Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-03-04
APERrLous CONDITION.
A Gold Hunters Adventure in the
Ri0ck Hills

Black Hills.
A new territory infested by In
dians, and filling up rapidly witt
adventures in quest of gold, will al
ways be the theater of thrillin,
events. Such a region was tn,
Black Hills in 1857.
Many night has the writer sa
in the light of a camp fire in thos,
days, and listened to tales related
with all the hard, graphic earnest
ness of truth, by men who needet
not to embellish their narratives tt
render them stranger than the mos
sensational of fictions.
These rough narrators, indeed
would have scorned to embellish
The most of their adventures were
not romantic. Commonly they
| were stern realities; difficulties te
be met and overcome, perils often
from which men are only too glad
to escape with their lives. Such a
one was the following incident
which occurred in the experience oil
a friend of the writer during the
season of '75.
Along with many others, James
Bently went to the Black Hills as
soon after the Custer expedition as
possible, hoping to gather goodly
portion of the coveted "yellOw dusto1
reported to be lying loose at the bot
tom of all the streams there.
With five or six other gold hunt
ers, Bently succeeded in avoiding
the government troopS-then vainly
endeavoring to guard the territory
and arrived on French creek, near
the site of Custer City, early in the
spring of the year above mention
ed.
Provided with mining "pans" he
and his companions at once tested
the soil along the stream. There
seemed to be gold everywhere. In
every pan of dirt they washed, a
few brig ght particles were found, yet
not enough in quantity to make it
profitable to spend time in getting
it.
They next tried the "rocker,"
could not make more than days
wages. ''Sluicing" was next at
tempted, but the water supply
proved inadequate.
They were satisfied, however,
that the claims which they had
"Iocated along this stream were
valuable, and that a reservoir or
dam, might be built which would
give a sufficient amount of water.
Concluding, therefore, to hold
their claims till the resources of the
country were better developed, they
built a cabin and determined to
seek for gold elsewhere in the Hills
leaving one of their party to take
care of the cabin and the claims.
James was the first to whose lot it
fell to guard the cabin. There were
few miners left above and below
him, but most of those who had
gathered there had left !; so that the
position of the solitary guardian
was not only lonely, but danger
Gus one. The Indians at this time
were feeling exceedingly aggrieved,
not without reason; since the in
vasion of their territory was plain
ly contrary to the treaty which our
Government had made with them.
Rumors had been rife all the
sping that war parties were proWl-
ing about the hills watching for a
chance to pick off stray miners.
That these reports were true was
pretty we'll demonstrated by the
fact that numbers of miners who
had ventured out prospecting"
alone, had never returned. Several,
indeed, had been found dead and
scalped.
Bently was brave fellow, but he
naturally felt somewhat nervous
during the first few days of his soli-
tary vigil at the cabin. By the end
of the week the irksomeness of his
position told so strongly upon him
that he would almost have been
glad of brush with the Indians, or
to have undertaken venture of al
most any kind to relieve the weary
monotOny of his situation.
AT length he felt that he must do
to divert his mind, and
taking his rife one morning he
walked up the creek to the cabin of
the nearest miner, tactiturn fellow
who seemed to court sOlitute, but
whose cabin was in sight of his own
and asked him if he would not, as a
favor, keep an eye on his hut that
day.
Scarcely looking up the man
gruffiy assentented, then turned to
his work, which seemed to be the
of a rude chair from
some "shakes which he had split.
Thanking him, Bently turned
away and proceeded rapidly up
from the creek among the hills, re-
solved on a good long tramp at any
risk. 1t was fine day. His spir- |
its rose as he climbed the rocky |
bluff and caught the piney odor of
the evergreens which clothed their |
sides.
For two or three hours he hunted |
for game, but found none. There
were, as he knew, hundreds of |
black tail deer in the miles of woods |
through which he had come; but
the wind was blowing steadily in |
the direction in which he was trav-
cling, and he began to be aware |
that he must change his course if he |
would carry home haunch of ven-
ison.
Accordingly he now bore off to
the eastward, and ranging among
the hills in that quarter, succeeded |
about noon in shooting fine buck.
Salt and matches he had brought |
with him from the cabin, as also a
of cold coffee, and half a
dozen "hard tack" In the course |
of an hour he had dressed his deer
after a manner-kindled a fire and |
was dining with relish off some of |
the choicest tidbits roasted on the |
Goals.
Later on he secured one of the
hind quarters, bundled up in the |
skin for convenience of carrying |
and then set off to return to the |
creek.
But meantime the sun had been
clouded in; and after going on for
some minutes, feeling of uneasi-
ness as to his course began to steal
over him. Uneasily he cast his eyes
about him for some point of obser-
walton which would enable him
10 overlook the surrounding coun- !
try.
Out to the east there extended a
range of high bluffs or rather long |
rocky ridge; and for this he at once |
directed his steps. AS the distance
was scarcely more. than mile, he
soon reached the ridge.
Scaling the crags in front, he saw
uDOn Gaining the summit that the |