The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-02-07
GLITTERING GOLD.
Which Lay Buried for Fourteen Years And
was Dug Up by a Sind Man Who
Carried the Secret.

During the late unpleasantness a large
Federal force, camped and intrenched
near a Southern town, was gradually
hemmed in by a superior force, under
a noted rebel general. AS the latter's
forces drew near. the Federal comman-
der sent into the town and removed a
heavy deposit of gold coin from the
banks to his camp, to keep the enemy
from capturing it. 1t vas kept in the
original packages, and closely guarded
night and day. The Federal force
was obliged to c%apitulate; and during
the negotiations for a surrender the gold
was broken into and about twenty
thousand dollars stolen. After the sur
render the captors turned over to the
banks the entire amount, less what had
been stolen.
Years afterwards, a soldier was sick
in the hospital at Louisville, and believ-
ing he had not long to live, took the
steward into his confidence, and told
him he was the possessor of a valuable
secret. He knew where twenty thou
sand dollars in gold lay buried, and
would tell him, as he adbeen the recip-
lent of many kindnesses at his hands.
After giving him careful and minute
descriptions and drawings, the soldier
died, and the steward remained possess
sor of the secret. But he found great
difficulty in arranging for the finding
and removal of the treasure, and had to
leave it undisturbed until his term of
service was ended. Fortune seemed
against him, for he contracted some dis
ease of the eyes, from which he became
hopelessly blind. After becoming blind,
lie was obliged to have help, so shared
the secret with a trusty friend, and the
two went to find the place. AS the peo-
pie in the neighborhood remembered
the circumstances of the loss of the
gold, it was necessary to proceed with
the utmost caution. Furthermore, the
papers and descriptions of the locality
had been lost, and the only place where
the proper directions existed on earth
were in the blind mans memory.
To make a long story short, they dis
covered the place, at the foot of a tree
-illS oilly OLO VI tiV hlilt " oSNCio
miles around-on a high and densely
wooded bluff Oh the river. Here they
unearthed the prize of a thousand gilt.
tering twenty-dollar gold pieces, and
with it disappeared. The people living
in the neighborhood became suspicious,
and in following the strangers tracks
found traces and indications showing
that they probed the ground with an
iron ramrod and found the coin at the
foot of the tree. 1t was in tin boxes
and they were rolled up in old soldier
pants. The parties had Il skiff ready
and went down the river with the mon.
ey. From that time but few traces
could be had Of them, and various theo'
ries as to the sequel of the story are ex'
tant. Some believe the two escaped
and are now enjoying their treasure,
while others claim to have proof that
the blind man suspected that his part
ner wanted to kill him, and that
struggle ensued in which the boat, mer
and treasure all were lost, and the Sc
cret covered by the sands and waves o.
the river. However that may be, the
main facts are vouched for by reliable
perSDpS