The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-08-28
GOLD ROBBER CONFESSES
Shows Where He Hid the Treasure
in San Francisco Bay.
WORKED WITHOUT ACCOMPLICES

Tells All to the Police - He Took the
Bullion Through the Tunnel Which
He Had Dug Under the Vault - Most
of It Recovered without Difficulty.
San Francisco, Cal.-Jack Winters,
who was arrested rs a suspect In con-
nection with the Selby Smelling Works
robbery, has confessed and S195,OOO
worth Of bullion has been recovered
from the bay where he had sunk it.
For three days the detectives tried
all sorts Of persuasion to make Win.
ters confess, but apparently without
effect. Finally Winters asked to see
Superintendent Ropp, Of the Selby
Works, who, he said. was the only
friend he had.
On his conversation with Ropp Win
ters's manner indicated that he knew
where the gold had been hidden. ROPE
told Winters that they had a strong
case against him and that he would
be sent to prison for thirty years.
Winters finally weakened and told
Ropp that he had taken the gold and
would take him to the spot where it
was hidden. Winters, in company
with Superintendent Ropp and force
of detectives, left on tug for Crock.
EFT. There they waited all night fol-
low tide. Winters pointed out the
place at the end of the railroad wharf
behind the coal bunkers, at the head
of the Vallejo ferry slip. At that
point at low tide the mud is about four
feet deep, covered by foot of water.
When the tug first reached Crockett
Winters pointed out the spot in the
water where he said he had thrown
the gold. Superintendent Ropp marked
the place on the wharf and the tug
steamed away to wait for low tide.
In the morning Winters got into the
mud and water up to his neck, and
for an hour and half groped for the
missing bullion. During the day $780,
900 worth was recovered. This in
cludes the four bars Of fine gold. 1t
is now only a question Of careful
search to find the rest of the $2S3, 900.
Winters claims he did. the job all
alone. He says he made fourteen
trips from the vault to the wharf from
which he dropped the gold.
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 prac-
tically assumed charge Of the opera
tions and led Captain Seymour and
Superintendent Won Der Ropp 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 waters edge he called the super
intendent to his side and said:
"Now watch what I am going to
show you. Be careful that you get
the locations right"
STOPPING, he picked up three stones,
and, pacing forward, tossed one Of
them into the water. 1t fell to the
south of the spot where the prisoner
stood. Another stone fell to the east.
and the third was thrown directly in
front of Winters.
. "That," said the prisoner, "will
mark 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 q few
yards to the right and drove another
nail In the timber.
"The gold" he continued, twill be
between these two nails, somewhere
in line with the spots marked by the
stones I just threw into the water"
A small boat was secured, and into
1t Sheriff Vale, Detective Kimball and
two laborers were taken. Winters as
sisted in the search for the bricks. He
talked glibly all the while. The deep
mud finally put 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 mi
mute detail. 1t had taken two nights
labor to cut through the brick wall of
the smelter. Most Of the boring in the
bottom Of the vault had been done in
the night when the gold was taken.
He carried the plunder, which was
very heavy, from the vault to the
water and deposited 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 quar-
L. H.