Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/225045
X Marks the Spot Two lost gold bricks, each weighing 310 ounces, are somewhere – stashed, cached or buried – near Camp McKinney. This treasured location is speculated to be along the stagecoach trail not far from the camp, perhaps in Rock Creek Canyon or at McMynn's Meadows; its cache, valued at $12,400 in 1896, would now be worth $1 million. The story of the lost gold bricks began on August 18, 1896, a beautiful warm day on which the Cariboo-Amelia gold mine at Camp McKinney was to transport its monthly gold production to Midway. From there, the gold bricks would be shipped by rail to Spokane and onwards to the San Francisco mint. George McAuley, a co-owner of the gold mine, set out alone in a buckboard, a light horse-drawn carriage, with three gold bricks in a canvas bag. But just three miles down the trail, he was confronted by a masked man with a rifle who demanded that McAuley throw down the canvas bag, which held two 310-ounce gold bricks and one 80-ounce gold brick. McAuley offered no argument – he dropped the bag and took off at a gallop to report the crime in Midway. When word of the heist reached Camp McKinney, a headcount revealed the absence of just one miner, Mathew Roderick, who had not reported to work on the day of the robbery, claiming illness. Evidence recovered from the scene of the robbery – an empty whiskey bottle of Roderick's brand – also pointed to Roderick as the prime suspect. A reward was posted for his whereabouts, but by then Roderick had escaped across the border. p112-117_CampsOfFame.indd 115 One story of Roderick's escape centres on his discussion with Joe Keane, the superintendent at the gold mine, two days after the robbery, in which Roderick suggested he would go home to Tacoma to recover from his illness. The next day, before Roderick caught the morning stagecoach to Tacoma, Keane noted that Roderick carried a rolled blanket – possibly large enough to wrap the small gold brick, but not the two larger ones. Keane surmised that, sooner or later, Roderick would return to retrieve the two gold bricks. Meanwhile, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was retained to keep Roderick under surveillance in Seattle. Two months later, Roderick made his move, travelling by train to Loomis, Washington, where he purchased a horse and rode north for the B.C. border. He was kept under constant surveillance, and Camp McKinney was alerted of Roderick's return. In the darkness of night on October 26, Keane and several armed constables waited for Roderick on the trail. They heard horse hooves approaching, and then, through the dim light, saw a man leading a horse. But whether from anxiety, impatience or fear, Keane suddenly called out and shot at the approaching dark apparition. Roderick was killed instantly. He was found to be carrying a partly rusted rifle and pistol, as if they had just been uncovered from a cache. He also wore a special vest with two pockets large enough to hold two gold bricks, but no smaller pocket, leading Keane to surmise that the 80-ounce brick had already been spent. Roderick carried no gold, and the secret of the two large bricks' whereabouts – despite the best efforts of many ambitious treasure hunters over the years – died with him. ■ w i n t e r 2 0 1 3 115 13-11-27 10:20 AM