The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-29

became apparent to Mr. Davis that he could
not with such retinue escape the vigilance
of the Federal cavalry which were rapidly
closing in on him from every direction, so
the money kegs belonging to the govern
ment were opened and the silver was di-
vided among the boys, each, without re-
gard to rank, receiving $3.50 and they
We're granted indefinite furloughs. Mr.
Davis with his family and a much smaller
escort pushed on further south and was
Federas
sought the aid of the Federal commanders
to return their specie to Richmond. and
from them obtained permit TO return with
1t to Richmond. and also guard Of soldiers
to protect it on its return trip.
Some of the officers and men of General
Vaughn s brigade became apprised that a
train OF specie was being carried north
under Federal escort and they jumped to
the conclusion that it was the property of
the Confederate government which the
Federals had captured. They concluded
that their four years of hard service for
the Confederacy entitled them to share
of this gold, provided they could succeed
in securing 1t from the Federal guard
With them the war was not yet over and
they acted upon the idea that anything was
fair in war.
They organized an expedition with the
view Of capturing this money and followed
the train until a favorable opportunity of
attack presented itself; they charged the
train, captured and disarmed the guard and
proceeded at once to knock the heads out of
the kegs containing the gold and to fill
their forage sacks with shining $40 and SO
gold pieces.
Several of them got away with as much
$50 600 apiece; some were content with
$4,000, and still others with less amounts.
depending upon the carrying capacity Of
their forage sacks and saddle bags.
"One fellow began to fill his sack out of
the first keg he came to, which proved to be
q keg of silver He was happy when he
lugged off mis- bag full of silver dollars
but when he met his companions later in
the rendezvous where they stopped to count
their money and found that while he had
such a large bulk and heavy load of money
it only counted up about $4,000, his COM
rades, who were gOdbugs, disdaining the
silver kegs, had secured such large sums
in gold, he became greatly disturbed over
his i'll luck and greatly offended at the re-
fusal of the others to divide their gold with
him-his predictions for free silver had
cost him many thousands of dolars-and
he determined to turn infOrmer. Upon in
formation furnished by this silver king
several of the goldbugs We're unprecedented
and compelled to give up their booty but
a number of them were wise enough to
keep on going unit! they got safely away
from the scene of their capture. .,
1.-Two of these men, officers in Colonel
Meals Sixteenth Tennessee Battalion, went
with their money, amounting to $50 900, to
Western town and established a banking
house; the town grew to be a great city
and these bankers became men of great
wealth.
quently lost their heads in a real estate
boom similar to that which about the same
time struck Chattanooga and dissipated the
fortunes they had built up on their cap
tured gold.
1.-TWO others, whom I knew, invested their
booty in the cattle business and became
wealthy cattle kings, while another became
a wealthy planter in Texas.
'"The Richmond banks spent a large sum
of money in a vain effort to recover their
money and detect the men who had gotten
it. Some twenty years after the war was
over they got information that the bankers
and boomers of the Western city We're
among the men who had captured their
money but they had no way of establish
ing the truth of the information, the wit
nesses to the transaction could not afford
to tell on them and so their effort to get
nothing.
Il give you this unwritten chapter of the
civil war to show how handful of rebel
soldiers We're seized with the KlOndike
fever long before the Yukon was known or
Alaska had become the property of the
United States"