The Jennings daily record., 1901-11-07
FOUND A FORTUNE IN GOLD.
Laborers In Oakland, California En-
riched by Discovery of Owner
less Gold Bars.

OF SoHd bafS from the mint IN "a II
Francisco and the robbery of over a
quarter of million of dollars. also
in gold bars, from the SeIby smeIt-
ing works near San Francisco, calls
to mind the discovery of large but
unknown quantity of gold in bars in
a house which was being demolished
in Oakland. just across the bay from
San Francisco, says a correspondent
of the Washington Star.
l was engaged in newspaper work
on the coast, at the time in Oakland,
in fact, and l am conversant with the
particulars from personal knowledge,
though the discovery at the time ex-
cited but little local interest, and SO
remarkable was It that it was doubt
ed in some quarters. subsequently,
however, the truth was developed.
The gold bars, to an estimated guam
tity of $250.080. were actually found.
but to whom they had originally be-
longed or by whom they were stolen,
Is still mystery. AS it happened
about ten years ago l cannot recall
the names of the parties with ac-
curacy, though l once knew them,
every effort. of course, being made at
The time to keep the "find' secret.
a two-story frame house on Tenth
street. in Oakland. was owned and
occupied by a family, the head of
which at the time in question, and
for a great many years, over 90. [
think. was an employe in the San
Francisco mint. / remember the
house we'll. The old man died sud-
denly and the house was at once
| sold by his heirs. The new owner be-
gan tearing it down, Intending re-
placing it with 4 business structure.
In digging away the lower walls an
Italian laborer came upon a gold
bar hidden in the foundations. He
covered the bar up with earth and
went on digging. but soon uncarthed
so many other Secreted bars that his
| find was discovered by three other
men employed with him. They at
once entered into a secret compact
to collect the bars themselves and
inform no one else, especially the
| contractor and the owner, of the
great and unexpected wealth with
which they had SO suddenly become
possessed.
The men were all laborers. two be-
| ing Italians, l think. They We're sue
ces sful in getting the gold away from
>.
| The first intimation that something Of
an unusual nature had happened to
| these four men was that they quit
| work for good and made heavy invest
| 1nents in real estate. Their purcha Sc $
| excited suspicion, they all had been
very poor men. To cut short long
| story, however, it was ascertained that
they had in fact found the gold, and
| they wore advice. cnryart
! ing it into other property to prevent
] the possible owner from laying claim
to his original property.
I'm this they were all successful. In
fact, luck appeared to be with them.
| No one came forward to claim the hid
| den treasure for the very good reason.
undoubtedly, that the only other per-
| son on the face of the earth who had
known of its whereabouts was dead
| One man bought a ranch in the central
part of the state for $40, 900. The Ital-
ian living in Oakland bought fine new
house, furnished it luXuriously, pay
ing $1,000 for a piano, and bought his
| wife an unlimited quantity of diamond
jewelry.
THE old adage, however, that stolen
gold brings to its Possessor bad luck
in the end proved true. In less than
five years the ranch owner was bank
rupt, and the ranch had reverted TO its
original owners on foreclosure. The
italian lost all of his property and re-
turned to live in the little cottage in
North Oakland he had vacated for his
] fine house. The only thing he pre-
! served TO remind him of the days of
his t1eeting wealth was a Turkish rug
| worth about $500 which he placed on
| the floor of the cottage, and would not
sell when all else had gone.
The third man dissipated all of his
wealth in fast living and gambling and
| died Il pauper in a hospital in Seattle.
| The career of the fourth man / can
not recall accurately, but l know that
he, too, lost all that he had. The ranch
owner, by the way, died a misera Bile
death alone in cabin on the Sacra-
mento river and was buried by the
town in the potter's field.
"The gold. of course, did not right
fully belong to the man who secreted
it in the walls of the house. 1t was
stolen from some one, and if it had
been taken by the man who had for
merly owned the house his heirs put in
no claim for it for the reason that they
knew it did not rightfully belong to
him. II was considered improba BILE
that any person other than he had Sc
creted it. however, as he had lived in
the house for many years, had built
it him self, if my recollection is correct.
"Since he had been for so cong an
| employe of the mint the general i'm
preston al the time was that he had