The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-10-30
He TOOK HIS GOLD
WITH HIM TO GRAVE
New Yorker, After Making For
tune West, Learned His
Fiancee Was Welded.
THEN BEGAN a HERMIT
Shot Himself in a Coffin With a False
Bottom, Which He Had Filled
With Nuggets-Now Ne.
braska Is Searching.

Omaha, Neb., special: Omaha has
| gone hunting for buried treasure, Il
the discovery of a collin made While
eXcavating for a new factory will not
only yield a quantity of gold to some
one, but with the assistance of the
oldest inhabitant" gives this city
a legend which is a close rival of the
most widely circulated stories of sunk
Ell wealth.
The coffin was discovered deep in the
ground by workmen who were digging
a foundation place. When brought up
and examined the coffin. which was of
antique type, was found to contain the
bones of a human being, and a cheapiy
engraved name plate indicated that
they once formed the framework or
Otto Koehler. Among the bones was
found a small gold nugget, which led
to a closer inspection. 1t was then
found that the casket had a double
bottom, and under what had the APP
p]earance of a corner piece running
around the interior of the coffin like
q moulding there was hidden gold, all
in nuggets, worth more than $500.
The precious metal was taken IN
charge by the company for whom the
excavation was being made and placed
in u safe. Then John Flanagan, who
says he is more than 100 years old and
the Oldest resident in the city, was
asked for information concerning Otto
Koehler. The old man told the story
of the dramatic life of Koehler. Flan-
agan also gave a clue that may lead to
the rightful disposition of the gold and
started many treasure hunters at work
in the northern part of the city.
Flanagan'S story is as follows as he
told it:
ut was in the latte: part of the tif-
ties that Koehler came to Omaha from
the west. The city was not so big
then but What we knew everybody the
moment they arrived, and koehler's
story afterward proved such an unusual
one that l have always 1T.
Headed for New York.
"He was headed for New York city
and would not have fingered here a
minute longer than was necessary had
it not happened hat he met a man
from the east here. The man from the
east and the man from the west were
c~loseted together for a long time, and
when they came out Koehlerannounced
his determination to live here and
made arrangements with that end in
view. His conversation with the New
Yorker had made a wonderful change
in him some way. The eastern man left
for the west a few days later and l
happened to ride a short ways into the
= state with him-he was headed for a
| tedious journey to the western coast
| and from him I learned the story Of
Koehler and what made him q resident
of Omaha.
According to the story Of the New
: Yorker, Koehler had left New York
. about six years before he struck Om-
: aha and gone west to find a fortuna.
a Back of it, of course, just as in thOus-
f ands of cases, which have inspired
: many story books, there was. a girl who
was willing to marry him and who
l. "a r.. 80 r., H., e., l;,, ~,
q til he returned with his fortune made.
y As nearly as 7 can remember the girls
= name was Morseman. but | have no
= idea of her first name.
: "yvo1 Koehler,s stCrv didn't turn ont
. like tho hooks mako them althonrh
. Koebler did his part all right. He
: Wont ont into tha mirinm country and
shaved awnv until no made his nile.
: and then he headed lust as straight as
h no could for tha girl that he sunnosed
was mining away for the sight of him,
n In Omaha he came across the man
e lust from New York who had known
r him there and knew about how things
stood. and here he learned that the
| girl had not been true to him more
Than six months after he had left her.
According to the New York man, the
girl had married ana become q widow
= since Koehler left ner.
at first Koehler wasn't going to be-
q lieve any Of the mans stories. He
was for having faith in the girl until
at the last, but one way or another the
rs New Yorker convinced him, and Koch
y, Ter gave up.
s, Became = Hermit.
al "1<oeb,ar hui,t himself , LITTLE two.
ne room bnt here and lived nv himself mr.
h. anobittered ,niser ia never saw any
u hoIv and kent ont nf sight as much as
nossihla He used 10 tascinate me aft.
On ar 7 knew his story. and I would lie
ce awake nir;ts nictuTinn him ont in tho
re mountains working away the long day:
and dreaming of how ne would go bacl
TX finally and claim her and live with he
is in haupiness until death came.
'e- "Koehler lived that way for abou
ce five months, when I guess it got to b.
g: too much for him, and one day a boa
|" came up the river and unloaded a cot
Is fin that was for him. He had sent 70
tie. it by somebody to St. Louis. When i
as came he hauled it out to his little hut
lis A few DAYS later he killed himself will
coffin with the top all ready to clos
g; down on the body. We buried hin
tie hack from the river on a high hill Xix