The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1865-03-18
From Last Chance.
LETTER, NUMBER THREE.
HELENA, Friday Evening. March 3. lS65

HELENA, Friday Evening, March 8, 1865
DEAR DoCToR.-Since writing the Short
note which goes with this asking certain
faVors, find time and comfortable nlace
the latter rare thing hereto give Won
few items, perhaps of interest to Won,
building, which had been going On so brisk.
ly for two or three weeks, hasIbeen bronobt
almost to stand still in this town bv fhe
extreme cold, though to-day | notice q few
venturesome ones doing what thew possiblv
can towards completing cabins to sheltey
themselves from the cold. but what witl,
running to the fire, say every five minutes.
10 warm themselves, and commencing at
~ a. NJ, and quitting at P NJ, they ac-
compllsh but little. Less than four weeks
ago when first came here, Helena could
BOAST OF not over dozen houses, and now
1t is more than half the size of Virginia.
and is growing as rapidly as ever, or will,
sas soon as the weather moderates. Aweek
ago last Sunday there was stampede to a
new gulch, called Skelly's gulch, about
fifteen miles from here. The gnlch has not
been prospected yet. Forty-fve cents to
the pan was had on the bar-this is no
humbug. Some four hundred claims of
one hundred feet each were taken on the
guleh-some Of them perhaps over the
range. Last Sunday there was another
stampede, thermometer at zero at the time,
to the left-hand fork of the foregoing
gulch, called Greenhorn's gulch. In this
last prospects from five to TWENTY-FIVE
cents to the pan were had, and part of the
prospects saw taken out myself, and be-
lleVe the gulch will prove as rich as anything
IN this country. Notwithstanding it was
so cold went on this last stampede. start
ing at midnight and reaching the gulch
all the way on foot-almost four in the
| morning and back again little past noon
on the next day. Pretty we'll for an old
man like myself; but the pursuit OF gold
! Is exciting, and what will man not do to
| obtain it. The knowing ones are whisper
ing round to their frienus that another rich
discovery has been made to which there
will be the ''biggest stampede'' of the
| season as soon as the weather will admit.
Also, have it from friend, an acquaint.
ance of yours, that an excellent thing has
been struck some fifty or sixty miles from
here, and believe there is something in it.
There nave been good many prospecting
parties out during the winter, and by the
time snow disappears we can show you in
this and jefferson county the richest mining
section in this or any other country, Cali
fornia not excepted. l speak what hon.
estly believe. In Grizzly gulch, which is
now attracting SO much attention, and for
claims in which such prices are being paid
they have sunk shafts through what they
have heretofore considered the bedrock
and at depth of twelve feet below the
first bedrock have struck another bedrock.
The original, evidently, which prospects in
some places as high as eight dollars to the
pan, presenting the novelty of two pay
streaks, one above the other. You proba-
bly, hear fabulous stories about Grizzly
gulch, such as that it has gravel six feet
deep which prospects anywhere from one
to three dollars to the pan. Such stories
are all bosh. 1t will rot go ever twenty-five
cents to the pan on an average, and this
you know is big, when you consider that
it has pay dirt six to eig int feet deep and
no draining to do in nearly half the gulch.
Twenty and thirty dollar prospects are fire.
quently obtained, but it is of course picked
dirt. The largest nugget have seen which
was taken out of that gulch weighs about
two ounces. Snow which when last wrote
you was but few inches deep is now over
foot, and further up the gulch two feet.
Nelson gulch, about eight miles from here
is increasing in favor and is paying well,
but the 'streak" is evidently narrow
Claims which when first came here were
selling at from one to two hundred dollars
will now sell for from five hundred to one
thousand dollars. Dry gulch running par
allel to Last Chance and only half a mile
icto j.
few claims largely. From this last gulch
nearly all the gold in circulation here is
taken; the dirt being hauled from half
mile to mile and half to water. But
very little mining is going on here just now.
Everybody is waiting for the snow to melt
to furnish water for sluicing. In a month
or six weeks from this we can probably
show you as much gold taken out as ever
was taken out of the same number of feet
in any country. twill take several months,
perhaps year, to equal Alder Creek in its
palmiest days. 1t is said we are, in the
course of two weeks, to have the first steam
saw mill-and the only one-ever set up in
this Territory it will make more money
this summer than any mining claim. One
would suppose Virginia City, and indeed,
the whole of Alder Creek deserted, by the
number from there one sees in the streets.
| presume many are here merely to look
around during dull times in Alder Creek,
yet hear of many who have made money
out of claims there investing to quite a
large amount here. As | said in former
letters some will wish they had kept their
money in their pockets. hope the mails
will soon be running regularly from the
States. Yours as ever, C. III. S.