The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-01

ing flnce OF roVsOtO aAu epeht /
Nest of IL in Fifteen Months-He |
is Now in Jail for Larceny.
From the New York sun.
In the California state prison at Sacra-
mento is confined a man whose experiences |
during the past fifteen months read like
the wildly improbable adventures of a
dime novel hero. A year ago last Novem-
Der he was a penniless tramp. making his
way TO San Francisco on the brake beams
of a freight train. He was put of a train.
and camped beside the track ever night.
The next morning he found-simply found
"a fortune of $4,000 in gold coin. Then he
became one of the best known and most
reckless high rollers in San Francisco He
spent in about fifteen months about $4,000
of his find. A week ago last Thursday he
was arrested and taken to prison, charged
with grand larceny. sim, ne only found
the money.
The mans history previous to his finding
a fortune by the railroad track is far from
uninteresting, and altogether his life has
been such that even the remarkable west
could not easily furnish a duplicate. He
was wealthy man before he was a tramp
and when he found the fortune fifteen
months ago he had all the knowledge of
how to use IL TO advantage in getting the
most pleasure for his money. He did not
simply throw his wealth away, as an in
experienced tramp would probably have
done.
The strangest part of the story is how
the fortune he found came to be where
he discovered it. The money was the
plumber secured in one of the most daring
train robberies ever committed in Cali
fornia. A passenger train was held up,
and the express car robbed, and the rob-
bers buried their treasure beside the track,
expecting to come back for it when the
storm had blown over. But the tramp
came along day or two later and carried
off the money, not knowing at the time
where 1t came from, and naturally, little
caring.
The tramp's real name appears to be
Carl Hermann, and he was at one time
a prosperous business man in New York.
He is now 50 years old. His parents owned,
in their early life, farm on the outskirts
Of Hamburg. The city grew out toward
the land, and before long the land was
sold for a considerable fortune. Herr
mann's parents became very wealthy, and
he received the education and training
natural to their condition in life. When he
came of age he received a fortune. He
spent the greater part of 1t travelling in
Europe seeing the sights, he puts it, for
he has always been by nature a man who
believed in seeing life to the limit of his
resources. He came to the United States
a score of years or more ago, and fifteen
years ago was established as a prosperous
dealer in smoked fish in this city. He ac-
cumulated another moderate fortune, and
abandoned his business to see life in this
country.
He saw a great deal of various phases
of life in the west, and eight years ago
reached the Pacific coast penniless. Since
then he has wandered all over the coast
region and the adjoining states, pracu-
cally a tramp. He worked through the
summer, at anything he could get to do,
on ranches, in hop fields, in lumber camps,
or on farms. But he was always moving
about, and rarely had more than enough
money one day to last him to nightfall.
He beat the railroads and camped in the
IL T,r1h mar 4 apf
Fifteen months ago, in November, 1894
he was working his way toward Saarameh-
to- intending to go thence to San Fran
cisco, and further south for the winter. A
few miles outside Sacramento he camped
for the night beside the railroad track.
night or two before this. or it may have
been the same night, for the exact facts
have not yet been determined, two masked
men held UP the east-bound passenger
train two miles from Sacramento, blew
open the express safe, and secured more
than $50, 600, which was in care of the
Wells-Fargo Express Company. They car
ried their plumber into the brush little
way down the track. dug shallow hole
and into the hole dumped the sacks con-
tanning the coin. filled IN the earth, and
scattered leaves over the place. The work
was badly done, as the robbers had no
proper tools, and were naturally in a great
hurry. They knew nothing of the near
presence of the tramp Hermann, or
Harms as he then called himself, who was
sleeping in the woods only few hundred
yards away.
In the morning Hermann gathered up
his blanket and started on his way for
Sacramento. In making his way toward
the railroad track from the piece of woods
in which he had camped he came upon the
newly made mound In the bushes. He had
not heard the robbers at work during the
night. His curiosity was naturally aroused
and he commenced to dig in the mound to
see what it might contain. In few mo-
ments he uncovered the canvas sacks and
opening them, found them brimful of gold
en- eagles. There was about $4,000 in gold
in the sacks, the robbers having taken
about 900 with thm, as one of them ex-
planned when captured later. What he
thought about how the money might have
come there he has not yet told. But he
lost no time in removing it. He reburied
some of the gold, but a great part of il
he tied up in his blanket along with his
few, traps slung i over his shoulder; ana ma
/ into Sacramento. He passed several par
ties out hunting for traces OF the train
robbers or their plumber, but Hermann
! was quite well known in that section, hav-
! ing worked there off and on for eight
/ years or more during his Wanderlng5 about
the coast. and he was not questioned.
| Just what he did in the ensuing two or
| three months is not yet known He APP
peared in San Francisco last spring. and
| estab lished himself in expensive quarters,
| and from that time on until last week.
| when he was arrested, he lived the life Of
/ a wealthy man of somewhat sporty tastes
/ and habits. He had many acquaintance
/ in San Francisco, and to them ne ex-
/ planned that he had inherited fortune
| from relatives in Germany. Some of his
| acouaintances had known him in New
| York. and knew enough of his history to
make them readily believe his story of
| the source of his newly acquired wealth,
There was absolutely nothing to connect
| him with the train robbery near Sacra-
mento Indeed, the main evidence now
! connecting him with the finding of the
| proceeds Of that robbery is his own con-
| fession to the detectives who arrested
him.
! Hermann was most generous with his
money. He was everybody's friend, and
| spent his money pretty much as any other
| spendthrift might have done He had an
| expensive establishment dressed I'm the
| hight of style, and dispensed generous
| hospitality at the most expensive hotels.
| He cultivated the Acquaintance of racing
| men, and not a little Of his money was
1 spent at the race track. Still, the general
| estimony of his acquaintance is that he
| got the worth of his money, so far as
| values go in that sort Of expenditure. He
/ knew enough of the uses of money 10
make it 20 in more satisfactory ways
| than simply burning 1t. He has spent
/ about $4,000 since last summer. When
asked how he managed to spend so much,
/ he said