The Mysterious Disappearance of Morris Moss
A prominent businessman vanishes with $10,000 in gold dust, sparking fears of a brutal robbery in the Kootenai gold country.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Victoria, B. C., July 19—The strange disappearance of Morris Moss is the talk of Victoria. Moss is a thirty-year pioneer of the province and a prominent businessman in the sealing industry. Early in June he left home to visit the Laura hydraulic mine in the Kootenai district. He passed through Spokane Falls on June 18, and in an interview stated he was going to witness the clean-up at the mine and bring the proceeds down. The next that was heard of him was at Marcus, where he went after visiting Rock Creek. This was on June 21, and he then had about $10,000 in gold dust and money with him. Since then no tidings have come from him, and the suspicion is gaining ground that he has been robbed and murdered.
“Since then no tidings have come from him and the suspicion is gaining ground that he has been robbed and murdered.”
The disappearance of a wealthy investor with a fortune in gold dust is a classic gold-rush era mystery that highlights the lawlessness of the remote mining frontiers in the 1890s. The case remains a haunting reminder of the dangers inherent in transporting wealth through the rugged backcountry of the Pacific Northwest.
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