The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-09-15

"a a l.
Come with me, and l will show you where
we show gold" And he got up from the
table in his Office on the bridge, where he
just completed, and led the way.
"Now,h he said, when wehad reached the
particular hole In the upper deck that is
spoken of rs the after hatch, "look down.
THAI iron door that stands half way open is
the door of the mailroom. Insidethe mail
room is another and smaller room with an
other iron door. The smaller room Is tho
specie room. These two rooms are as secure
as ingenuity can make them. The sides
and bottom and top Of each are Of iron, md
the doors are secured by patent, unpickahle
locks Of which / personally hold the keys
during q voyage. The only way to get into
either Of these rooms without picking the
locks would be 10 drill through the iron
walls. And to get into the specie room from
the mailroom would be to double the task.
European ~consignors Of gold pack It in
boxes. iron bound and protected with wax
en- seals which would break if the boxes
were to be tampered with in the slightest
degree. Gold and other coin Is sent from
this port in kegs, similarly bound and
sealed. Not O penny's worth Of coin has
ever been lost in steamship transit between
the continents. Although the shipments
Of gold are this year all one way, from Eu-
rope to America, silver is constantly going
from America to Europe as an article of
commerce."
Then with the captain as my guide 1
climbed down into the bowels Of the ship
to the deck where the precious metals are
stored. When they were loaded, the boxes
Of gold brought over by the Fuerst Bis
marck on this voyage were piled N the
iron floor Of the specie room until it was
quite covered. Then tarpaulin was spread
over the boxes, then this YVES covered with
planks, then another layer Of boxes was
laid down and so on until the entire ship
ment was slowed. OF course a careful
record was kept Of the number of boxes
and the amount OF coin contained in each.
The largest cargo of gold ever brought to
New York from Europe came on the Nor
MAMMA Of the same line as the Fuerst Bis
marck and amounted to $4,500,oW.
The boxes In which gold is brought from
Europe are Is inches long, 1o inches wide
and 10 inches high, and each contains from
1900 to $4,000 worth OF coin. They had
been brought out Of the specie room when
l was on the ship and lay on the floor Of
the mailroom near the open door carefully
RuaTueu ny n bElpS OllCeT anu u neHlDer
of the crew. The passengers had most Of
them debarked and departed after running
the gauntlet of the customsofficers before the
messengers arrived from New York for the
precious consignment. These messengers
seemed to be clerks, and they came on the
ordinary trucks on which tho gold was to
be brought across the North river from Ho-
boken to this city. They were unaccompa-
MED by guards Of any sort unless the drly-
ers Of the trucks might be considered as
guards in n certain sense. In one case there
were W clerks, but the extra man ap-
peared to be on hand as much for his own
pleasure MS for any more weighty reason.
He certainly did not appear to be there in
order to increase the safety of the gold.
AS soon as tho first of tho permits for che
removal of the gold had been secured by
one of the clerks some one on the dock
blew a whistle. Then from the hatless,
half clad throng of longshoremen that
crowded about him in their competition for
working an hour or two this individual Sc
lected 25 or 80 men, who hurried up the gang