River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-09-16
CONCEALMENT OF MONEY.


a good deal Of experience in hunting
for money that folks have concealed, :
said gentleman visiting at Park street
in Lewiston the other day, "and just
as lief tell you as not
Fifty years ago folks, especially the
elderly people. took the utmost pains
to hide money. Old stockings. brick
ovens, old wagon tops, hair-cloth fur
niture used always to come in for big
share of investigation after the dear
departed had turned up his toes and
had been laid away. From that mo-
ment,as YOU we'll know the hunt began.
aud folks rummaged the house and
pulled open the feather-be,is in search
Of the silver sinners, the beautiful vel
cowboys, or the crisp bank-notes that
It was supposed the lamented deceased
had left behind. 1 suppose that t'lis
instinct of concealing wealth and OF
searching for it was bred out of a we'll
founded suspicion OF the safety of the
Old-tImc Savings-banks, and they We're
rascallv things. as | we'll know. OF
course the hiding instinct was trans
mitted from father 10 son. and in my
way of reasoning the War of the Re
belliOn had more to DO with stopping
this foolish plan of boarding money
than any other one thing.
II opened up more old stoeking-legs
and old colonial gold than a hundred
years Of peace would have done, and
yet don't doubt. from my own ex-
perience. that there are countless stores
of gold IN buried places in Massachu-
sets and Maine today.
| could count up any quantity of
families who believe that a secret
hoard, left by a mysterious deceased
ancestor, exists somewhere for them.
| believe that Capt Kids treasure is
awaiting the coming of somebody keen
enough TO discover il. don't you?''
And here the gentleman in the arm
chair winked mysteriously. laughed AZ
his own conceit. and continued:
\ funny scheme. in which | once
came pretty near being interested, was
a stoct company formed in Pennsyl-
vania, where | was then living. 1t was
designed to make specially of hunt
some work for them. and partner and
New York State.
How 10 you 90 &c. work p
Well. it is hard to say. You have
to be guided by circumstances. Strange
mental freaks exist in some families
You perhaps know people who are
built the wrong way. | used to know
Lewiston family of misers, extremely
narrow and Stingy, and yet would take
no care of the hay in the field or the
cattle in the stall. We had TO sort OF
learn human nature. Get first at the
habits Of the man whose wealth YOU
are seeking to find. It's the best clew
you have.
once was called by the friends OF
an insane man to look after his money.
He had hidden it while supposedly in
his RIGHT mind, and when the symptoms
of his insanity came the money could
not be found. and he could not be in
duced to diyulge. The family began
TO suffer for lack of funds. and they
tried to starye him into telling. but
that only seemed to please him. When
1 was called was puzzled. He wouldn' t
talk on the subject. but the moment it
was mentioned at once flew into pas
sion. / laid in wait for him, and didn' [
discover him doing anything that
would lead to clew. / iin;llly rugged
plan. and one day [ showed
him suddenly roll of paper
with bin around it so that it
looked ike a big wad Of money, re-
marking as | did so: We stumbled on
you. hidden pile the other day
He gave one quick glance
1t was directly into the corner of the
room near the 1ioor He then shouted,
You lieI and laughed gleefully at me.
[ had rim guarded that night. and
while he was asleep we pulled aside
tie carpet and discovered a panel in
the wall. and in it his wealth. | was
sure that We would find it in the room,
fol knew that he would not be salts
fled to STAY in ans place where he could
not be in sight of his hidden treasure.
/ once was sent to take care of a
curious case in Massachusetts. Ii was
twenty years ago. A wealthy man
was stricken with paralysis. he was
about TO deposit about $4,000 in
money and bonds when he was stricken
down. The heirs were wild. He
couldn't recall thing. All that was
known was that he was found sitting
on the front hall stairs, berett of mind
and speech We couldn't make any
thing out Of him. lie had no money.
We made hunt at random over the
house. through the barns and stables.
We about made up our mind that he
had been robbed. We stopped the
Misunderstanding and cushion-prick-
ing business and were Eesitating
whether or not to make arrests or to
search for some systematic Clew. For
nv part. as | remember, was confident
he had been robbed, most probably
after the stroke of paralysis, and | was
not sure that some attack from a rob-
Der had not precipitated the paralysis.
We sought the doctors and examined
the mans person. a long black and
blue mark was on his hip; another
was on his forehead.
A silver of blue-painted wood was on
his clothing. We started out to hunt
We tried the pump. and the clothes
reel. and everything else. Finally
down in the barn cellar among box e
and barrels. came "crOss an old dump
cart top. Here the article. said /
We turned the thing out into the light
and there in pile of manure we founC
the packet Of money and bonds wher'
. the paraiytic had fallen and where tbs
T packet had slipped from his pocket.
Ny partner and divided $1,000 be
+ tween Us that evening.
i Did YOU ever read Edgar 4. Poe:
/ tale about the search of the Paris Police
+ Commissioners after a mysterious let
ter? Well. there is good deal of phil
o>Ophv in hiding things. I've otter
heard Of the old saving. If it had beer
a bear it would have bitten YOU The
very hardest things 10 find are otter
the plainest before you. It's like play
mo odd and even. Iou give the op
p0uent too much credit for too muci
4 Tor it i not enough) sagacity. | wei
remember another ease WI re attempt
of all kinds mad been made to find th'
wealth Of an old miSer in J-stree
Boston. and that after months al'
months of hunting it was brushed on
dav from dusty cid shelf above tn
mantelpiece- Uttered with papers
periodicals.. aud worthless stuff. HI
put il in plain sight, and nobod.
thought it possible that it was WORT
while TO look there.
4 sailor will almost always hide hi
money about him. Irish women n
WAYS sew bills into their petticOats
once went into New Hampshire Z