The Clerk Who Left Snohomish with the Cash
A local store employee clears out inventory and skips town, leaving his employers with empty shelves and an 'elite' social circle in shock.
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.
About six months ago, one M. Saultry, formerly in the employ of Wood & Company of this city, was employed by Messrs. C.F. White & Co., of East Portland, who had purchased the stock of the insolvent Snohomish Trading Company in this place to oversee and take charge of the local store. Swiftly did a 'land office business' for a time, with one 'cousin' Saultry, as an assistant. On Monday, the 2nd of January, M. Saultry told the firm he had a 'touch of the California fever' and on the Wednesday following, told his clerk he was going over to Portland for a few hours on business. It seems Saultry had a 'screw loose.' He at Seattle cut off his heavy whiskers, trimmed his mustache and otherwise disguised himself. Mr. Yeaton accidentally learned of the pruning of his employee in Portland and, suspecting there was a 'screw loose,' crossed the river just to find that Saultry and his 'cousin' had taken passage for San Francisco. Mr. Yeaton immediately started for Snohomish, and upon his arrival took an inventory of the stock of goods on hand, finding that Saultry had sold about $10,000 worth, for the greater part of which he received cash. A few days before his departure, Saultry sold the safe and several thousand cigars to Mr. Dehm, proprietor of the Exchange Hotel, taking a note for the cigars and receiving $30 in cash for the safe. On several occasions he presented customers with bills for goods which were never ordered nor received. At present it is impossible to learn the exact amount of the embezzlement, but it will probably aggregate $5,000. The news of the sudden departure of Saultry and 'cousin' will no doubt shock several members of 'elite' Snohomish society, with whom they were quite intimate. We sympathize with them—the 'elite,' we mean.
“The news of the sudden departure of Saultry and 'cousin' will no doubt shock several members of 'elite' Snohomish society, with whom they were quite intimate. We sympathize with them—the 'elite,' we mean.”
Embezzlement by trusted employees is a timeless workplace drama, though today’s digital financial trails make disappearing with $5,000 (roughly $150,000 in modern value) significantly harder than in the days of cash sales and unverified receipts. The social sting—the embarrassment of the local 'elite' who wined and dined with the swindler—remains a familiar trope in small-town gossip.
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