Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-02-15
deceased. and TO determine in what mar.

deceased, and to determine in what par
ticular part of the grounds surrounding
the house he was most in the habit of
walking, for it is an established fact
that a person who has every thought
concentrated upon a certain place will
be very likely to visit it as often as pos
sible. The deceased had kept M SER
want, a very deaf old woman, who had
been with him a number of years, and
she was questioned about the habits of
her late master. She said that he rare
ly left the house, but would sit all day
long in his library, a large room on the
ground floor containing a fair assort-
ment of books. Tlris upset the theory
of the money being buried, and the
detective returned, rather disconnected,
to take 81 fresh inventory of the library.
The relatives had given their attention
to this room at an early stage OF the
search. The bookcases had been
moved out from the wall. every volume
had been opened and every drawer in
spectad, so that no fresh place of con-
cealment suggested itself to the detec-
tive. Pondering upon the mysterious
matter he fixed his eyes abstractedly
upon the ceiling, where he saw some-
thing that made his heart thump. The
ceiling was OF the usual height, but was
made of wood, put in long strips about
eight inches wide. 1t evidently had not
been swept off for years, and a layer of
grimy dirt clung to the boards. What
attracted the detectives attention, how
ever. was a spot neal the center of the
ceiling, on which the dust did not APP
pear to be as thick as on the rest of the
boards. The difference in the color of
this spot was so slight that only an ex-
perienced eye could have detected it,
and on getting under this particular
spot, the detective noticed marks in the
dust as though made by the tips Of
human fingers. There was a solid old
table standing in one corner of the room,
which, though used pretty roughly in
the general ransacking, was still able
to bear the officers weight.
Drawing this to the middle Of the
room, he found a slight abrasion of the
%veneering near the center Of the table,
like the marks that would be left by the
feet of a chair. This additional proof
that he was on the right scent was
strengthened when the detective placed
a chair upon the table, and the feet
exactly fitted the scratches on the sur
face OF it. Getting up on the chair, the
searcher pressed the tips of his fingers
in the faint tracks in the dust, and q
part of a board yielded to the touch like
magic, leaving q hole about eight inches
square. Inserting his hand through the
| opening tie detective felt around and
drew forth a long, narrow tin box. In
this was discovered many thousands Of
dollars in United States bonds and
greenbacks. The detective pocketed q
snug reward.
In the east. where the old-fashioned
idea of %secreting money is more preva.
lent than here, there are q number al
detectives who make a lucrative income
searching for these missing treasures.
One of these men relates a case where
the deceased had put the money into a
piece Of old steam-pipe, and after plug
cling up the ends OF the pipe had buried
itinhis garden. fireplace was discovered
by the shrewdness OF the detective, who
ascertained that the deceased, when 60
ing out anywhere on the farm, would
always walk in one path, toward an old,
used-up pump, and, after reaching the
pump, start for the field. The pump
was taken up and the old we'll searched,
but the money was not there. On re.
turning to the house the detective went
to the window looking out upon the
pump, and noted a small surveyors
point on the sill. He "lined" it up tc
the pump, measured out the exact cen.
ter OF the line. and began digging. The
treasure-laden steam-pipe was struck al
a depth of four feet.
The old armchair was q favorite
place for the secretion Of money, anc
this piece of furniture is generally
selected by story writer's as the recep'
tacle for the fortune OF the peculiar ole
grandfather and grandmother. which is
bequeathed to the worthy young couple
When stern adversely SEXES the young
pair they are compelled 10 sacrifice tho
old arm chair. But, iefore it is dis
posed of, by some mysterious in,crposi
ton Of Providence, the chair falls asun,
der and reveals the treasure it has sc
long and faithfully guarded: So extern
sive was this mania for hiding money
in old pieces Of furniture that the career
OF an armchair bequeathed to any I'M
pecunious person by an eccentric ant
rich relative was Of a brief duration
after coming into the possession of it:
new owner. The Spanish inquisitior
was nothing to the tortures that tina,
old chair was subjected 10 by the gold
seekers. but this simple concealment i.
not in favor now, and it requires a Ions
head to ferret out the hiding place O
the modern miser's money.-Milwauke'
Sentinel.