The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-08-05
a San francisco Trick.

A few months after III. l.. Dodge, the
present superintendent of the United States
mint, Mt San Francisco, came into office, he
| became convinced there were leakages dur
| ing the working of bullion deposited in the
mint-in othc- words, that somebody was
stealing. He communicated his suspicion
to Capt. Stone, who called in detective Jc-
hu, and together tho two began an investi-
CATION that ended in the arrest of colorcd
man named Smith, charged with stealing at
! different times $40, 900 from the mint. The
feat of the officers, which began in October
last, Is one Of the most clcvcrly executed
pieces of detective work in tho annals of
tho department, and has resulted in some
important discoveries and arrests Henry
Smith, who has heretofore been a promn.
cnt colorcd citizen of good reputation and
of considerable influence in politics, was
first employed as a porter in the mint of
1869. lie subsequently left, and was re-
appointed night watchman in 1876, leaving
the latter place about year and a half ago,
since which time he has had no connection
with tho mint Upon asccrtaining that
there wcrc grounds for the superintcndent's
suspicious, the detectives made inquiries at
tho various places in the city where bullion
was sold. 1t was discovered that Smith
was selling large quantities of gold bullion,
although he had been out of the mint for
months. The detectives then tried to as
certain where the metal came from, exam
lining tho records of the express offices and
books of agents in this city, through whom
bullion might be sent to Smith, and found
that it did not come from the country. 1t
was then determined that Smith must have
bullion IN his possession, as he kept on sell
ing 1t at various places, and he was watched,
TOR months being under the eyes of detcc-
tivc Jchu. 1t was suspected that he had
accompliccs, but mono were found, and the
utmost vigilance failed to discover where
the gold camc from. However, tho detec-
tivcs concluded to take Smith into custody.
having obtained circumstancial evidence to
warrant them in so doing. On being ar
rested, Smith denied any knowledge of the
matter. Tho detectives then went to
Smiths house at 731 Broadway, and, search
ing 1t from top to bottom, only about one
thousand dollars were found. But in
searching the grounds about the house.
pieces of a small smelling furnace were
found These were dug up and shown to
Smith, who still denied his guilt, and af-
firmcd that they must have been put there
ny some one else. But the officers began
another search in the yard, and soon dug up
inc remainder OF the furnace, which was
| rich in globulcs of gold ranging in value
from % cents to 81. The fire bricks were
also covered with Stag rich in gold. All
this was shown to Smith, who continued to
maintain his innocence However, the Of
ficers made another search of tho grounds,
when detective Jchu, in probing about a
flower bed struck hard substance with
his spade about two feet below the base of
a cactus plant. This substance was un-
covered when small bean pot was found,
covered with saucer, which had been
sealed with bccswax. The pot was opened,
and found to contain seven ingots of gold,
about the size and shape of a teacup, and
worth about $4,000. When these were
shown Smith, he confessed the whole thing.
He said that while night watchman, under
General La Grange, he had charge of
the refinery, in which are situated
the iron tanks containing what is
known as the ''masll" gold and
silver bullion in solution, and in process of
separation. During this process acid is
used, which dissolvcs the silver and causes
the gold to fall to the bottom. The iron
tanks arc locked at night, but there Is a
small hole in their tops through which a
hose Is inserted and water is allowed to run
upon the gold to wash the acid from it. At
night Smith used to insert a long scoop made
OF zinc and gather up a small quantity of
the metal, which he melted down in cru
chile at home. Smith was for several years
In the employ Of the Pacific Mail Steamship
company, running rs steward OH one of the
Panama steamers He was turned over to
the U. y. marshal.