Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-30
RODGERS As
A COWBOY
Could Have Located the Oil
Wells and Coal Mines.
AT NEWCASTLE, WY0.
But He Was Looking For Mavericks
He Also Pound an Iron Chest
and Grave.
AT NEWCASTLE, WYO.

Blll dodgers is not q millionaire, out IL
is his own fault. for, like many other
| men, he has let slip opportunities that
will probably never again cross his path.
He is now employed as night Waterman
at one of the Anaconda mines on the
hill, and while he realizes the fact that
he might be riding around New York in
a yacht or keeping track of his bonds
instead OF staying up at nights to pre-
vent bad Butte boys from converting the
hosting engines and other good metal of
the company into junk, he is not losing
any sleep over the fact.
Rodgers was once a cowboy in the
vicinity of the Black Hills of South Da-
kota. and it was while riding the range
for the Union Cattle company that he
encountered one of the opportunities Of
his life. The company's headquarters
We're located a few miles from Custer
City, which nestles in the foothills at
the west side Of the Black Hills. and is
the oldest settlement in that section.
One day in the early SOS Rodgers and
several other cowboys started out from
the home ranch in search of mavericks.
| After travelling many miles they ran into
q pot Of earth several acres in extent
that was literally soaked with oil, and
! q. stream of the fluid was belching from
the center. They stopped and looked at
1t, took some of the oil and bathed the
sore spots on their horses backs. made
by the rubbing of the saddles and hen
moved on. In a few days they returned
to the ranch and reported the find. 1t
soon became noised about the entire
country. and for months cattle men in
that neighbOlnood secured their supply
Of oil at the springs. But no one had
ever thought Of locating the ground. BY
and by news of the discovery reached
DeadwoOd. and two or three representa-
tives Of the HomeStake went
out and located the well. taking up
everything in sight. The spot is now
known as Newcastle. WyO.. and one Of
the greatest oil and coal producers in
the west.
Rodgers related the story of his dis
covery to a little group of men in this
city a few days ago, and while doing so
gave himself an occasional kick.
asked one.
why. d it, I was not looking for
oil wells and coal mines. | was looking
for s25 mavericks" he replied.
Rodgers also told of another find he
made in that section. and it may be the
| key to the final solution of "a robbery by
road agents that occurred there in 1873.
One day in 1883 we We're riding the
range said he, and came across a
patch of timber about ten acres in eX-
tent. 1t stood off by itself about 80
miles south of Custer City. Thinking
there might be some mavericks in it We
entered, and in making q search ran
across all iron treasure chest that had
been blown open and its contents ex-
tracted. Beside the box was Il small
mound resembling a grave. 1t was sur
Dundee by an inpromptu fence. The
our did not appear to be over three
or four feet long. We had nothing With
which to dig into it, and when we left
it was with the intention of returning
with a pick and shovel. Our h%eadquar-
ters were about twenty-five miles away.
We. or at least |, never went back to
the spot. I have always believed that
the mound contained treasure.
In another place, on a mesa sur
rOunded by timber overlooking Jenny's
~stockade, we found an old cabin contain
ing three rusty rifles. some musty beans
and a few other things. The cabin had
portfolios in it and had all the appear
ances of having been used as a rendez-
vous for robberS
One reason why I think the mound
which | mentioned before might have
contained treasure is because a road
agent was caught in that country one
time and got fifteen years in prison. Just
after sentence had been passed upon him
he told the judge he was still a young
man that he would not be old when his
time expired, and he would have a for
tune when he got out. He might have
had reference to that cache"
Behind the story related by Rodgers
Is one with which he is not familiar and
1T may have some connection with that
grave or mound and the treasure box
beside 1t. On the 26th of September 1873
the iron clad treasure coach with $40, 900
in gold in an iron chest inside of it left
Deadwood for Cheyenne. There were
five men on the coach-Eugene Barnett,
the driver. a telegraph operator named