The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-13
MYSTERIOUS MEN ARE DIGGING HOLES ! AROUND EAST LAKE Seem to Think Treasure Is Buried in Old Smith
 Hill
MEN IN AUTOMOBILE
 WORK DURING NIGHT
Tradition Says That Before MT. Smiths Death He Used to Find Newly Dug Holes on His
 Property

An air of extreme mystery surrouhds the old Ed Smith place, at the foot or
 what is known as Smiths hill in East
 Lake There have appeared within the l past month, at different spots on the
 place. two graves, or holes, for whleh no one can account.
 About month ago it is said an auto
 mobile, containing three men drove up l on the west side of the residence oc- cupied by the children of the late MT. Smith, The men got ouc of the auto ana | dug a hole in the ground inside the fence,
 about the size of mans grave. They
 were still digging when negro, who lives near the place. saw them and brought a lamp out on the veranda of his house to investigate As soon as the light was no- ticed the men leaped from their work, jumped into the auto, according 10 the negros account of the affair and went | away at high rate of speed
 The negro states that he then went back to bed The next morning when the scene of the incident of the night before was visited a hole about six feet long, three and a half feet wide and three feet deep was found, but there were no tools l left there or other marks to indicate who 1 the parties were.
 Yesterday morning, quite early, Miss
 Ila Smith, one of the daughters of the
 late MT. Smith, was going through the l pasture on the east side of the house 1 looking for the cows, near the WoodlaWh
 cemetery, when she discovered new hole or grave. This one was about an infants size and had been freshly dug
 It bore evidence of having been dug the
 night before.
 1 tradition, well substantiated, also l says that before the death of Ed smith
 two years ago, MT. Smith himself found
 near the scene of the last grave, a grave | about the size of an infants burying place. He attached no importance to the 1 find at the time, but since the last two | have been found it is causing no little
 amount of talk in the neighborhood. The 1 two last graves found are about two
 blocks distant-one on each side of the l house, yet both on the same property,
 the old Smith property.
 The Smith children who own and live on the place, have advanced the theory
 
 are looking for money In other words, l 1t appears that someone thinks that there | is buried treasure in that part of the l city, and from what has taken place on l the Smith property.
 | 1t is known that MT Smith was well 1 off financially, but investigation shows | that he was a modern man and believed | in banking his money and that all his funds ere paced in a Birmingham bank. 1 The nat -er was reported to the police department and they are making inVest- l gatons as best they can under the cir | cumstances. They have, however. no Ge- scription of the men or automobile as | the negro seeing them about month ago did not take notice of their sizes, and the police have not the number of 1 the auto.
 While the finding of the graves or holes | is causing no apprehension on the par, of those who live whereabouts. it is caus- l ing considerable talk, and strict watch 1 is being made In an effort to catch the men at their work and ascertain the cause of their mysterious actions.