Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-04-03

thorough search. It was cottage, with parlor, bedroom and kitchen be- low and half garret upstairs. The miser occupied the bedroom and the guard the parlor. both sleeping on the floor on straw beds. The kitchen was furnished with an old rusty stove and a meager supply of dishes, and Jake cooked what he ate.
 Beginning at the cellar bottom, the SearcherS worked up. The bottom Of the cellar was dug over to a depth of two feet, but nothing was found. Then the basebOards were torn off the rooms above, the walls pierced here and there, and before the search ceased the very shingles were taken from the roof. One reason why the search was so keen and thorough was because of the number of heirs who came forward. Plenty of people had heard old Jake declare that he was the last of his race and if he had any blood relatives at all they were second cousins living in some province ill Germany, but no sooner had news of his death travelled tIldl klllSIleL SuOWluSe up and filing their claims.
 Van Girten was German born, but EngliShmen, Frenchmen and Italians came forward, to say nothing of Amer icanS and none of them, according to his account, was anything less than first cousin. All insisted on the most rigid search. and, although not allowed ;a.,> ;< %l elk, hi, whole duty. When he had finished with the house it was a wreck, and all agreed that dollar bill could not have been hidden away and escaped the search.
 As nothing was found in the house. the .'heirs" insisted on the grounds be. ing searched. Diggers threw up the earth at the foot of every tree, rocks were rolled over and mounds burrowed into, and another two weeks were wasted in vain.
 The searchers hated to let go but they had to, and then the only thing remaining was to sell the old mans personal property at auction and turn over his real estate to the law and let the heirs prove their claims. The term "personal goods and chattels' made everybody smile The straw beds and dirty blankets, the two or three old chairs, the rusty and broken old stove and the few cracked dishes were val ued at S1 at liberal estimate, and when a farmer named Robinson bid them in for 70 cents he was made the butt for many jokes. He loaded up his "bargain' and carted it off, and the case was considered closed.
 Many people continued to search for a year. taking in woods and hills four miles away, but at last it was dead subject and was not heard of again for ten years.
 Then very singular thing happened. Robinson who had removed to another state, met with a fatal accident. but before dying made q confession He passed for and really was d wealthy man. and as to how he had made his money no one knew. In his confession he said that after getting the old stove home he found the oven doors wired up. Loosening one of them, he looked in to find the old miser's strong box resting there By the use of brick and mortar the oven had been so shut off that fire ill the front of the stove would not warm it. While the stove was the most conspicuous object in the kitchen, it was at the same time the safest hiding place for miles around. There was over S3000O in the box, and the finder simply kept quiet until he could arrange to move away and enjoy it. At the auction sale when that old stove was bid in. there were at least 200 men in attendance, any one of whom could have got the fortune by raising Robnsons bid 10 or 15 cents, and now, after twenty years have elapsed, none of them still living has forgiven himself.