The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-15
CONSPIRACY TO STEAL GOLD,
In Which a Beautiful English Girl
Was Interested.
From the Argonaut.

From the Argonaut.
AT the opening of congress in 1868 there
appeared in Washington a young and
beautiful woman. The letters of intro
duction which she brought to the leading
people opened to her the door of the high
est circles. Her beauty and charming
manners soon made her one of the lead
ers of Washington society. One of the
men who We're attracted to her and who
was seen at every gathering at which
Miss Elliot Qor thus was she named)
made her appearance, was a young Eng
lishman who had been drawn to Washing
ton by our civil war. He had the entree
of the best clubs and report said that he
was the second son of Lord Neville, in the
peerage of England He professed to he
a friend of the northern cause and in
favor of the national government. He
as well as Miss Elliot, was quite inti-
mate with the family of the Secretary Of
the Treasury and with the chiefs of the
other departments At this time the
credit of the government was being sus-
tanned by gold shipped from San Fran
cisco. The dates of the sailing of the ships
which should convey that money was
known only to the Secretary of the Treas
ury. The line of Pacific Mail steamships
at that time running between San Fran
cisco, Panama and New York were the
old style side paddles. These ships had
been fitted up to carry the gold for The
United States government by putting on
the port side of the ship, on the guard
after the wheel, a steel safe with the bot
tom set on a center pivot. The entire
safe was cased with woodwork, like the
other parts of the steamer, so that it did
not differ in appearance from the rest
of the wood finishiugs.
When the government contemplated a
shipment of gold. the subtreasurer at San
Fancisco was written to and the steamer
in which it was to be shipped was named.
The gold was prepared for shipment at
the United Statse branch mint at San
Francisco by packing sums of $4,000 in
separate boxes, screwing on the head and
sealing with wax each screw in the box,
which was then stamped with a govern
ment seal. On Sunday before the sailing
of the steamer, a picked set of Workmen
from the mint were selected and the boxes
of gold were loaded on to drays before
daylight and driven to the steamer, and
there placed in the safe by the mint work
men. This was done so quietly and at
such unusual hours that it was known
only to few men and the officers of the
mail steamship company. When the gold
was all stored in the safe the subtreasur-
err locked it, The American consul at
Panama, upon the arrival of the steamer,
unlocked lne SdIe ana the boxes OF BOlO
were taken across the istnmus on the
cars by night, placed on board the steam
er at Aspinwall and locked in the safe on
that ship by the consul there; thus no
one on either steamer had any means of
opening the safe while the gold was in
transit AS l have remarked, the weight
of the safe was hung on center piVots to
keep the bottom of the safe in place; there
were also side bolts fixed so that they
no rantlad a desired time
the method of which was known only to
the captains of the steamers. This ar
rangement had been provided in case that
If any of the confederate cruisers attack
ed the Pacific mail steamers, the south
ern confederacy should not have the ben
eft of the United States gold, for the
captain of the steamer had Instructions
that II attacked he was to pull the bolt
and let the millions go to the bottom OF
the sea-
BY reason Of the intimate relations which
Miss Elliot and Neville held with the fam
lily Of the Secretary Of the Treasury, they
had become cognizant Of these facts, and
Neville soon after left Washington for San
Francisco IN order to make preparation
10 capture the next large shipment Of
government gold from the Pacific Mail
steamer which should be designated by the
Secretary OF the Treasury 10 carry IT, Miss
Elliot, remained in Washington In order to
get and send TO Neville the date OF the
shipment, which she in her artfully artless
manner intended to learn from the Secre-
tary OF the Treasury, who had become
completely fascinated by her beauty and
child-like winnings ways. AS soon as Ne
Vile had perfected his plans for selling
the steamer, q schooner was purchased in
Calao and arms and guns sufficient for
two vessels. which had been shipped from
England were taken on board. The
IL
Islands. Off Santa Barbara, and there
waited for another schooner, the Chap
man. which had been purchased at San
Francisco. She was ostensibly fitted out
for a coasting voyage and she took on
board men enough to man the two vessels
Both schooners were 10 fly the confederate
Gag under letters Of mar1uc. The schoon-
or from Callao was named the Vesta and
was fitted up with pivot gun and made a
formidable privatcereman.
Neville had worked out his plans 50 Sue
ccssfully that he wrote to Miss Elliot that