Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-01-02
QUEER MONEY BOXES
CURIOUS PLACES selEcTep FOR HID.
ING AWAY TREASURE.

That Yielded n FORTUNE. - Nine,
Baisch's Richly Lined r~etticoa,s.
ltls only Il comparatively short tire
Since NJ, Rousslgue, n Partisan, dlscoy.
cred u nice little treasure concealed in
one OF the very last places where he
would have expected to lind il, lie had
Inherited from an aunt u small statu.
cite to which lie attached little value
put which nevertheless he placed AS an
ornament In one of his rooms As luck
would have IL, his maid in busting IT,,
s~tatuette one day dropped IL on the
floor and, presto, out rolled from II,
hollow Interior u package which on ex
animation proved to contain notes OF
the value of 1900 francs as well as q
costly diamond ring.
ms Is by no means the only occa
sion on which a statue has beer made
Ia serve the purposes Of n bank, A
rev years ago an art collector OF
kharkov, Russia, purchased II statue
- ~ fhbpiiO i'lN titIt, VI WHICH ne
was very proud. One day his chill
dren when playing upset the statue
n broke II beyond all possibility Of
repair. The father when he saw his
priced statue in fragments was furi
Gus, but consolation came 10 him In n
most unexpected form, for on examln.
Ing the fragments he found concealed
In a hollow limb a roll of Russian bank
notes of the value of 5000 rubles,
with the notes was a memorandum by
a Cheyalier ~Prokheroff, dated lS4S.
to the effect that the concealed money
was the fruit Of gambling and that it
was his intention to use it in the build.
Ing Of n church.
A still more curious hiding place for
treasure was that chosen by Pere An.
tome. a %hunchback beggar who used TO
hang about the church doors of Paris
soliciting aims. When the hunchback
died his nephew applied to the au.
thorities demanding that a postmortem
examination should be made. The re
quest was granted. with the result that
II was found the bunch was false and
that in its fraudulent interior were
stored the beggar's savings, amount
ing to 10000 francs. Pere Antoine, it
was also discovered. was an ex~-convict
who owed his freedom to the influence
of a well known deputy.
An inquest held at the st. Pancras
%coroner's court some time ago on Wal
ter Samuel Mott revealed another
TREASURED small one, 1t is t%rue-con-
,Cealed In a most remarkable place.
Mott had a wooden leg. and an exami-
nation of this limb revealed ten sover-
elgns concealed in it. The precaution
was a very wise one, for 1t came out
in evidence that for some weeks the
deceased had been rarely sober, and it
If it had not beer so artfully and eff
f~ectually concealed.
There was considerable method In
the parsimony of an old lady who,
wherever she went. carried with her
an Old box, apparently full of odd
pieces Of scrap iron. The box was Il
subject of Jest and ridicule among her
neighbors, but the old lady could af-
ford to smile at their jokes, for 1t was,
In fact, the most valuable box any
where in the district. When she died
the box was found In an clubhouse,
open to any one who cared to inspect
It, and under the surface layer of old
iron were found 5000 golden sover-
eigns, the savings of a lifetime.
In another ease known to the writer,
after the death of an old woman In
the north of England who had Tor
years been In receipt Of outdoor relief
from the parish, a sum Of $500 was
found IN a number Of pincushions scat
tered about her one Don When Miss
j., a notorious Devonshire miser, died.
It was found that her pillow contained
securities and bank notes OF the value
OF over f1S,0 600, while at an auction
sale Of the effects of a Lewisham lady
of misery instincts the purchaser OF
her piano stool found a small mine OIL
gold in the horseilair stuffing, II n
gentleman who bought her bedstead
discovered 1000 hidden away In one OF
its hollow legs.
A sensation was caused at Jnssy, III
Roumania. some time ago by the death
of a Nine. Balsch. whose eccentricitles
had for years been the gossip OF the
town. Although it was more than s',s
rA<
pected that she was a rich woman. she
had lived in the most sordid and ms
cradle manner and was generally re
.garded as a miser. When her few be
longings were examined after her
death not a trace could be found OF
her supposed wealth. until. Oh going
through her articles OF clothing, u
was discovered that u OF her petu
coats seemed stiff. as If heavily lined
The pettlcoat was ripped open and re
yealed notes Of the value OF 5000
francs sewed under the lining
This discovery naturally stimulated
the zeal of the ~searchers Further pet
ticoats were examined. and in all larg,
sums in notes were found concealed
The total amount of the treasure
which had served as lining for Nine
Balscb's petticoats was 10 less thar
10000 o francs london Tit.Bits.
Not Epicures.
A city oma who had decided the
she would keep some hens as a prohts
Bile amusement during her long sur