Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-12-29
THE FIELD OF BATTLE
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF
THE WAR.

The Veterans Of the Rebellion Tell of
Whistline Bullets, Bright Bayonets,
Bursting Bombs, Bloody Battles.
Camp Fire, Festive Bugs, Etc, ETC.
A I the opening of Congress in
A 1868 there appeared in Wash
= Aington a young and beautiful
woman. The letters of introduction
which she brought to the leading peo
pie opened to her the doors of the high
est circles. Her beauty and charming
manners soon made her one of the
leaders of Washington society. One of
the men who were attracted to her,
and who was seen at every gathering
at which Miss Elliot (for thus was she
young Englishman who had been
drawn to Washington 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 be a friend
Of the Northern cause and in favor of
the national government. He, as we'll
as Miss Elliot, was quite intimate 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
sustained by gold shipped from San
Francisco. The dates of the sailing Of
the ships which should convey this
money was known only to the Secre-
tary of the Treasury. The line of Pa
cific Mail steamships at that time run
ming between San Francisco, 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, steel safe with the
bottom set on a center pivot. The en-
tire 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 finishings.
When the government contemplated
a shipment of gold, the sub-treasurer
at San Francisco was written to and
the steamer was prepared for ship
ment at the United. States branch mint
at San Francisco by packing sums of
twenty thousand dollars in separate
boxes, screWing on the head, and seal
ing with wax each screw in the box,
which was then stamped with gov
eminent 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 Workmen. This was
done so quietly and at such unusual
hours that it was known only to few
men and the officers of the mail steam
ship company. When the gold was all
stored in the safe, the ub-treasurer
locked it. The American consul a Pan
ANA, upon the arrival of the steamer,
unlocked the safe. and the boxes of
gold were taken across the Isthmus on
the cars by night, placed on board the
steamer 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 re-
marked, the weight Of the safe was
hung on center pivots to keep the bot
tom of the safe in place; there were also
side-bolts fixed so that they could be
pulled out at any 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
attacked the Pacific Mail steamers, the
Southern Confederacy should not have
the benefit of the United States gold for
the captain Of the steamer had instruc-
lions that if attacked he was to pull the
bolt and let the millions go to the bot
tom Of the sea.
By reason of the intimate relations
which Miss Elliot and Neville held with
the family 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 to capture
the next large shipment of government
gold from the Pacific Mail steamer
which should be designated by the Sec |
rotary of the Treasury to 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 Secretary of the Treasury, who had |
become completely fascinated by her
beauty and child like, winning ways.
AS soon as Neville had perfected his |
plans for selling the steamer, a schoon-
er was purchased in Callao, and arms
and guns sufficient for two vessels,
which had been shipped from England,
were taken OF board. The schooner
then sailed for the Santa Cruz Islands, |
off Santa Barbara, and there waited |
for another schooner, the Chapman,
which had been purchased at San |