The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-08-15
ROBBERY is CLEARED UP.
Suspect Winters, Former Employ
of the SmeIter, Makes
Full Confession.

San Francisco, Aug. 13.-Jack Win
tiers confession has cleared up all the
mystery of the Selby smelter robbery.
Gold bars worth $4,000 have been re-
covered, and the rest Of the $2SO,OO0
stolen will undoubtedly be secured.
Winters, when he had made up his
mind to tell what he knew about the
crime, was exceedingly willing to give
all the information necessary toward
the recovery of the bullion. He practi-'
cally assumed charge of the operations
and led Captain Seymour and Superin-i
tendent Won Der Ropp of the smeter
company to the dock He acted more
like one Of the detectives employed on
the case than a prisoner. AS soon as
he arrived at the water edge he called
the superintendent to his side and
said:
Now watch what am going to-
show you. Be careful that you get the
location right"
STOPPING, he picked up three stones
and pacing forward he tossed one of.
them into the water. 1t fell to the,
south of the spot at which the prisoner
stood. Another stone fell to the east
and the third was thrown directly in,
front Of Winters.
the water boundary of the place where
your gold is hidden" !
Stepping to the left. Winters drew
nail from his pocket and asked for a
hammer. He then paced off a few.
yards to the right and drove another
nail in the timber.
THE gold" he continued will be
between those two nails somewhere in
line with the spot marked by the stones
/ lust threw into the water
small boat was secured and into
it Sheriff Vale, Detective Kimball and
two laborers were loaded. Winters as
sisted in the search for the bricks. He
talked glibly all the while. The deep
mud finally put a stop to operations
and it was decided to build Golfer dam
before trying to recover the rest of the
treasure.
Winters told the officers that he
planned the robbery long ago with
minute detail He had been two or
three months working on his little tun-
mel. 1t had taken two nights labor to
cut through the brick wall of the
smelter Most of the boring In the bot
tom Of the vault had been done the
night the gold was taken. He carried
the plumber, which was very heavy,
from the vault to the water and de-
posted It where the water was from
three to six feet deep at low tide. The
distance from the vault to the cache
was about a quarter Of a mile and he
made fourteen round trips. He was at
work four hours Monday night. Four
small bars of refined gold he concealed
among the stones of the breakwater
just at the further mouth Of the rail-
road tunnel. His purpose had been to
use this gold for present needs. Win
tiers. on his last trip, had seen that
dawn was breaking. Not daring to
complete the trip, he laid on the shore
the two bricks which We're found Tues
day morning at the point where the
robbers boat was supposed to have
landed. The trail Of red pepper ending
at that point had been blind.
In view Of the fact that promises Of
clemency were made to Winters in
consideration Of his unearthing the
gold, it is thought that his punishment
will be light.
Detective Gibson is quoted as saying
that 1t was promised Winters by Presi-
dent Ralston, Of the Selby Smelling
works, that he should not only be
prosecuted, but should receive $25, 00O
Winters cannot be prosecuted" said
Detective Gibson, "for there is no evil
dence against him. All that has been
drawn from his was secured by the
detectives under promise that it would
not be used against him. Under such
circumstances it would be extremely
difficult to secure conviction