The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-01-12
GOLD Thieves In siberia.

|
hardly be called mere stealing, for it is
conducted on such large scale, 80
many men are engaged in 1t, 1t 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 a new and un-
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
another Columbus. but then he must
be ready for Columbus fate.
/ With the beginning of summer,
: when the work in the gold mines be-
comes lively, secret agents appear in
the woods all around the mines. They
get up their camps and open their bust
ness, which lasts till the end of the
gold season. At night bright torch
is seen on some hill, and the gold min
ers underst and the signal. With their
gold dust they 90 TO the camps in the
wood, and then begins a lively trade.
The miners get vodka, provisions OF
, clothes, but chiefly vodka, and return
to the mines. There follows in the
. miners barracks an indescribable
frolic.
: Now is such transaction secret
4 one? Far from it. The guards were
n aware of it, but they remained silent,
for they had their portion of the vodka
and their share of the golden booty. 1t
I would be unjust, however, to say of the
/ officers that they, too, take part IN this
n retail business, No, no. AS to the
e wholesale-well, we had better recOl.
l. lect that though speech may be silver
" silence is golden.
A. The gold miners can not resist the
% temptation to steal gold. Their wages
: are ridiculously small. They get from
= S25 to 500 for season, which lasts
!, nearly half year. They are kept in
i wretched barracks, destitute of every
r, sort of comfort. Their food is bad. even
III in the moujiks' opinion. If one of them
ar wants something extra in the way of
u; provisions, tools, clothes, or vodka, he
a. may get it at the store Of the gold mine
es proprietor, the only store within reach
@, of the laborers, and in that store the
BY goods are usually sold at treble the or.
te binary prices. During the working
season the miners remain in state OF
No slavery. They can be fined, logged,
te. and even imprisoned, by their employer
with IMMUNITY. In order to save theh
ay wages they steal gold, and thus pro
NJ cure vodka and provisions.
nd The number of secret gold agents i!
/ legion, and they are excelleDtly organ
All lied, There are the militant agents
~ armed to the. teeth, who deal directly
;ta with the miners. There are the pro
ed tectors, the spies, the station keepers
ito the postmen and the foreign agents
ed They have their own secret route
ed through the Cars empire, and speal
on their own jargon. "Grits, " for instance
means gold dust; "to reap" means I,
or go for gold; ''to make pilgrimage to st
ne Innocent" means to go to Irkutsk, il
~ order to give gold to Chinese merchant
ate for tea.
in, When the gold season opens the mil
,p- tant gold agents start out in the wood
ler with large amount of provisions, a
ing if going on legitimate business. TIL
Siberian police and Administration al
,de too shrewd to interfere with these vo
zes unteer gold hunters. The agents sta
ne in the woods during the whole gol
lnd season, and it is extremely dangerou
Ine to visit their camps. The gold they g
The they would not surrender even at I'll
, a risk of their lives. They become regl
AXE lar desperadOes when interfered will
At the close of the gold season IL
agents carry their booty to the who'll
not sale dealers.
Die, The Siberian gold brokers are to a
a an appearances perfect gentleman. The
Nd are not armed, and they do not tremb
STIR for their lives or for their gold whiC
d they keep in piles on their counter
The authorities are on the best of tern
in a with them. The transportation of ii
emit gold collected by the brokers is a
up tended with danger. Formerly the
,out were only two good markets. At Min
NJ NJ Novgorod, during the fair, gold W
vith disposed of to Russian merchants
syr- nome use. But lar larger part OF t
stolen gold went to Koyno, whence
was carried abroad, principally to Pm
tapo STA, by Jews, who constitute a regul
orr golden militia During the last fl
two years two more markets have be
If opened, one in Odessa, where the &C
gem Is brought by Jews, who exchange
envy for tobacco on which no custom du
'"Ae has been paid, and for other smuggl
goods, and the other in Kiakhta,
and the Chinese-Slberian frontier, where [
DOW gold is exchanged for tea. To cal
u Luz the gold over from Siberia to Europe
oaol Russia is the most diiIicnlt task of q
or In this case customs, excise, or oil
,tion officers, or ladies of high standing,
golden reasons, of course, join t
ecial golden militia,n
aster How much gold is stolen from I
atoes bowels of Siberia? Parties interested
for the business affirm that annualIv IA,
e eoi"i is disposed in this way gold worth
most least 100000 rubies Annually
the IBERIA produces about 100000 pounds
efuse gold. So it appear that cOnsideTa
hing portion of this precious metal q
uick- abroad witbout bringing amy raturn
olors tho oo,,,,t,,, A,ta 75a,,,,.I.,,,4
H. bAAV bbulillgs 40 " lllG utlLOldl LtL