Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-08
A POTFUL OF GOLD.
The Rich Discovery OF Two Germans In
an Old House.

A Cleveland, Ohio, dispatch to the New York
Times says: Meager particulars OF find Of
gold and silver coin on 4 farusnear Tiffin. Han
cock county. were published recently but ii
Is only within few days that accurate infor-
nation concerning it has been secured. This
Is due to the fact that a suit is pending in re-
gard to the ownership Of the treasure, and the
two Germans who found it were unwilling to
say anything that might compromise their
cases. Ihe treasure was found by Michael
Scheh, an old German who was. working for
Jacob Schumacher, and his story, which is now
given to the public for the first time, reads like
tale OF pirates treasure or Q second edition
or ARABIAN Nights"
Scheff says he had been working for Jacob
Schumacher, who had purchased an eighty acre
farm three and one-half miles southwest of
fiffin. On the farm was brick house. which
had been built fifty years or more ago aud
which until last spring had been occupied by
tenants. Near the house and under a connect
ing roof was an old Dutch oven also of brick
with weli-paved hallway between. When MIR.
Sci mucker purchased the farm the tenants va
Gated the house and Mr.. Schmucker was pre-
pairing to move in.
The house was almost overrun with rats and
Mr.. Schumacher and his son and Mr. Scheff went
there on Saturday, April g. TO exterminate rs
many OF the rodents as possible prior to NOV
ing in. They had been diligent Ii their saugh-
ter and killed large number of the pests.
About O'Clock in the afternoon Scheff
chased rat into hole in tho corner of the
hallway. He ran to the hole and tore up a
brick In the pavement and found underneath u
silver coin of small denomination. He re-
ported to Mr.. Schumacher that he had found
money, and that gentleman laughngly told
him he could have half of all he found, never
dreaming that so much treasure was soon to be
unearthed. Scheff then tore up more bricks
and threw out some of the dirt, which was
found to contain more coins. Soon a regular
rats nest Of silver was discovered. The coins
were mostly Mexican. French and Spanish and
of different denominations, ranging from a
hve-cent piece to a dollar i'll value, there being
many tive-franc pieces There were enough of
them to fill three peck measures. and they
were hastily poured into wheat sack and hid
n. 1t was then resolved to dig under the
house. and ScheH went back into the hall sew
eral feet to start trench and get under the
house in that way.
He dug up the pavement and sunk his spade
into the ground and struck something hard the
first time. He dug down to it and found it to
be large coffee pot. Having removed the
dirt from around it he grasped the handle to
phil 1t out, when the handle came off, bringing
with 1t the lid and scattering gold coins around
IN protusion. The coffee pot was full of yellow
money, mostly American. and in denomina-
lions OF 81, $3.50, IS. $40 and 500 and as bright
Scheffs breath was taken away. He gasped
a moment and then yelled for Schmucker.
That worthy no sooner the treasure than
he took charge of it, pouring it into sack,
after first giving Scheif two 40 gold pieces.
schmuckers son atterward gave INN French
40-frahc piece, worth between 81 and So
After they had sifted all the ground there
about Schef took mattock and tore up the
floor OF the room over the place where the rat
hole went under the house. and here they
found more silver scattered all about doubtless
by the rats.
The most startling part of Scheffs story is yet
to come. Digging up the ground here under
this old room the two men found human bones
and there is little doubt a dark crime was buried
with the treasure 50 many years ago. doubt
less, that the mystery of the gold is unfathom-
able now
Mr.. schcff does not know the value of the
treasure as Schumacher took charge of all of it
without waiting to count it in Scheffs pres
ence. but he estimates it at from s40, 600 to
S5O,0 He lis angry because Schumacher re-
fused to divide with him, as he had promised,
and has retained a prominent Tiflin attorney
and entered suit against Schumacher for $40 900
Ira Cgdwallader son of former owner of
the property, has also brought suit to recover
the money, claiming that it barred years
ago by his mother IL the early days of the
western reserve. Cadwallade. got out u writ
of attachment some weeks ago and tried TO Sc
cure the treasure. When the sheriff visited
the Schumacher place he found the sack of sill
yer coin. after II long search. carefully buried
in the onion bed in the garden. Its contents
were appraised at 81, 100 by the court. The
gold coin could not be found however and the
frugal German and his wife had evidently
hidden it with great care. Cadwalladers chain
of evidence is SAID to be very Incomplete and
there is little likelihood of his winning the
suit. Mr.. Scheff, however. is very confident
of his case. and has done very little work since
finding the treasure, expecting that his share
of 1t woud be enough 10 keep him in luxury
the rest of his days. Among the coins in MIR.
Scheff = possession four silver pieces dated
1911, 1872 and 1918, and none of the silver
CONS found BY the sheriff was of later date
than 1885,