedly that the the- only other person I 4 on n the face of the earth who had known of its whereabouts was dead One man t bought a ranch in the central part of ot the State for The Italian flying fly Uv- Ing in Oakland bought a fine Itne new newhouse house furnished it luxuriously paying 1000 f fOr r a piano and bought his wife an n unlimited quantity of diamond je jew jaw w- w V elry 1 51 The Th old adage however that stolen old brings to its possessor bad luck i ju l ln th the tho end nd proved true In less than i e ye years years' rs the ranch owner was bank batik aj 11 jUpt Lip pt nd the ranch had reverted to its Original ial owners on foreclosure The Italian lost all of his property and returned returned re- re turned to live JIve in thc the little cottage In North orth Oakl Oakland nd he had vacated for his 1 c ne house The only thing he preserved remind him of the days of ot his fleet fleet- ig wealth was a Turkish rug worth t bout about 1500 which he placed on the floor of ot the and would not sell I cottage I 7 r 7 when all else had gone I l The third man dissipated all of his hisA A Wealth yealth in fast living and gambling and dIed led a pauper in a hospital In Seattle lie he career of the fourth man I cannot e call all accurately but I know that he he t lost all that he had The ranch by the way died a miserable alone t th alone In a cabin on the Sacra- Sacra m r and was buried by bythe the theIn thern thet t rn n in the potters potter's field The gold of course did not rIghtly right- right ly belong to the man who secreted n the walls walis of the house It wasen was wasi Ien en i from some sone one and if It had taken by the man who had hail fory for- for ly y 7 owned the house his heirs put In aim lm for it for the reason that they it lid did id not riot rightfully b belong long to It was was considered improbable ny person other than he had Seit seIt se- se It lt however as he had lived In ouse for many years years had had built if It my recollection is correct nee flee he ho had been for so l long ng an anoye oye Ye of the mint the general Im- Im Jon ion at the time tim was that he had haden haden en the gold a bar at a time from frome Te e mint V vaults bringing it home when e quit work at night While this ex- ex was the one generally accepted accept accept- ed the singular part of the mystery is that i If it it was true the Government made no effort to sun run down the thief nor was any such large shortage of t i AK t bars ars ever discovered and reported report- report f ed at the San Francisco mint nor has jt been reported to this day 11 High Low Low Low- Jack and the Game |