A group of men stole through the darkness like thieves, but they had done nothing dishonest. They were returning to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Viginia after two and a half years. But why weren't they rushing home to see their families and friends? Why were they silently creeping up a steep hill on one of the coldest nights of the year ?
As they climbed, the wind howled and froze their hands to poles they were carrying. Each pole went through the handle of a large iron weight of the pots that made their shoulders ache, but what was inside. They were carrying 1,014 pounds of gold and 3,812 pounds of silver !