Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-08-05
SILVER BAR HAS
PERILOUS TRIP
Ingot Sent from Mine at Silver
City to Davenport Over
Year on Way.
TAKEN BY HIGHWAYMEN
Recovered, II Is Piled Up in Debris by
Omaha Cyclone and Lost for
Several Months.

Stolen from a stage coach by a band
Of highwaymen on its way down from
the mountains to Silver City, found
several hundred feet down the noun
tainside from the trail. shipped to A.
J.. Ruebsam in Davenport in lieu Of a
dividend check on mining stock, lost
in the debris which the Omaha cyclone
piled up in the Rock Island railroad
Yards there, used by a section gang to
straighten spikes on and finally sent
10 It's destination in safety are chapters
in the history Of huge bar Of silver,
which arrived in Davenport yesterday.
The story OF this bar Of silver, read
ing like tale OF far west fiction, be-
gan 20 unravel as 4 perspiring express
man, bent double with the weight OF
the great bar of metal, painted up TO
the marble counter of the First Ma
tional bank.
CALLED ny CASHIER.
What are you bringing that chunk |
Of iron in here for; don't you know .
AAAAo AeA a AAAINAAAAb EAbp. utluduutu
Cashier Lew Yaggy,
This amt no iron" replied he of |
the sweaty brow. It's gold, or silver, |
or radium, or something very expen. |
siye and the boss tells me to be very !
particular about IT, There's some
thing written on this side, maybe that
tells what It Is"
Cashier Yaggy bent over the huge
weight and after some trouble deciph-
cred the following inscription: mo.
1874. 1874 ounces. Deadwood smeiter
G. q W. A. II. Ruebson, Merchants
cafe. Brady street, Davenport Iowa.
Silver City, n. NJ. Natl Bk."
!; was a bar OF silver weighing
nearly 100 pounds ana wcr;h close TO
$1,000. The expressman eft with his
signed receipt and Cashier Yaggy call
ed 10 the saving teller. Add a hun
dred pounds OF silver TO Mr. Rueb-
sans account" Tho huge bar was
lugged into the vaults and rolled into
corner.
LETTER GIVES HISTORY.
\ few minutes later President A. f.
Dawson received a letter from the Sill
YER City National bank explaining WIZ
the bar had been sent and giving its
history since It was turned out, mo-
zen ingot, from the Deadwood shelter
That the iugot ever arrived safely
f"ems miraculous in view of the
chances II had OF being irretriyab.y
lost II was dug out OF mine some
10 miles from silver City and sent to
the Deadwood smelter near the mine
to be reduced into metal available for
commercial use. This was in April OF
last year.
Five bars, including the one which
reached Davenport, were then sent
down by stage coach over the steep
mountain trail to Silver City. This
trail leads over nigh precipices, over
deep gullies and around sharp curves
On the coach we're the driver and two
guards. About seven miles from the
mine the trai! turns sharply around a
curve TO the left and as the coach
rounded the cliff the guards suddenly
looked into the muzzles Of five rifles.
GUARDS ARE DISARMED.
There was no chance of resistance.
The guards were disarmed, and COW
cred by one OF the bandits while an
other shot the lead horses of the
coach and the remaining highwaymen
took out the FIVE bars Of silver. The
driver and guards were then told to
drive on. Crippled with the loss Of
the lead horses the heavy coach made
slow progress. not arriving in Silver
City in time to give the alarm until
the following day.
a posse was organized and started
back over The trail. Several hundred
yards up the path from the point
where the holdup occurred the posse
found the scene Of the disturbance,
such as would have been caused by a
frightened stampede OF pack animals
Several hundred feet down the noun.
tainside we're found two pack mules
dead. each with two Of the silver bars
strapped to its back and on a project
ing ledge few feet below was found
another bar
ESCAPE EMPTY-HAIDED.
II is supposed that one of the ban
dts attempted TO carry the bal
on his saddlebow and that It slippeC
away from him and tina: in his efforts
TO recover it the pack mules were
crowded over the trail. None Of tn,
hlgAwaymen was ever caught.
The silver was brought down to tn,
company headquarters at Silver Cit,
and enc bar stamped with Mr. Rueb
sans address and sent 10 Davenport
as novel form OF dividend check
This was few days before the ter
n5le cyclone which swept Omaha anC