The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-11-18
RUSSIAN COLD
SENT TO CANADA
Strange Story of Transfer Of Bull
lion Made by Two War
ships at Sea.
HURRIED TO OTTAWA MINT
Secretly Shipped Across Dominion In
Heavily Guarded Special Train
Hitherto Unpublished Romantic
Story Of the War.

Victoria, B. C-StOries of a secre
transfer of millions of dollars of Rus
sian gold from one ship to another II
half gale at sea on the Canadian
Pacific coast and of rush trip with
! the money across Canada in heavily
| guarded special train. disguised as q
silk express were published in the Vic
toria Colonist recently as part OF the
hitherto untold history of the World
war.
| Two recent newspaper dispatches,
seemingly unrelated, the Colonist said,
recalled the hitherto unpublished and
romantic story Of the gold shipment.
One dispatch from Europe said Mr..
Novitsky, former assistant to the min
lister of finance of the all-Russian gov
eminent, had limited at the huge
amounts Of gold shipped through Van
couver, B. c., during the war, includ-
ing EGO, 100000 from vladivostok.
Warships Figure in Story.
The other dispatch said the Cana
dian cruiser Rainbow had been sold to
a Seattle firm. The connection, the
Colonist said, was in the fact the Rain
bow transferred big shipment of the
gold at sea from a Japanese warship'
and brought it into Vancouver.
Russias gold the story continued
came in several shipments, the first of
which amounted to about $40 100000.
1t was in the form of bullion in boxes
about fifteen inches long. and was
loaded at Vladivostok early in 1916 for
transfer to the OTTAWA (Canada) mint
A big Japanese warship with Novitzky
in charge of the bullion, carried the
money across the Pacific.
Rainbow Gets Treasure.
The treasure ship never touched a
Canadian port, however, for far out al
sea the Rainbow, in near-gale, met
the warship and the precious freight
was transferred between the heaves of
the rollers. The warship turned back
and the little cruiser steamed into Van
couyer, arriving at the Canadian Pa
,ific dock at three o'clock on a dark
and wet morning.
Awaiting her were officials of the /
Dominion Express company, who had |
,ome out from Montreal in their pri- |
yate car. A picked crew put the |
money on special train of five ex-
'ress cars, which had been switched
nto the Canadian Pacific dock. Each
ar was loaded with 100000 in gold.
Greatest Caution Used.
Every door was guarded and barred
nd the transcontinental trip started
! telephone system connected the
ihole train. and whenever a sentinel
'ished TO move from one car to an
Their he did so on release from the
ficial car. The doors were never
pened when the train was at stand
till, and no guard was permitted to
how himself from the train windows
lille passing through towns. AT night
le train ran in darkness, and at each
visional point, when engines were
banged, detectives guarded the plat
'rm until the journey was resumed.
$ an additional precaution the train
as operated at irregular speeds on
ferent legs of the trip.
Sleighs backed up to the train at OF
wa and the gold was unIoaded and
ken to the mint under direction of
1vitsky.
Inc train was the first of several
lich passed through Vancouver dur
g the war. In August, 1915, another
lin carried $5OOOO,OOO across Can
a, and in January. 1917. SIT. 100000
ade the trip.