Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1872-02-08
Written for the Herald. ~ a
RECoILECTIONS OF THE
MOUNTAINS. .a.-.
THE CGUR d,ALENE, STAMPEDE.
BY AN OLD INHABlTANT.

1t was summer In 1866. The beautiful
June daysi shone upon the inhabitants of
Walla Walla. The streets were almost de-
serted, and to us who had seen the whirl and
rush of busy people in the gold excitement of
the few previous years, it seemed as though
our sceptre of prosperity had departed, and a
new gold excitement was the only thing which
would revive our tagging business, andbring
wealth swiftly to our doors. While seated in
my Office waiting for something to turn up
a friend walked in and gave o report, just
heard, of q rumored discovery of gold two
hundred miles distant, in the Ceur d'Alene
range of mountains, now the western bound
ary of Montana.
That evening met the man, one W.,
who had been to the place, and he having
made o sketch of the country referred to, on a
billiard table, with chalk and being certain
of its correctness by its agreeing with a view
obtained of its unexplored recesses in 1860
from the summit of one of the mountain
peaks near the U. s. Military road constructed
through that region in that year, from whose
height the panorama of this rugged wilderness
was then partially unfolded and made plain,
expressed my belief in the existence of the
reported basin, and also of the gold which
report said had been discovered there:
There is favorite theory among miners,
which leads them to believe in the deposit of
gold in basins or large depressions in the
mountain ranges; and prospectors, as they
push their way into unexplored regions, if
they see such formations of the country as
indicate the situation of basin, Immediately
push into to prospect for gold. The Flor
ence basin was flat of few miles in ex-
tent on the summit of the high mountains,
through which the Salmon river runs for o
hundred miles, before entering the Lower
Snake river. The Bose basin was in the high
peaks around the head of the river of the
same name in Central Idaho, and both of
these were strong combinations of the gold
hunters basin theory by the abundant richness
of their yield. So if we would find another
basin like either ofthese, the fortune of our
selves and friends would be made. ,".
W told us frankly that he had not been
into the basin; for, as they We're working
their way up the river which flowed from it
Their, ''grub'' gave out C'grub'' always gives
out when prospecting;) that they had, how
ever found eight prospects" on one of its
lower tributaries, 0hey always have flight
prospects on the lower tributaries y but he
drew in golden light, the future which would
be ours when the ''basin" was fully devel-
oped.
Most of us who listened to him were men
who had nothing to do as general thing
farmers who were not ready for harvest,
merchants, whose business was dull, and al
most anything would please for change.
A dozen or so decided to start under the
leadership of W. and explore the region
alluded to, and accept this untold wealth. So
we saddled up our horses, loaded our pack
animals for months journey, and struggled
off innocently, so as not to excite suspicion
and be the first ones to reap the harvest of
'snew diggins.".
We travelled leisurely over the rolling hills
and prairies of the Great Plain of the Colun,-
bia, and for a hundred and fifty miles retained
the dignifed pace of walk. Then, being
within sight of the mountains that held our
treasures, we pushed our horses to trot, and
rushed on to anticipate pursuit.
The always beautiful lake of the Ceur
d'Alene was passed, without stopping to pay
it the usual homage of gazing upon its calm
and enchanting scenery, and we never drew
rein upon our tired animals until we reached
the valley of the Wolf's Lodge-a prairie of