The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1896-05-14
GOLDINNEW YORkSTATE
An Old Guides Supposed Rich Fine
in the Adirondacks.
THE TRADITION OF A LOST MINE
Story Of Couple of Montana Pros
pectors Who Hired Guides to Blaze
Trail Into a Lonely District.

Visitors to the Adirondacks who
have made the northwestern portion of
the Wilderness their camping ground
are familiar with the tradition of a lost
gold mine somewhere in the region
between Cranberry lake and Tuppel
lake. This stretch of timber is becOm
ing better known since a route has
been surveyed through it, connecting
what is popularly known as Webb S
railway with the Carthage and Adir-
ondack railway The present terminus
of the latter road is at the Little River
Iron Mountain, or. as it is now called,
Benson S IN inc. There is plenty Of wild
country in the stretch of 30 odd miles,
and the prudent visitor never ventures
III without a guide.
Very little has been heard ofsthe sup
posed gold deposit of late. The guides
around Star lake tell the story of a
couple of Montana prospectOrs who
three years ago hired guides to blaze a
trail for them into what was then,
and. for that matter is now, solid vir-
gin timber. They refused to tell their
business, but had an old pen aud ink
map. They sent the guides back lost
their way and starved to death. All
that was discovered regarding their
mission was some samples Of gold
bearing quartz found il their hands.
The guides reached them while one of
them was still alive, and he said they
had located a gold lead, but was un-
able TO give any other information.
The map could not be found. Active
search was made. but the lead, if in
deed such it was. could not be located.
Most of the guides came to regard
both the story Of the starving miners
and the gold deposit as myths. Re
Gently one Of the oldest guides in the
northwestern Adirondack region went
to Rochester, N. Y. He carried a
small pack of drop spruce gum, an
unusual circumstances as gum hunters
rarely come out of the woods with
their wares until the spring opens.
After selling the gum, which always
finds a market at long prices in the
drug trade. the guide hunted up a
friend who had clmped with him sew
eral seasons on the inlet of Gran berry
and along Little river. To him the
old wood pilot divulged, in a guarded
way, his object in coming so far from
his cabin. -.-' al ~ ..l-
t'You know we've talked over that
Cranberry gold story good many
times, he said. ''Well. I've hit the
spot, and it can't get away H.
Then the old man produced little
roll Of deer hide, from which he ex-
tracted ii bit of white quartz as large
as a butternut. The quartz contained
five o. six sure enough nuggets, vary
ing III size from a large pinhead to a
pea. 1t was evident that the splinter
had been recently separated from the
rock, as the cleavage was fresh and
showed no signs of wear. The Roches-
ter man piloted the Adirondack man
TO a chemist who tested the sample of
ore and at once pronounced d it gold.
"That's all | came out for,' was the
quiet remark Of the guide when he
reached the street. II knew you'd
steer me where I'd get dead sure
pointer on the stone. I'm goin' back
to Little river. l haven't got any land
to sell, and I'm not goin' to give up
where | got this, The boys down at
the mines and Carthage said it was
iron pyrites, worth about as much a
ton as Little river iron ore; but no.
tice some of them was mighty anxious
to find out where | got the pyrites. l
know where I can get tons of Just such
rock, and I'm goin' to freeze to the
find - ..,t ...... .u ..#l
The sample bears a general resem-
bance to the quartz found in the
Nova Scotia gold mines, but ON com.
parison with samples of the latter it
was found to be somewhat darker. 1t
is, of course, possible that some one
has salted the region with quartz spec
linens, but it would be curious cir
cumstance If the old guide should have
stumbled ON the find which cost the
Montana prospectors their lives. 81: