The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-09-07
H GRAVEL RANGE
JOE BUSi
WRITES ABOUT IT.
A Conservative Opinion Of the New
Gold Fields Topography Of the
COuntry-Progress Of Development
WOrk-PrOmiscous Stalking.

VI SHpefIelce anu Is 10" sSeKlnE SOlO
by a more direct method. arrived in
Virginia Wednesday from the Gravel
Range gold country where he spent
the summer. Knowing that his con-
s%ervative estimate Of the of
that section would be valuable we
finally persuaded him to write a
description of the much talked of
country for the M~ApIsoNIAN. 1t is
we'll worth reading. Mr.. Bush writes
as follows: Editor MADISONIAN: In
response to repeated requests l will
give you a short summary of my recent
trip to the Gravel Range, promising a
nor detailed report in the future.
Among the p~rospectors and miners
of Madison County the opinion has long
prevailed that all the gold in the
gulches on either side of the divide
between the Madison and Ruby rivers
and south Of Old Badly had its source
in the old river channel, known as
the Gravel Range. That opinion has
been strengthened and confirmed by
the Developments of each succeeding
year, until now there is scarcely the
shadow of a doubt in the mind of any
we'll informed person that such is the
ease. In the present article l will not
attempt to trace the origin of the
Gravel Range, but simply to give
your readers some idea of it's main
characteristics, and | will speak only
of such portions OF it as come under
my own observation.
The impression seems to prevail that
the body of gravel forming the old
channel follows the divide all the way
through. Such is not the case. In
fact, there r only two points between
Old Badly IN the north, and West
Fork on the south, where the Gravel
Range touches the divide at all. Those
points are at the head of Wigwam and
near the head of the south branch of
Ruby Creek. At all other places the
old channel srfrom half a mile to. two
miles west OF the divide.
Another ~fallacious belief which pre-
walls to some extent is that the old
channel is a continuous body OF gravel,
only broken where some creek cuts
through it. So far as I could discover
in three months prospecting there are
only four places between West Fork
and Old Badly where extensive bodies
of the gravel exist, and the largest of
these bodies does not exceed one and
one-half miles in length. There are
evidences that at some time the chan
mel was continuous, but it has been all
broken up by land slides and other
agencies, and by far the greater por-
ton OF it has been swept away. leaving
not a single trace behind.
For 80 years the eXistance of the old
channel has been known, and for 80
years it has been known to contain
gold, and has been regarded as q feed
er for all the gulehes along it's route:
yet the strange fact remains that not
a single hole has ever been sunk to bed.
rock in that channel. Crockett has
done more work in the channel than
anyone else, perhaps more than all
others put together, yet he has never
cen bedrock, save on the rim. He
has one tunnel in 800 feet, all the way
in gravel, which, l am informed, pros.
poets we'll. Besides the ground, which
Crockett and others claim, there are
several unclaimed tracts which fur.
nish a promising field for prospecting,
for those who have a little money to in.
vest in that way. The ordinary pros.
pector, however, has no business med.
ding here. He will merely throw
away his time. The gravel deposits
are large, the bedrock deep, and even
if gold should be found in paying quan.
titles, it will require considerable CAPT.
tai to put water OF the ground.
Much has been said about the Black
Butte country as a promising gold field
l spent several weeks in that vicinity
and sunk more holes than had eve
been sunk there before. There is colo
at Black Butte, but it is so infinitesi
NAL in size and in quantity so out of pro
portion to the gravel it is mixed with
that no one will ever be found fool
hardy enough to attempt to separat.
it.
From Black Butte, south, l know O
no deposit of the old channel wash