The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947, 1914-07-30
YECCMAN'SW|DOW
kept FROM RICHES
Young Woman Can't Take Them
From Hiding Place
SHAOOWeD BY u s. SlEuTnS

Cracker shortly Dsfs~s hs Wss
Killed BY Detse&ivs--oirl vie A..
ssrts Husband Gave HE LIE 70 ost
Gene and che VIII Keep rks~.
Savannah. Ga.-Dcfying the agents
Of the United States 70 wrest from
her the secret Of the hiding place Of
$4,000 worth Of loot amassed by
her yeggman husband and buried near
Savannah, Mrs. Charles Q. Craven.
who is twenty years old, returned to
Georgia determined to regain the treas
ure for herself. but afrnid to claim Il
under the eyes Of Uncle Sans men.
Craven. one Of the most notorious
crncksmen the south has ever known.
was killed at wildwood, Fla, I'VE
months ago by a railroad special agent
after a running battle on top Of NOV.
ing freight train. The craftsman,
through a series OF postofiice and train
robberies In Georgia. Alabama and
Florida. had amassed $4,000 In cash
and $4,000 worth Of jewels, which he
took TO Savannah and buried near a
station on a suburban car line. telling
the secret Of It's location TO none but
his wife.
After his death the young widow was
arrested and held for several weeks
while government agents tried TO ex-
tract from her the secret OF the locs-
ton OF the buried treasure After her
release the federal agents began TO
shadow hes. wherever she went she
was followed. In the hope that she
would makc an atteuspt TO unearth tho
treasure. Mrs. Craven declares she will
never divulgc TO the government the
location OF the treasure.
Charlie paid the penalty for his
wrongdoing with his life" she said.
"He riskcd his life to get tho money
and Jewels for me. and they are mine.
I viii die before will tell where they
are hidden"
When she married the cracksman.
eighteen months ago. In Norfolk. Va,
she thought he was a business man.
After a honeymoon Of three weeks
they came to Savannah. and here Cra-
ven told her he was yeggman. but the
news did not shake her love for him.
and she followed him wherever he
wished.
1--WE went all over the south" she
said. Last summer We were Ia Mem.
phis for awhile. IL was seldom that he
left home without returning eighteen
or twenty-four hours later with $500 or
so. He seldom told me what lie had
done or any Of the circumstances sur
rounding his operations. I did not ask.
But lived in constant fear that hs
would be arrested or killed
''In November we went 10 Chicago.
but did not stay long Ny husband car
ried more than $4,000 through the
streets one day there. He spent his
money as fast as he got H. He was
very liberal with his pals. He was
never without a considerable fund with
which TO pay the travelling expenses OF
himself and the members OF his gang.
"After leaving Chicago We came
south. At owensboro. Ky, my husband
blew n safe In a postoffice and got sew
eral thousand dollars, Then we came
10 Atlanta. We got there Oh the night
of Dec. 27. 1913, and walked down
Peachtree street. carrying a quart OF
nitroglycerin In a satchel. From At
lanta Charlie went 10 Augusta and |
came TO Savannah. Later he joined me
In Savannah. but a few days thereafter
he went 10 southern Florida. Shortly
afterward he came back TO Savannah
urffh hn coo nlA IN fnxuala
worth $4,000. which he went out one
night and buried.
Charlie did not stay long In Savan-
nah after burying the money. Then
ran short OF money and wrote 10 him
10 ask II II would be all right 10 take
some OF the hidden money TO live on.
That letter never reached him. II fell
into the hands of the government au-
thorities, and that is how they learned
of the buried treasure.
II was arrested. but no charge could
be made against me, as | had not re-
ceived the stolen goods. After l got
out of jail | was besieged by people
whom ! knew In Savannah TO tell the
location OF the hidden money. Some
OF them searched for IL themselves un'
Ill they dug up bottle OF nitroglyc-
erin, which We had also hidden. That
frightened them so badly that they
gave 1t up"
When Mrs. Craven returned to Geor-
gia for the second time she received nu-
merous letters Of threatening nature
from people in Savannah stating that
II would be best for her In the end II
she told the hiding place Of the money
and jewels.
"Jailbirds" Save Farunsrs' crops.