Evening star., 1901-08-07
SELBY SHELTER ROBBERY
PAROLED CONVICT THOUGHT TO
HAVE BEEN CONCERNED.
Police Have Not Yet Been Able to
Get Any Substantial
Cline.

SAN FRANCISCO, August 7.-Practi-
cally no clue has been obtained to the per-
petrators Of the $2S0,OOO gold robbery at
the Selby smelling works.
Strong efforts are being made to learn
the movements Of recently paroled con-
vict. The police believe that the plot was
Matched in the state, prison at San Quentin,
and call attention to the fact that another
ex-conyict was seen in the neighborhood of
the smelling works Immediately after his
release from San Quentin. The paroled
convict whom the detectives suspect was
In prison when the other convict was re-
leased. Upon his being pareled he also
appeared in Crockett, remained several
days and then disappeared 1t is said the
paroled suspect was employed years ago
at the Selby works. Afterwards he kept a
saloon and lodging house at Crockett which
was frequented by Selby's employees. For
engaging in two shooting scrapes he re-
ceived twenty-five years In the peniten-
tiary.
No vessel except the schooner Occidental,
bound for Eureka, is known to have passed
out Of the Golden Gate on Monday night,
and she sailed from Sausauito. on the
north side of the bay.
At first it was considered a certainty
that the gold was removed by boat, but
this is now doubted, as the thieves left a
suspicious trail to the waters edge. A
toned has been found on a hill above the
works. Here several empty cartridge
boxes were found.
Officials of the smelling company de-
clared today that none of the employees is
suspected of completely in the crime
The robbers evidently had been working
on the job for two or three months. They
had dug tunnel from outside the house,
beginning with shaft about three feet
deep. Thence they worked underneath
the vault. and striking upward, bored a
hole In the strong room floor. The hole
was shaped like the manhole of boiler.
Part OF the holes were bored two months
ago. 1t 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 east of the works. 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 noise in the strong room, and de-
clared 1t was ghost The others ridi-
culed him for his superstition, but no in
vestigation was made to see what caused
the noise.
The entrance to the tunnel was covered
with frame. over which the employees of
the smelters passed every day but no one
seemed to notice anything out Of the way
The tunnel that the robbers excavated
was about three feet in diameter. and
gave them plenty of room in which to
work. 1t is supposed the dirt from the
tunnel was taken out at night and dropped
In the bay. First reports stated that
the tunnel was 200 or 300 feet long, but ac-
cording to late advices it is only about
ten feet in length The shaft was started
close to the wall and was sunk below the
foundation. Thence it was only a short
distance under the floor Of the vault. It
Is thought the men who committed the
robbery took their plunder away in a
launch and made off directly for San
Francisco. There are plenty Of places,
however, to which they may have gone
either up the Sacramento river or to the
shore OF any Of the numerous bays
Following is list of the property
stolen: -Four fine gold bricks, all num-
bered and containing, as follows: No. ,236,
1,19O ounces and a fraction: No. 1,237, 8 300
ounces; No. 1.23S. 1923 ounces and a frac-
ton; No. 1.239. 1887 ounces and a fraction.
Also 10000 ounces of gold in various shapes
and little silver. The gold In the bricks
is worth 500 an ounce
President Ralston stated that the rob-
bers cannot dispose of the plunder with
out having 1t remelted and mixed with
other metals. He is Of the opinion that
they will bury the gold or sink it in the
bay, awaiting a convenient time for it's
removal. as there are few smelters on this
coast where gold can be remelted