Historic Oddity Headline: February 9, 1911 - Rodents Hoard Much Gold
The Washburn Times
February 9, 1911
“Rodents Hoard Much Gold.”
Office Boy of Chicago Jewelry House Solves Mystery of Disappearance of Valuables.
Chicago. - A piece of gold chain three inches long sticking out of a hole in the floor solved a big mystery in a downtown wholesale jewelry house. The manager for the company had been missing watches for three months. He suspected that some employee was taking them, but there was no clue. More watches disappeared, the manager’s worries increased. He called his chief aids one by one into his private office and whispered to them that he would give $100 to the person who discovered the culprit. A month passed. The thief was not arrested. More watches and other jewelry were missing. Two detectives were hired and ostensibly put to work among the help. The officers watched every move of every person in the place, but they got no hint of the identity of the robber. Watches, lockets, rings and gems kept going.
Finally, an office boy sighted the chain and the hole in the floor. He pulled on the chain and the watch popped up through the hole. A great light broke in on the whole force when he reported his find. A carpenter was called in and the floor was ripped up. From the recesses were recovered 17 watches, seven lockets, 14 bracelets, 19 stickpins, 27 rings, four hatpins and 13 bales of wire. Further search revealed a hole in the bottom of a case in which timepieces and other jewelry were kept. Rats had been at work for months carrying off the stock of concern. The hole in the floor was not large enough to let a watch through flat, but the rodents had head enough to work them round sidewise and thus accomplish their purpose.
What they proposed to do with the gems nobody had an idea. There were only occasional marks of teeth on any of the stolen stuff, and they were made in dragging it away. Only a student of animal life can say why a rat, with a fine appetite for all varieties of cheese, should waste his time lugging away gold, silver and dross.
“Historic Oddity Headlines” showcases actual articles written about truly odd occurrences that took place and were published within United States newspapers back in the 1800s-1900s. The articles posted here are written exactly as they appeared during their original publishing date.
-The Pine Barrens Institute
The Superior Times
June 29, 1907
“Produces Chicken That Talks.”
Californian Crosses Parrot and Guinea Hen with Strange Result.
The Hartford Herald
July 25, 1894
“STORY OF WITCHCRAFT.”
IN THE SOUTH - - - OLD KATE BATTS’ AWFUL SPELL.
History of the Famous Bell Witch and Its Tragic Persecution of an Entire Family in Tennessee.
A CHAPTER OF MYSTERY.
Press and Daily Dakotaian
February 21, 1889
“THEY FLED IN TERROR.”
The Odd Occurrence that Startled the Inhabitants of Litchfield, Ills.
Iron County News
December 10, 1921
“Mystery of Lost Atlantis.”
Believed by Many to Be Merely Legend, but Idea Can Not Be Entirely Uprooted.
Northern Wisconsin Advertiser
November 3, 1922
“EASY FOR SNAKES.”
Fisherman Was a Benefactor, Though He Didn’t Know It.
But for Chance Encounter, Mystery of Missing Catfish Might Never Have Been Solved.
Watertown Republican
September 27, 1893
“FOUND TWO SKELETONS.”
It May Result in Clearing Up a Mystery at Oconomowoc.
The Washburn Times
February 9, 1911
“Rodents Hoard Much Gold.”
Office Boy of Chicago Jewelry House Solves Mystery of Disappearance of Valuables.
Wausau Pilot
February 2, 1922
“Secret Doors In Mystery House.”
“Chain Girl’s” Story Makes Modest Appearing Cottage a Mecca for Curious.
PRISONER IN ATTIC.
Through Days and Nights of Terror Fifteen-Year-Old Girl Languished in Chains, According to Statement to Police.
Daily Arizona Silver Belt
September 11, 1907
“September 9 Is His Unlucky Day.”
For Nine Consecutive Years Mike O’Byrne Has Met with Accident on this Fatal Date.
FATHER’S DEATH ON SAME DAY AN ODD OCCURRENCE.
Slipped into a Shallow Shaft at San Carlos on Monday and Broke His Arm - Full Diary of Nine Years of Hard Luck.
The Lafayette Advertiser
November 25, 1913
“Hay Ricks Lifted On High.”
Remarkable Phenomenon That Is Said to Have Been Witnessed by Party of Scotsmen.
The Wisconsin Weekly Blade
February 8, 1917
“Finds Hidden Rooms In House Of Mystery.”
Carpenter Work on Old Place Reveals Apartments None Knew About.
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The Minneapolis Journal
November 16, 1901
“PREHISTORIC.”
Skeleton of a Giant Found in a Cave With Specimens of Rude Art.