Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-12-30
Hardin's Lucky Thirteen.
HOW THE OLD MAN STRUCK IT RICH:
IN TWO-BTT GULCH.
EVERYBODY who knows the mining
IN TWO-BIT GULCH.


EVERYBODY who knows the mining
camps of South Dakota knows Two
Bit Gulch. It is in the head of the
Black Hills, about 21s miles southeast
of Dea6wood. Near it are mines that
have made that country famous and
their owners rich beyond the telling.
Two and half miles west of the Gulch
is the Homestead, the richest gold mine
in the world. About the same distance
to the south of it are the Wasp, Two
Bear and Golden Crest mines, and a
little more than three miles to the north
are the Polo Greek mines. Each of
these mines has it's story, told so often
by the argonauts of the Hills that the
tales have become part of history's me-
mortal of the gold fields.
In all the fact and fiction of Ameri-
can mining comps, however, there is
nothing more romantic than the history
of Two-Bit Gulch. And there is no
better illustration of what tenaciously
sticking to one thing will do for man
than is to be found in the life of old
Jim Hardin, who is as much a part of
Two-Bit as Two-Bit is a part of the
Black Hills. The history of the Gulch
and the man shows, moreover, that ID
is not always a hoodoo. Had it not
been for the wonderful happenings in
the Gulch during the past few months,
little, perchance, would have been
known of Two-Bit's history or of the
history of Hardin, who for 20 years has
seen miners stake out claims near his
own, only to abandon them for other
and richer ones, leaving the pioneer of
the Gulch undisturbed in his faith that
if he waited long enough he would find
riches where he and others had all but
starved. Very few know the story even
new, for those who know it best are
disinclined to say much about it, and
it now finds its way into print for the
first time.
Twenty years ago, when the news
of rich finds of gold were attracting
men to the Black Hills, James D. Hardin
followed the trail that others had beat
en- from southern Colorado to the hills.
He had not concluded hastily to fol-
low the fortunes of a miner, and when
he did start out, therefore, he burned
all his bridges behind him. He was not
a young man then, and he had a wife
and two young sons. These he took
with him. Once in the hills, Hardin
prospected for a time, and finally
dropped down in Two-Bit Gulch. The
place was a little ravine among the
hills, through which wandered a creek.
A few miners cabins and place where
bad whisky was sold, dignified by the
nppelation of hotel, was all there was
to remind one that the Gulch was a
place CT human habitation.
It was called Two-Bit Gulch because
a disguised miner had once said that
q claim there might be worked for a
month and not more than two bits
(25 cents) would be realized from the
labor. Such a prospect didn't discour-
age Hardin, however. There was water
there and game not far away to be
had for the shooting, and so he staked
out a claim on the banks of the creek,
built a cabin for his family, and went
to work at placer mining. 1t was not
easy work, and the gold that he washed
yielded only a bare living. Hardin
kept at it, however, and as his two boys
grew older they took their hand at the
pan.
In other parts of the hills rich strikes
were reported from time to time, and
Hardin's neighbors pulled up stakes and
went in the direction from whence the
reports came. Hardin was popular in
the Gulch, because he was fearless and
because he was honest. Therefore,
when the other miners went where for
tunes smiles were said to be kindlier
they tried to persuade Hardin to go
with them. But he only shook his head,
making to all the same reply:
''No; I'm going to stick by the Gulch.
She's given me living SO far, and 1
guess more'n that wouldn't be of much
use anywhere. You go along, though,
boys, and better luck to you than you
found here
And so they went. When they had
gone Hardin, growing older and grayer
with the years, appropriated the claims
of the deserters and added them to his
own. After time Hardin became pos
sessed in this way of a great part of all
the land in the Gulch. When asked
what he expected to do with his hold
ings, he would say:
Some day I'll strike lead that will
astonish some folks. Then Jim Har-
din will be called a wise man for stick
ing to Two Bit
To all who asked him to leave the
Gulch and seek new field, Hardin's
answer was always the same. Those
who heard it felt a kindly sympathy
for the old man, but they tapped their
heads and looked knowingly at one an
other. What he said was considered by
the miners as the harmless rawlings of
a man who had gradually Lost his mind
in the years that he had washed gold
by the side of the creek that flowed
through the gulch. In time, Hardin be-
came known all through the hills as
s'Crazv Jim Hardin of Two-Bit Gulch."
While other men grew rich, Hardin and
his family-the boys had now grown to
manhood-grew poorer in everything
but land. Of that he had more than
anybody in the Hills.
Things continued thus until finally
old man Hardin was obliged to sacrifice
a part of his property to satisfy small
claim that a man in Deadwood held
against him. This came near breaking
the old mans heart. For a long time
afterward he couldn't sleep at night.