The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1865-04-08
From Desr Lodge county.
SILVER Bow CIrY. March l8. I86s

80 vEh DoW CrTY, March IL, 1855.
EDITOR Posr;-To many rules which ma,
De considered general, there are so freouen
exceptions as,to very much lessen the value
attached to them. and to cause mahy te
ooupt even their existence. This may be said
OF the manner in which quite number of
correspondents handle subject with regard
70 the general rtls of veracity required Of
them by the public. To avoid such errors
and to maintain good foothold upon the
trail OF truth, will tell you and the public
Just what l have seen, not fgivng for truth
what have only heard. To Commence
Stampedes and scarcity of provisions are
the order Of the day. Lately a gulch called
Ophir has been discovered, and hundreds
found their way to the new Ell Dorado, some
paying dearly for their venture by having
to yield part Of their extremities to the
merciless power of King Frost. There have
been, since the stampede, various reports,
oil conflicting, yet all praising the rich.
ness OF the Ophir and it's tributaries. Now,
Mr.. Editor, you may hear most hattering
reports enlarged possibly by travel, vet
you may safely say that the promulgators
know nothing but what has been handled
several times over. During the bitter cold
weather that prevailed on this western
slope, there was not the smallest opportu.
nifty tor any one to burrow through the
snow and frozen ground, to test the asser.
tlon OF my neighbor down the gulch, who
saw six feet of gravel paying almost any
amount of the precious dust to the pan.
Not one of the stampeders saw prospect
taken out OF the ground in Ophir gulch, vet
n L..
has at last smiled upon their efforts, and is
now ready to yield them the riches earned
by their perseverance and hardihood. That
such may be the case, l will humbly pray,
for your humble servant is interested, and
nothing would give him greater pleasure
than to be able to give "Tilt," ssDittes "
" Buck and others of the Posi-, grand
jolllfication on champagne and ice, as he
would, should fortune crown his efforts.
Quite bread riot occurred in our town,
a few evenings since, at the store of o. G.
Doraln. Having no money, and being re-
fused credit, some sons of the Emerald Isle
made free with the -four then lying in
Dorain's store, to their own satisfaction
and the discontinue of the proprietor. One
of the rietors, after having satisfied himself
in the bread line, called for q couple of
cans OF oysters. This demand, however,
was not pressed, therefore it was not COM
piled with. .hE .... q.
The gloom of winter has been rapidly
Frightening, the snow finding its way to the
water level, by numerous conduits, for the
past three days. Spring with its green liv-
cry, bids fair to greet US shortly. How
joyfully will we welcome its smiling face,
after period of four months steady cold
weather. Already the rocker is in use upon
the different bars in this gulch, and pros
pecting is going on in several places. Some
of the claims will shortly be tested, should
our good fortune will the weather to re-
main as it is. No. SO above, in Summit
district, has been proven to be good; SO say
the owners. l cannot state with certain
ty the exact amount of gold dust taken
out from one pan, but will give it as |
have heard it. On the 18th of March,
considerable excitement was created by the
report that SIS 80 had been washed out from
one pan of dirt. Since that time the
amount has been steadily growing, until
now the report gives $55. Which of the
various reports is true cannot tell; vet
prejudice leads me to favor the first, be-
cause it is the smallest. ......c3 y
Quartz discoveries are still going on, and
great praise is due to the hardy men who,
in snow and cold, still persevere in their
ceaseless efforts to enrich themselves and
develop the resources of this our young and
hereafter-to-be prosperous Territory.
Shoulder to shoulder they brave the storm
and WELD the pick and shovel in spite of
Winters frowns. Vessels, Humphries,
Lawson, Brown, Chittick, Macarthur, Porter
Bros, Leary, and dozen others are at it
daily, and deserve to reap rich harvest
for themselves and their posterity. ~ /
must now close, having, fear, already
occupied too much of your valuable time.
Believe me, your humble servant, Il
y ze. SAND HILL.