Some pigs, an unruly cow mix up the mystery of stolen Ruggles brothers loot

Editor's note: No one knows for sure what became of the gold that brothers John and Charles Ruggles stole from a stagecoach on May 14, 1892 in Shasta County. After their lynching two months later on July 24, 1892 in Redding, the lore just built. This story appeared in the Currents section, page 29, of the Record Searchlight on July 8, 2001.

While some claim the gold the Ruggles brothers stole has not been found, John and Wilma Kite claim that at least some of it was recovered long ago.

Sometime around 1914, John Kite's father took an unruly dairy cow to the slaughterhouse. While there, Bill Menzel, son of the slaughterhouse owner, said he found gold that hogs had rooted up in a pen.

"I think it was $10,000 and it was part of the Ruggles brothers loot," longtime Redding rancher John Kite said.

Retired Shasta County Superior Court Judge Richard B. Eaton said he estimates the amount of money stolen was about $3,800. Other accounts say the amount of treasure was as much as $75,000.

There is no proof the hogs had uncovered the gold John and Charles Ruggles robbed from a stage on May 14, 1892, but Kite says that after the gold was discovered many believed it was the lost treasure.

"Everybody said that has to be the gold," said Kite, who was 86 when the Record Searchlight interviewed him.

"It's at the same period of time that the robbery had taken place and no one had discovered the gold," said Wilma Kite, John's wife.

"I know Judge Eaton swears up and down that the gold was never recovered," John Kite said.

The slaughterhouse was located south of Redding in an area that is now about a half mile west of Highway 273 on Buenaventura Boulevard.

After finding the treasure, the Menzel family used the money to buy 10,000 acres in the Bald Hills west of Redding, said Wilma Kite, a member of the Shasta Historical Society.

John Kite also has another connection to the robbery. The wife of Amos "Buck" Montgomery was Kite's schoolteacher.

While the Kites say that at least part of the stolen loot was found, other accounts say the money was hidden near or under a fence post in Woodland, where John Ruggles was arrested.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Did pigs unearth gold stolen by Ruggles brothers? Some say yes