Year: 1867

OF All beholders. There are two Of thest
immense vaults one al each corner o
the Pine Street end Of the Rotunda
I The rooms are perhaps twenty feetlonl
by fifteen wide, and ton or twelve feet
high. They contain no window, ther,
is but one door opening into each anC
gAs-lights are kept burning inside The
internal appearance Of these vaults has
a striking resemblance 10 fashionable
tomb in Greenwood Cemetry. rows ol
cases being arranged around the sldci
OF the room, each abont two feet square
with iron doors attached. There is one
door for each case, and when the ap.
partment has been filled with bags ol
gold or bundles OF greenbacks the
doors are closed Each case viii con.
tain half million of dollars put up in
bags OF Ave thousand dollars each.---
When case is thus filed the door is
closed and seal affixed in the presence
Of the Naval Officer and the Surveyor
of the Port 1t takes one hundred bags
to bold half million of dollars. In
the first vault entered there were seven
ty two compartments arranged round
the room which formed tier somewhat
higher than mans head.


Running over the top Of these was o
balcony with an iron railing in front;
there was piled up in this balcony in
one heap six millions of dollars in five
and ten dollar bills; one half million
dollars in internal revenue stamps; fifty
thousand dollars in fractional currency,
put up in large paper boxes; Eve and
one half millions in United States
bonds.


The floor OF the vault rests on thirty
feet OF solid masonry from the ground
up; on the top Of this granite there are
two feet wrought iron and between the
iron plates space filed up with bull
let's. II rogue should succeed in boz
ring through the granite and iron, the
moment the drill touches bullet that
would commence TO revolve and by the
time it penetrated it another ball wo'd
drop in its place; in this way he would
soon find that he had an endless job
before him and the attempt to get into
the vault would have TO be abandoned.
The sides and top Of the room are com
posed of eight feet Of granite and two
of iron arranged in the same manner as
for the floor. This safe as it is called
was invented by Mr.. Isiah Rogers, and
built by Mr.. George B. Jackson, OF the
Excelsior Iron Works. Mr. Rogers
once said that if the people of the treas
ry once got locked out OF the safe it
it would take him month to break iii-
to it A night watch is kept to look
after these strong boxes, but they are
considered safe without him There
are four doors TO open one after the
other before we can enter the safe
Each one Of these doors weighs two
tons and contains two locks OF different
patterns. A lever is so arranged that
after the doors are closed four large
iron bolts are thrown across the door
way, resting in sockets which have been
made in a pillar Of wrought iron. II q
thief should succeed in cutting the
hinges Of one of these doors, usually
considered to be the most vulnerable
point, the door would not drop down
from It's place, and nothing would be
gained. Like the deacon's one horse
shay, these doors are made as strong in
one part as in another and the hinges
show no signs Of weakness. 1t viii
take fearful earthquake 10 shake them
down.


No good idea can be given TO the
reader OF the locks aud their operation,
but general remark may be Of inter-
est. The first door has one Of Dpdds
Eureka locks; there is no key-hole for
the outside combination which is divid-
ed into the letters Of the alphabet, and
nine units, and fractions of figures
The combinations which may be made
by this arrangement are endless, and
no one can open the lock, showing back
the bolts, unless he konws the words,
figures and fractions which have been
used in locking the door. Even il
person was 80 fortunate as to get from
Mr.. Birdsall the combination, he must
have an extensive acquaintance with
the lock to know how to manipulate it
correctly. The second door contains
an Isham lock. The third door has L.
Giles Monitor lock, and the fourth
door contains Gales double treasury
locks. From one Of these doors after
ii has been fastened, portion Of the
lock is taken of, and put under lock and
key in some secret place. Without this
it would be useless TO attempt to get in
to the safe.


The second vault is much larger than
the first one described but just "a diff
cult TO get into. There are one hund-
red cases in this room where gold can
be put and sealed up. At the time we
looked into the vault there were ninety
tons or forty-fve millions Of dollars Of
gold slowed In the room and twenty
millions in paper. The greenbacks as
they are paid into the treasury are put
up II packages Of one thousand bills
each, aIl Of the same denomination. -
A package Of one dollar bills contains
one thousand dollars; of five dollar bills
FIVE Thousand dollars; Of five hundred
dollar bills Eve hundred Thousand dol
lars. In one small box we were shown
SIX small packages, each Of which con-
tanned one million OF dollaiE Money
il haDdled IN the treasury building in
wholesale manner, packing-trunks
staad;.g alsn,st fall of Il. large willow