Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-07-28


this elm tree; lots were being sold about
1t, and the time was near at hand when
the treasure concealed beneath its trunk
and roots should be claimed, or the
burier thereof run a fearful rick in dig
| ging il up. Again, for sixteen years,
nor In fact in all the history o!
Jackson, has there been a single event
! of crime or robbery, other than the
Union bank robbery in 1859. that would
| justify or make probable the hiding OF
treasure in a spot so lonely and yet so
well marked. Again, there was pco-
found method in the selection # the
| elm tree, method in burying the treas
ure as it was buried, and method in let
| ting ii lie there until suspicion was
robbed Of its power and the faint facts of
the past robbed of their legal force
Now, these
FACTS
and deductions all lead unwaveringly to
the conclusion that the treasure I'M
earthed on the night Of the fifteenth in
slant was hidden there many years ago,
and was dishonesty obtained by the
hider. The loneliness of the spot six
teen years ago, the position of the tres
upon ridge or mound and beside line
fence, the faint marks in the bark point
ing to the spot where the mysterious
workman dug, the large roots that had
grown over the very spot where the hole
must have been dug when the treasure
was buried, are conclusive as to the
length Of time. The fact that it had
lain there so long, that the spot itself
was lonely and unfrequented, and yet
sufficiently marked to guide one inter-
ested, that the hour selected for Its re-
cOVery was one in which there would be
no probable passing along road so little
frequented that tie hole was carefully
retiIled after the treasure was obtained
and every trace obliterated as far as pos
sible, all forbid the idea that the digging
on the night of the fifteenth was done
by sn honest man seeking simply to re-
cover his own. These points settled,
the next inquiry is, what was it? With
the majority who have investigated the
matter, we believe that it was the gold
taken from the Union bank sixteen
years ago, when poor George Miller
WAS MURDERED.
All the facts detailed by US point to
this conclusion. The loneliness of the
spot sixteen years ago, near the city and
yet unfrequented, the position Of the
tree, standing one Of the largest around
it, on the summit of q ridge lptWeen
two small ravine5 and close beside line
fence, its isolation from other growths
of similar character, and from all the
circumstances of location and character
easy of Identification, would have been
likely then to have attracted murderer
seeking place to hide his bloody treas
ure, and other evidences OF an awful
guilt, The dim traces OF 3 heart and q
cross, cut into the bark Of the tree Just
over the spot where the treasure was
buried, and the three tHTge roots that
had grown entirely over the mouth Of
the opening and beyond it, and through
which the mysterious workman Of the
fifteenth instant cut with difficulty, JUS
tify, beyond eavil, the conclusion that
the article upeaTthed at midnight on
the fifteenth instant, had lain in its
mysterious grave for mOTa than ten or
twelve years. The hour chosen for its
resurrection, and the vigOr, yet caution,
OF the midnight workman, established
the faca 3f dishonest purpose, and the
recovery OF rich yet dangerous treas
ure. AL these facts rise up like accus-
ing demons and cry upon the mysteri-
Gus track OF the murderer of George
Miller sixteen years ago. The idea that
THE MURDERER OF GEORGE MILLER,
would not have let the reward of his
crime remain buried SO long, is fully
met by the fact, that there never has
been time since the ho46 ble deed vas
done, but what the public mind was
easily quickened into active suspicion
by the slightest event or transaction Of
an unusual character. The shreWd
murderer has kept this fact always in
view, and it is reasonable to presume
from all the circumstances, that he has
held steady hand on the public pulse.
To have unearthed his treasure during
the war, would have been to have SUBJ
jected it to untold hazards. Safe as it
was, it is not reasonable to presume that
he would have exposed it to the dangers
that wRr's red banner had spread over
the land. But it is reasonable to pre-
sumo that he would unearth it before
the city grew so thick around its hiding
place as to make exceedingly danger
GUS its recovery. This he did. Reason
about the mysterious transaction of the
fifteenth instant as we may, yet there
is no other hypothesis upon which
we can account for it, save that
it was the unsarthing Of the bank
treasure of 1859. No other event in
the history of Jackson could
have justified or made reasonable,
so long hiding in so lonely. and yet
place so well marked. Considering the
circumstance and facts, who can suE Sest
different theory? Slow some umes
but always sure is the thirsty blood
hound of vengeance. By the most de-
viOus ways and windings he pursues his
victim, never faltering, never wearying,
but holding fast to the stained track of
the victim he puIsues. Weeks and
months and years have no weight of
WEAKNESS for him-a death-bed confess
sion and the grave can alone stop his re-
mOrseless pursuit. He cries out, through
all the days and hours and minutes and
moments:
By thy cold breast and serpent smile,
By thy unfathomed CULTS of guile,
By that most seemtng-virtuOus eye,
By that shut-soul's hypocrisy,
BY the perfection of thine art
Which paSs'd for human thine own heart,
By thy delight in others pain,
call upon thee and compel
Thyself to be thy proper nell.
NO FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS.
No further developments have been
made in regard TO the unearthing of the
mysterious treasure, mentioned in our
last Issue, except LnaL On careful lnSpeC-
ton OF the spot and elm tree it is found
that about three feet from the ground is
q cross, made in the north side Of the
tree, and over the aperture, and six
inches below the surface Of the ground
root three inches in diameter was sew
cred by an az, and the wound inflicted
upon the root healed and it has not De-
csyed, having the appearance of having
been done many years, snd this when
the supposed treasure wss hidden. The
hole was made by crOwbar and shovel;
and it seems to us, if careful means were |
resOrted to, it might be found who had
bought or borrowed such implements |
about the fourteenth instant We be- !
lieve the public mind heTeabouts has |
pretty well settled down to the cOnclu- !
zion that the spoil unearthed is blood |
money, ard that its finger points to the |
robbery and murder perpetrated in the |
Union bank, in this city, In February,
1859, when some twenty-five thousand |
dollars wasstOlen, and George E. Miller, |
the clerk, murdered. Vast numbers of |
persons have visited the treasure-elm, |
fmpelIed by curiosity and the love Of the