The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1884-09-10

fOfC AsslnabOlne. The road from this
city IS good and a vehicle of any kind
can be driven right into the gulch with
out difficulty.
THE DISCOVERY.
when and under what circumstan-
ces was the discovery made?" asked the
reporter.
We struck it on the 18th of June.
Charley Brown and myself were pros
pecting the Little Rockies and came up
on Louis Meyers, or Dutch Louie, in
this gulch. He had found good indica-
tions but had not prospected the gulch
well. We proposed to cross-cut the
gulch working together, and did So
We found two channels where big pros
| poets were got. On bedrock where we
worked we got as high as $3.50 to the
pan and it averaged at least 25 cents.
| There is five feet of solid gravel in the
| channels that averaged bit to the pam
| After doing good deal of work and
satisfying ourselves that we had big pay
diggings, our grub pile got low and my
self and Brown went to Assinaboine for
new supply. We were gone just two
weeks and two days and during that
time Louie
ROCKED OUT EIGHT OUNCES OF GOLD,
result that rather tended to elate us.
took this money and went to Maiden to
secure additional supplies and some
lumber I endeavored to keep the mat
ter secret but by my disposing of the
dust it got out and soon after some fifty
men from Maiden and vicinity took the
trail and found us. This was the begin
ing of the stampede. The circumstances
Of the discovery are as / have told YOU"
"Well, continue your narrative to
date.n
"Seeing it was out we then proceeded
to protect ourselves. A district was or
ganized and laws adopted. Discovery
claim was set apart for myself Brown
and Myers and then each of us located
claims. A claim is 800 feet from rim to
rim. We then commenced work in
earnest, my company opening No. II
above discovery. 1t paid on an average
OVER $1OA DAY.
to the man until left and will continue
to do SO. Bob Main and Charley Smith
were preparing to sluice on No. "a above
discovery when [ left. They took out
$40 one Gay with rocker. Our COM
pany had $3.50 in gold and I brought
about an ounce and a half of it with
me, as sample of Little Rocky dust.
I am certain from pretty thorough pros
pecting that every claim in that gulch-
about four miles in extent-will pay,
and / believe the best claims have not
yet been touched
"Are there any bar diggings?"
"Plenty of them. / prospected bars
that
AVERAGED DTHREE-QUARTERS OF A CENT
to the pan, but water is too scarce just
now to render them valuable. In due
time they will be-"
"What supply of water have yoa?"
.tNow there are about fifty inches in
the creek, but in the early part of the
season it runs 500 inches.n
ssDo you think gold will be found
elsewhere in the Little Rockies ?"
II have no doubt of it. It is almost
certain that big pay diggings will be
found on Peoples, Beaver and other
creeks. Just before I left learned that
TWO BITS TO THE PAN
had been got on Little Rocky creek, and
it is probable that by this time another
district has been organized there, which
may be even better than ours-which is
to be known to the world as the Little
Alder mining district of Choteau coun-
ty, M. T." Some old-time miners in
the camp think it will be rival of the
famous Alder gulch."
In further conversation Frank said
they found near the mouth of the gulch
pit, 100 by $50 feet, that had evidently
been sluiced out years ago, and he is OF
the opinion, concurred in by many 9TH
ers in the gulch, that it was here
CHRIS. KEYES STRUCK 1T
in 1864 to which place he was on his
way when killed the following year.
All the circumstances considered this is
certainly not an unlikely conclusion.
When asked why he left big pay dig
gings to come to Benton Frank said it
was purely q business trip. He had
property to look after at Barker and
must do it at once. He is represented |
in the gulch and can stay away few