The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-03
WORKING THE GARFIELD.
THE LOST CABIN MINE.
A Butte Party is Now Out Looking
For It.

The story of the long-sought-for Lost
Cabin mine is being again revived, and
according to the Butte Inter Mountain
party has just been organized in that
| city to search for this elusive bonanza
The Inter Mountain says:
Old John Burton. the prospector who
has been employed in the search for
minerals for many years by Butte men,
/ believes ne has a clue to the location of
the famous Lost Cabin mine in the Big
! Horn mountains, and he left Butte on
| Monday determined to discover the IA
/ nous mine 1t will not be his first trip
by anv mears TO that country, but he
could not be induced to talk about the
I matter before he left.
For Il great many years while the
warlike Sioux and Grow Indians made
access TO the region of the Big Horn
mountains extremely dangerous, if not
impossible 70 TIE whites, there was a
story IN circulation among the few
prospectors for gold who dared to go
into the region that somewhere in the
deep recesses of the Big Horn range
there was a mountain of extraordinary
rich gold quartz. 1t was said that the
Indians had told Father De Smet, the
noted priest and missionary, all about
it. Other tales of rich gold finds by
the Indians were quite common, and
from t.aese tales have come down to
recent periods wonderful stories of lost
mines, most of which have been recog-
niZed as myths as the country -gradu-
ally became prospected and settled One
of these stories has survived, and is
even 80 TIE present day believed by
prospectors and miners in many Dor-
tons of the west. This is the story of
the Lost Cabin mine. For more than a
quarter Of a century PROSECUTORS have
made pilg7images from Idaho. Montana,
Colorado and other mining states to
search in the canyons and defiles of the
Big Horn and Wind river mountains
for this mythical mine.
The original story of the Lost Cabin
mine was. in q, few words, as follows:
Some time between 1857 and 1860 a
party Of Montana prospectors discov-
cred an extremely rich mine in the Big
Horn mountains. They built a cabin
and had taken out an immense amount
of gold when they were surprised by
Indians and all of the party killed but |
one man. He was wounded and left /
for dead. but recovered and made his |
way to the Montana settlements. His I
had. however, been so great /
that he lost his reason, and he was /
confined in an asylum or jail. On the /
walls OF his room he drew a map of the |
and streams where his party |
had found the mine, and talked in a
rambling way of the hidden cabin and
Il the richness of the mine. He eventu-
ally grew better, and with g party or
yanzed Cor the purpose, undertook TO
relocate the mine. One evening he told
MS friends that another DAVIS travel
would bring them TO the mine. That
evening he showed evidence of great
excitement, and in the night he arose
while the others were asleep and left
he camp. never to be seen or heard OF
lfterward. All that was left as
suide 10 the Lost Cabin mine was the
ne ps.
Twenty years ago government out
il of soldiers and packers camped one
light on Bad Water creek, q tribu-
airy Of the Big Horn river at a point
where a Few wears later Lost Cabin
'ostoffice was established. a soldier
'elonging 10 TIE outfit was lost, and
fter wandering several davs in the
mountains. returned with
is pockets laden with fabuiously rich ,
old quartz. The sight of the wealth
fas sufficient to revive the story of
he Lest Cabin mine. and the packers .
] the outfit Immediately gave UP their !
-ork and set out to search for the gold. :
ne soldier could not give them very ! +
eflnite directions of his wanderings. :
nd the men set out in different direc- {
ons- One of the men named Anderson q
nd another named Lycite were killed r
y Indians. and small streams in the r
elghborhood OF where they met their .
eath bear their names to this day. +
he mine was not found. One of the Z
earchers has resided in that section Il
yer since. and has become wealthy, c