Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1892-07-23
SCENES AT THE CLOSE.
HOW THEY HID VALUABLES IN E%.
CITING TIMES.
To pr-sesve Their Treasures All Sorts
Of E,pedients Were Rssortsd To
And Many Ingenious Methods for

And Many Ingenious Methods for
Conceaimcnt Devised.
David Dodge has contributed paper
to tho Atlantic Monthly upon "llumo
Scenes at the Fall of the Confcderacy, !"
from which we make this interesting *
tract:
With all diligence and secrecy we set
to work to hide not only siIverware,
jewelry, and other valuables, but food
also. TO this end all sorts of expedisnts
were resorted to. Bags of wheat and Of
shelled corn were carried out by night
and hid in hollow logs and trees Many
cavity, under overhanging rocks, in
the ivyclad bluffs, was converted into
temporary crib or granary, in which
grain was deposited, and covered with
stones to keep off the hogs, a bank of
leaves topping and concealing the stones.
Hollow trees were turned into Smoke
houses, where, on nails driven high up
on the inside walls, were hung hams,
"sides," and such edibles as hungry,
keen scented ours would have appropri.
ated, no matter how deeply buried or
we'll covered. Jars of lard and jugs #
the inevitable sorghum" homemade
molasses) were securely tied up and
buried in the woods, or old fields. !"
Such microscopic remnants of coffee and
sugar as still remained among us were
usually classed and hid with the valua-
blcs. The preservation of the stint Of
salt which the energy and foresight of
the idolized Vance had enabled him to
dole out to us few months before, SO
many pounds per capita. and at nominal
price, gave us much concern. Some
times it was trusted in bags hung up in
the improvised smoke houses, but oftener
it was deposited in jars, and buried with
the utmost care and circumspection.
But it was in the concealment of valu-
ables that infinite varieties of ingenuity
were displayed, some worthy of Poe's
pirate (ride The Gold Bug, and sore
p,thetic in their innocent disregard of
the world and the worlds craft. Rarely
left above ground, these valuables were
buried in all sorts of places, and all sorts
of means were taken to leave no sign
that the earth had been disturbed. Some
persons preferred to dig holes in the
woods, where the spot could be covered
with leaves or pine needles. A favorite
choice WAS by the side of the briery
fence corners in remote, unfrtquented
fields, especially if, as was usually the
case in untitled fields, a thicket of young
pines shut in the spot. Behind dense
screen Of this kind small packages We're
often buried in the daytime; otherwise
all such work had, of course, to be done
under cover of darkness.
Sometimes, to make assurance doubiy
sure, a small brook would be damned.
the treasure, rendered as near waterproof
a. possible. buried in the bed beneath
IN | then the water allowed to resume
its former channel. 1t will be seen at u
glance that, so far as danger of discov-
cry was concerned, this mode was the
safest of all, provided it could be carried
out unobserved. The concealer did not
make a track on terra tirma, either in
approaching or leaving the spot. for he
had before him the Indian path of rum
ming water, while the stream, rolling
down its detritus of sand and gravel,
soon made all parts of its bed alike.
However, only articles of small bulk
could we'll be hidden in this way. A
near neighbor of ours had several fine
gold watches, one of them, at least, q
valued heirloom, whose safety caused
him much anxiety. ,fter earnestly
considering every possible mode of con.
,ealing them, he finally decided on tho
one last mentioned. A fruitj jar was
selected, tested as to being perfectly air
tight. and the watches, after being
wrapped in flannel, were placed therein
the jar was securely sealed, and the next
lay found the current of the spring
branch flowing serenely above the treas
Ire.
A few trusted their watches and jew
slrv to hollow trees and to clefts in
lonely rocks. though the enterprise of
the ubiquitous negro opossum hunter
rendered this mole somewhat precari-
ous. Such places being the retreat of
the opossum, there was danger that he
might lead his pursuers straight to tho
selected cleft or hollow, and, in getting
him out, they could scarcely fail to dis.
cover other contents of the lair. In one
instance this really did occur A gen.
tleman, having concealed watch and
some valuable diamonds in a small hol-
low tree, was startled, on reconnoitring
the place few days later, to find that
the tree had not only been feled, but
actually split open. He had given up
his property for lost. when he happened
to spy it buried in the leaves, where il:
had dropped as the trunk was rent asun-
der. Fortunately, the sable hunter had
been too eager after his quarry to havo
an eye for any thing else.