Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-04-08
DIGS IN FARM
AFTER GOLD
Indiana Man PIows Up l6o.Acre
Tract to the Depth of
Three Feet.
SEES VISIONS OF YELLOW METAL
Braves JeeIs of Neighbors and Hires
Corps of Men to Search for
Treasure.

Indianapolis. April S.-Alvin Tray
| Ter. prosperous farmer living few
miles from Petersburg, Pike county,
has begun the herculean task of turn
ing the soil of a 160-acre tract of land
| to a depth of three feet, and now has
about twenty men employed for that
purpose. Trayler believes there is
| untold wealth hidden somewhere on
the tract and his work is being cheered
by the prospect of a reward in $40 gold
pieces that will aggregate many times
the value of the land and the expense
of plowing and digging it over in the
search.
Has Many Disappointments.
Trayler claims that he is not pursu-
ing some wilI-o'-the-w wisp. but knows
positively that money was buried on
the farm many years ago, and the
only thing about it which is unknown
is the spot where its owners placed it,
Years ago. and many times since,
Trayler and his hired hand have dug
around the roots of trees and at other
places on the farm to which imaginary
lines from the log house would lead,
but all of these Investigations have
proved futile. and he is now going
over the whole tract determined to
have the gold which he feels confident
Is buried somewhere on the land Tray
Ter has met with many diSappOint-
ments, but he is not discouraged and
he has braved the ieers of his neigh
l,ors and invoked such energies in his
pursuit of the hidden treasure that
many who first laughed at his efforts
have become convinced that fortune
awaits him If he can only discover its
location.
Meets with Gambler.
Many years ago, when Alvin Trayler
was young man, he "fiatboated'' ba-
cen. hooppOles, sassafras, maple sugar
and maple molasses down the Ohio
river, and often went as far south as
New Orleans. selling his boat for lum-
Der when his cargo was disposed Of
and coming back home by boat. On
several of the trips home he saw n
young man on the boats who was
known as Carl Schurman. and who
was also recognized as n Mississippi
river gambler. Schurman was Socia-
bic. and occasionally drew Trayler into
conversation, but the HOosier was
wary of the ''blackleg.", land was never
drawn into a game. Several years
after TrayIer retired from the river
a man purchased the 1G0-acre tract
of land adjoining the farm of Alvin's
father. and one day when he met the
stranger he was greatly surprised TO
recognize him al the gambler that he
had seen on several occasions as he re-
turned from his trips down the river.
Stranger Is SociabIe.
IT was soon noiSed about the neigh
borhood that the newcomer had paid
for his land in $50 gold pieces. and
that. among the articles that had been
wagoned over from Evansville was Il
heavy chest. bound with iron, and be-
lieved to contain gold. Schurman en-
tered at once upon the work of clear
ing his land. and when Trayler re-
minded him of their place of meeting
on several occasions he admitted that
he was the man. but appeared anxious
TO avoid further conversation on the
subject. He lived in the modest style
of his neighborS, worked during the
summer and hunted during the Win
ter. and was rarely seen about the vii
lage. He was sociable in the sense
that he conversed freely with people
who visited him, or whom he met by
accident. but he did not try to culti-
vate friendships, and there were weeks
at a time when no one saw him. He
lived alone much of the time, and at
other times hired a hOusekeeper. What |
surplus corn, wheat and other farm
products he raised were sold to the |
neignbors. and it was believed he was
thEs adding always to his hidden |
wealth.
Attends Him on Deathbed.
Several years ago he was taken ill |
and T"ayler, happening to call at his |
cabin. found him in a dying condition. |
and nursed him till he died few days |
later. Among his effects was letter |
TO Trayler. in which Schurman said |
that he had no heirs and that he de- |
sired him to accept the farm for the |
many acts of kindness he had shown |
him. Nothing was said about any
other property. The letter was ac-
cepted as the will of the German. and |
Trayler came into possession of the |
farm and the few articles of furniture |
that the cabin contained. Within a |
month the floors of the cabin were |
taken up and the search for gold be- !
gan. but the efforts were unrewarded. |
Then the circle of investigation was
widened and the yard and the barn lot |
were dug over without finding the |
longed-for wealth.
Many expedients have been resorted |
to in the hope of locating the treas |
ure and some of them shows the per-
sistency of the searcher and the faith |
that moves him to effort. One night |
he would go to the cabin, note the po- |
sition of a certain star, draw an i'm |
aginary line from it to the earth, then |
he would note the position of another |
star, draw another line. and where |
these lines crossed he would dig for |
the hidden chest. He believed that |
Sehurman adopted some such method |
for placing his gold in safety, but. of |
course, the difficulty consists in finding |
out what particular stars and what |
particular time of the night the mys
terious GornaD adopted when making /
the deposits in mother earth, >>---Ai