The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-19
Gold Thieves in Siberia.

Goid Steallng is perhaps the most
prosperous bushes in Siberia 1t can
hardly be called mere stealing, for it is
conducted on such large scale, SO
many men are engaged in it, it is so
well organized and pays so well. that it
fully deserves the name of an industry.
True, the industry is not recognized by
law; on the contrary, it is harshly pun
ished when discovered. Discovered?
But that is where all the difficulty lies.
1t is not easy to discover new and I'M
known thing. but to discover what is
known to every gold miner, to every
proprietor of gold mines, to thousands
of secret gold agents, and to the Cars
authorities, is exceedingly difficult, if it
be possible at all. Here is room for an
other Columbus, but then he must be
ready for Columbus fate.
With the beginning of summer, when
the work in the gold mines becomes
| lively, secret agents appear in the woods
all around the mines. They get up their
camps and open their business, which
lasts till the end of the gold season. At
night bright torch is seen on some
hill, and the gold miners understand
the signal. With their gold dust they
60 to the camps in the wood, and then
begins lively trade. The miners get
vodka, provisions or clothes, but chiefly
vodka, and return to the mines. There
| follows in the miners barracks an indie
scribable frolic.
Now, is such a transaction a secret
one? Far from it, The guards were
aware of it, but they remained silent,
for they had their portion of the vodka
and their share of the golden booty. 1t
would be unjust, however, to say of the
officers that they, too, take part in this
retail business, No, no. As to the
wholesale well, we had better reeellect
that though speech may be silver silence
is golden.
The gold miners can not resist the
temptation. to steal gold Their wages
are ridiculously small They get from
$50 to 500 for season, which lasts
nearly halt year. They are kept in
wretched barracks, destitute of every
sort of comfort. Their food is bad, even
in the. moujiks' opinion. If one of them
wants something extra in the way of
provisions, tools, clothes, or vodka, he
may get it at the store of the gold mine
proprietor, the only store within reach
OF the laborers, and in that store the
goods are usually sold at treble the or
binary prices. During the working
season the miners remain in state of
slavery. They can be fined, logged,
and even imprisoned, by their employer
with impunity. In order to save their
wages they steal gold, and thus pro-
cure vodka and provisions.
The number of secret gold agents is
legion, and they are excellently organ
lied There are the militant agents,
armed to the teeth, who deal directly
with the miners. There are the pro-
tectors, the spies, the station keepers,
the postmen and the foreign agents
They have their own secret routes
through the Cars empire, and speak
their own jargon. ''Grits, for instance,
means gold dust; Ito reap" means to
go for gold; ito make pilgrimage TO St
Innocent, " means to go to Irkutsk, in
order to give gold to Chinese merchants
for tea
When the gold season opens the mill
tant gold agents start out in the woods
with a large amount of provisions, as il
going on legitimate business. The 81.
berian police and Administration are
too shrewd to interfere with these vol
unteer gold hunters. The agents stay
in the woods during the whole golC
/ season, and it is extremely dangerous Il
visit their camps. The gold they ge
they would not surrender even at tht
risk of their lives. They become regu
lar desperadoes when interfered with
At the close of the gold season the agent
p carry their booty to the wholesal
n dealers .....
+ The Siberian gold brokers are to al
n appearances perfect gentlemen. The
: are not armed, and they do not trembl
for their lives or for their gold whicl
they keep in piles ON their counters
The authorities are on the best of term
with them. The transportation of tn
gold collected by the brokers is at
tended with danger. Formerly=ther
were only two gold markets. At Nijny
Novgorod, during the fair, gold wa
disposed of to Russian merchants TO
!. home use. But far larger part of tn
stolen gold went to Koyno, whence
" was carried abroad, principally to Prus
l. STA, by Jews, who constitute regula
e golden militia During the last fe,
n years two more markets have bee
opened, one in Odessa, where the gol
is brought by Jews, who exchange
for tobacco on which no custom dut
has been paid, and for other smuggle
goods, and the other in Kiakhta, o
the Chinese Siberian frontier where tn
c. gold is exchanged for tea. To carry tn
n gold over from Siberia to Europea
Russia is the most difficult task of al
In this case customs, excise, or othe
officers, or ladies of high standing, fo
golden reasons, of course, join tn
''golden militia"
How much gold is stolen from tn
bowels of Siberia? Parties Interested i
the business affirm that annually ther
is disposed in this way gold worth {
least 100000 roubles. Annually S
70 IBERIA produces about 1000 pounds {
n gold. So it appears that a considerabl
es portion of this precious metal go(
abroad without bringing any return
the country As to the demora1izatio
T. produced by gold stealing, and dealin
in and transporting stolen gold, WI
T. can estimate it at a money valueP-S
= berian Gazette.
The old manse still stands at Coz