Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-18
FORTUNE HIDDEN
AMONG THE ROCKS
TRAIN ROBBERS BURIED $780,
600 BOOTY
Thieves Planned to Divide II Up in
Later Years, but One by One
They Passed Away and
Secret Remains
BY AssocIated Press.

CRIPPLE GREER, Colo. oct H.
Somewhere along the 100 miles of rail
road which connects Cripple Creek and
Florence, Colo, is cached a fortune in
golden eagles. Among the rocks ano
powders lies hidden $4,000 i'm gold and
1t is very probable that IL will never
be found unless some lucky hunter by
chance discovers the cache where is
hidden the fortune.
In the summer of 1898 the money was
taken from the safe of an express car
by six masked train, robbers. All OF
the robbers are now dead and there is
nothing to mark the hiding place of
their ill-gotten wealth. The last of
the robbers was man of the name OF
Marks. on the day which he set to
unearth the treasure he died at his
office in Cripple Creek from pneumonia
Marks and one other robber were the
only men who knew the hiding place of
the money.
They carried it in canvas bags into
the hills along the railroad tracks near
the scene of the holdup and buried 1t
under the rocks while their four con-
federates held the trainmen and ex-
press messengers at bay with their
rifles.
Plan to Secrete Money
lie lODDtIS 10 allow the
money to remain hidden for several
years so that there could be no chance
of their being discovered in passing it.
After the holdup the six men sep
arated, going to dofferent parts of the
country. Marks and the man who as
sisted him in burying the gold re-
mained in Cripple Creek together. Each
feared the other and they watched each
other like hawks to guard against any
attempt to obtain the money. After
two years had elapsed Marks had be-
come real estate man and lawyer
The other man had died a year after
the holdup.
The story of the hidden treasure
is told by Mayor F. L. Baldwin OF
Youngstown, Ohio, who obtained IL
from a half-breed Indian named Clark
while he was in Cripple Creek In 1897
No living person knew what had be-
come of the stolen $4,000 at the time
Mayor Baldwin obtained the story but
Clark.
The robbers had selected the year OF
1897 to unearth the money and divide it
They were all to meet in Cripple Creek
on May 25. when Marks and the other
man who knew the hiding place were
to get the gold and there was to be q
division. None of the robbers arrived
at the meeting point on the day Sc
lected. Days passed into weeks and
weeks into months and the train rob-
bers did not arrive.
Marks was the only living man who
knew of the hiding place, and he knew
that none of the other men had OBJ
| tanned the money.
/ He felt that he was being watched
by the other four men constantly, anc
he lived in constant terror for months
l Lii l.
| be dead and in October he decided thai
he would go and get the fortune fol
himself. He needed someone to helI
him carry the gold and he told his
story to Clark, who was a prospectol
at that time, reserving the important
| details and simply giving a genera
idea of the location of the hldder
wealth.
To Dig Up Gold
A day was appointed. The mer
were to meet at the cabin of Marks
who lived alone, early one morning
When the morning came, with it came
light fall of snow. Marks feared
that they would be followed and coulc
be tracked in the snow. He would not
consent to take the chance. His limbs
quaked with terror when he seemed
so near to obtaining the fortune which
had been buried for four years. Clark
described his terror as almost abject
He thought that every man who looked
at him and was a stranger was one OF
his robbed confederateS in the holdup
Another day was set when Marks and
Clark were to go to the cache and OBJ
tain the money 1t was destined that
the robbed was not to reap the reward
of his four years vigil over the treas
ure, for the night before the day ap-
pointed when the money was to be un-
earthed Marks was found in his office
dead.
Shortly after Marks death Clark told
the story to Maj. Baldwin, who was
at that time In, Cripple Creek estab-
lished as an attorney and enjoying the
excitement of the early mining camp
With the death of Marks also passed
away the secret of the hiding place OF
the money, for he left no chart, nc
papers of any kind by which the for
/ tune could be located, and the gold
stolen from the express safe thirteen
years ago still lies buried among the
bills along the Florence & Cripple Creek
| railway