The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-07
STOLE GOLD BRICKS
sueEwD WORK OF ROBBERS At
VALLEJO, CAL.
UNDERMINED STRONG ROOM.
sr1nY SMELLING WORKS is NOW
SHORT S34O,O0O.


Tbem Directly Beneath the Vault
where the New Gold Was Espt.
1ost Night They Completed Their
work and Took out Six Large
coId BricI<-In Their Haste They
LEFT Two of These on the River
Bank.
Vallejo. Cal, Aug. 6.-Gold bricks
valued at $2S0O0O were stolen during
last night from the selby Smelling
works. The robbers evidently had been
working on the job for two or three
months They had dug tunnel from
mtsido the house, beginning with a
shaft about three feet deep. Thence
thew worked underneath the vault and
striking upwards, bored a hole in the
strong room floor. The hole was shaped
Ike the man-hole of a boiler. Part of
the holes were bored two months ago,
II is thought, and the last one was
completed during the night. Through
that hole they took the gold bricks
and carried them to a bank near
the mouth of the tunnel, where they
were evidently placed in boat. In
their hurry the robbers left two of the
bricks on the bank.
During the night one of the workmen
reported to one of his fellows that he
heard a noise in the strong room and
declared it was a ghost. The others
ridiculed him for his superstition but
no investigation was made to see what
caused the noise. The entrance to the
tunnel was covered with a frame over
which the employees of the smelters
passed every day, but no one seemed
to notice anything out of the way.
No Clue to Robbers.
Sheriff Veale of Contra Costa coun-
ty, his deputies and Chief of Police
Sanford of Vallejo have been notified
and are now at the works. The police
Of San Francisco and all the bay cities
are all at work on the case, but so far
there is not the slightest clue to the
robbers, The work was that of skilled
men and their elaborate plans were
carried out without a hitch. They got
all the bullion in the vault, leaving be-
hind only the two bricks which were
dropped on the shore. Only one days
accumulation of refined gold was kept
at the works. Yesterdays run was un-
usually heavy and the gold was to have
been shipped to San Francisco to-day.
smooth Lot of Robbers.
The tunnel that the robbers excavat-
ed was about three feet in diameter
ano gave them plenty of room in which
10 work. 1t is supposed the dirt from
the tunnel was taken out at night and
cropped in the bay. First reports stat
ed that the tunnel was two or three
hundred feet long, but according to late
advlces it is only about ten feet in
length. The shaft was started close to
the wall and was sunk below the foun-
dation. Thence it was only a short
distance under the floor of the vault
IL Is thought the men who committed
the robbery took their (plunder away
IN launch and made off directly for
san Francisco. There are plenty OF
places, however, to which they may
nave gone-either up the Sacramento
river or to the shore of any of the nu-
merous bays.
Following is list of the property
stolen:
-Four fine gold bricks, all numbered
ana containing as follows: No. 1886
d'dSV ounces and a fraction No. 1887
0JVO ounces; No. 1888, 1,123 ounces and
traction; No. 1888, 1857 ounces and a
Also 10000 ounces of gold in various
Shapes, and little silver. The gold in
'"e bricks is worth $40 an ounce.
How the Robbers worked.
An Official of the Selby Smelling
works made the following statement
10 the Associated Press:
me robbers must have succeeded in
enterlhg the vault some time between
Tit-ulIisht and o'clock this morning
aiiey entered the vault through hole
baTu "9ut the size of a manhole in a
voHer' and indications point to the fact
uiat the robbers have been working on
e scheme for some time. Over 15C
roIes We're bored into the bottom OF
az, vault and the workmanship indi-
~ that mechanics of more than
az dDllty superintended the
The holes were bored
"lthln a hairs breadth of the sur
r. ana when the proper time came
~ plate was forced up, thus giving
nIe loopers access to the vault. The
siIo io'ets 7i nrst excavated hole along
~ me building, directly in line with
n,,,.. @uIt' The work of excavating
9I nave taken some time and at the
eno OF each nights work 0or the work
-IHt n-i nave been done at night a COW
So VI laths, rubber sheeting and
60 ,CNS was made, the whole being COW
49, over with a layer of dirt. thus
Us any sign of what was going on
w., nat Dec2me of the excavated dirt
nave been unable to find out. II
rusl otl nave been removed in sacks. The
s.t.vlIng' we have Ascertained, was not
,.ohs enough to hold the weight of a
oieaI' put the excavation was made SC
a, 10 the building that the man nev.
NJ walked over it, We find that the
Ot'Gis We're aided by some one thor.
ria,y familiar with the system. EN-.
faS at the works and one fully in.
vs,,,. as to the construction of the
Waterman Heard Noises.
asst night one of the watchmen EN-.
inesSu about the premises heard noises
lo,,.e the vault and informed his fel.
si5. mat the devil or ghosts were in.
ana sne vault. They laughed at hin
/ tbe made "i7ae no investigation. and thus
i tbo,r' oooers were left unmolested al
4 car.,. work. The weight of the golc
4 9oo out OF the vault aggregated
. sevsP Pouhds and it must have taker
4 erai a. Trips Tor one man. And sew.
earr,,i"In n must have been employed II
boz "s the metal to the
wa. we are assured a boat
Inc IN waiting for them
cue the vault were several sacks
to,,ao9Sulhlng $4,000, but this was moi
me-, ied. 1t may have been that the
al.rrpeG peGame alarmed. That they were
thst ieu . IS also Indicated by the fac
v.e-. Swo bars of gold OF great value
10 eIt on the beach in their hasts
Tim. IS impossible for us to say at this