Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-11-04
GOLD DUST IN OLD BOOTS.
How Montana Merchant Got His Treas
ure Through to the East.

Henry Filing came To Montana in the
early '60s. The greenbacks were practi-
cally unknown in Virginia City. Gold
dust was the circulating medium and
every counter and bar was equipped with
gold scales, and instead of heing dollars
and cents, the reckoning medium was
ounces and pennyweights. Every miner
had his buckskin pouch instead of a
pockcthook and generally this pouch had
several ounces OF gold dust in it. for
those We're the days of plenty in Alder
Gulcl and all other parts of the territory
which is now known as Montana
When his stock Of goods was sold ont
Mr. Filing decided that it would be a
good investment if lie should make ii
trip overland to the sta tes purchase Il
new stock of goods and continue in the
clothing business. He had about $40.
OOl in the best of gold dust to his cred
il in the banks then established in Viz
glllA CITY, and question which both
cred him sorely was how 10 get his
money TO civilization without losing it,
for road agents often disputed the right
of-way win the stage coaches and they
levied frequent tributes on the passen-
gers, sometimes stripping them to the
hide Wells. Fargo Il Co. made a prac-
tice OF shipping gold dust east for the
miners. but this was expensive, the ratio
for insurance being sometimes as high
rs ~ per cent on the amount carried.
! This meant n great deal of money to
"A man. even in those days, and Mr.. Ell
ling thought lie could find way 10 get
his money to Omaha which would bpa:
that scheme all hollow.
After considering the matter in its diff
ferent phases he finally expressed the
money to his own order as far as Salt
Lake City. taking passage on the same
coach. TO Salt Lake City the express
rate was not so high, and practically
the danger zone Of road agents was
passed after this point was reached, the
POrtneuf canyon and Beaver canyon in
Idaho and the section along the Beaver
head valley between the Pete DAILY
ranch and Williams junction. in what
IS now Montana, being the most danger
Gus.
Mr. Eliing and his gold dust arrived
in Salt Lake City without incident. For
some reason the road agents had not
learned that the coach carried a great
amount of treasure and no attempt Mt
holdup was made. though more than one
Of the passengers hreathed hard and had
his heart III his mouth when some unex-
pected stop was made during the dark
hours of The night for the coach travelled
night and day and as fast as four or six
horses could bowl it along. and it made
an average speed q about ten miles an
hour.
After a days rest in Salt Lake City
the journey was resumed Mr.. Filing
had already secured his gold dust and, as
1t was strictly against the rules of the
company to carry gold in the baggage.
he wasn IL quandary for Il while as to the
manner i'll which he could gett that gold
10 Omaha. The express company knew
he had the dust aud knew he was going
on to Omaha, they were watching
hlni. The morning the coach was hitched
mp and drove around to the hotel after
him he wandered into the back yard of
the hotel and spied ii pair of boots not
too badly worn, which some one had
discarded
These gave him an idea. His gold
dust was in two packa ges, and securing
a stout buckskin string he tied the two
hoo4s together by their ears. and putting
a 'rrnrt of the gold into either bootleg, lie
threw them into the bottom Of the coach
with the remark that his boots hurt him
and that he was taking the old ones
along so that he could change if his feet
got to hurting him too badly.
Nobody had suspicion that there was
$4,000 in those old boots. and Mr.. Ell
ling kept them under his feet night and
day until he reached Omaha. When
coaches were changed he generally car
ried the boots across his arm. and retir-
ing to some convenient room would ac-
tually change his boots. in this manner
hoodwinkling the express messengers.
the driver and every one else as to the
amount of money he was carrying with
him, and he got a great deal of sym
pathy from the rest of the passengers on
account of the pain he was suffering
from his tender feet.--Anaconda Stand
ard.