Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-12-18
A WESTERN "REMINISCENCES.

The True story OF the First ID s-
covery OF the Pixies Peak Region.
From the Kansas City Times.l
The honor and glory Of the first dis
covery of the gold regions at the eastern
base of the Rocky Mountains, com
monty known as the Pixies Peak Gold
Diggings," has been claim ed and awarded
to several parties, and credited errone-
ously to those restless, hardy pioneers,
who in 1853 and 1859 made the existence
of gold at Pixies Peak and Cherry Greek
known to the world.
THE TRUE STORY
Of the gold discovery has never before
been wgittep, nor are there many per
sons now living yhQ ere epnYersant with
the following incidents, which are closely
connected with the history Of Kansas
and Colorado. Kansas City has been
from a very early day, nearly half a
century sgo, the headaEGrters for the
French and Canadian hunters and
B,ountaipeers who rambled out into the
plains and mountains, following closely
behind the Jesuit missionaries, and made
.heir living in the mountains and upon
the streams coursing down from the
Black Hills to the Missouri. At this
early day the Chouteaus we're located in
the bottoms east of the city and west OF
the Kaw bluffs, up the kqv riyer They
carried on very extensive fur trade et
this point with all the hunters, trappers
and Indians in the country to the west
of this point. During the winter, most
of these French and Canadian hunters
made this place their bone, end in the
spring started oat to. the mountains. 4
number OF them afterward made thls
their permanent home, and may be
found among our oldest and bsst re-
spected families. These hardy, wander
ing pioneers were generally devout
Catholics, and attended mass with great
regularity.
THE OH FREyCHMAN's DILEMMA.
About twenty-five years ago Father
Donnelly, the present beloved pastor Of
the church of st. Mary's, on Broadway,
was preparing for morning exercises in
the little log church, which stood where
Pennsylvania avenue crosses Eleventh
street, when his attention wEs attracted,
and he was somewhat surprised TO hear
a loud and boisterous laughing and talk
ing iust outside the church. Father
Donnelly observed a crowd OF noun
taineers and tFapPeFs seated in the
shade Of the building, taRptng end
plaguing an old Frenehman, then nearly
or about one hundred years OF age.
This old man is remembered by MessFs.
p. NJ. Cb0Dteau, Peter Reward, Charles
Dripps and others as quaint, simple
old man, who had spent tbe better por-
ton of century in the West, and who |
became and was at the time of his death |
a protege of old Mrs. Chouteau. He |
never understood the English language
sufficiently we'll to speak it, and was
when discovered that fine Sabbath morn
ing, a quarter of century ago, endeay-
oring to make his tormentogs RHdeFstand, |
in his Canadian patois, something sbogt |
a scOurging he had received, and assur- |
ing them, as well as possible, of rich |
poA region in the West. The worthy |
father insuirej Of one Of the hunters, a
Monsieur Tougeos, WY tbe men we're !
always plaguing the old ham about
whipping and about gold, when the ial-
lowing story of the frst gold discovery in
1872 was told:
THE TRAPPERs or 1912.
In the earliest explorations Of the
Rocky Mountains the hunters we're sur
pEisea 10 discover among the Ute lndl-
ans gcides bgllets and golden trinkets
formed out Of ROACH golden nuggets.
Fort Hall, then in the bossResi0n of the |
British. was the objective poiRt where /
many Of The mountain trappers received
hair supplies and disposed Of their pei |
tries 6qring the summer season. The
only trail then pse5 ia crossing the